Overwhelmed Working Woman: Boost Productivity, Master Time Management, Overcome Overwhelm & Stop People Pleasing
Imagine feeling calmer, more focused, and in control . . . even with a full plate. That’s what Overwhelmed Working Woman, a top 1.5% podcast, delivers for accomplished women every week.
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Each episode offers simple, practical strategies to help you reduce overwhelm, improve productivity, and stop people pleasing. You’ll learn surprising time management hacks, how to do less without guilt, and why the path to calm begins with changing how you think. All of this comes with guidance from host and Life Coach Michelle Gauthier, who has 8+ years of experience coaching hundreds of women.
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If you're ready to reclaim your energy, focus, and peace of mind, you’re in the right place. Start with listener favorite: “The Power of a To-Don’t List.”
Overwhelmed Working Woman: Boost Productivity, Master Time Management, Overcome Overwhelm & Stop People Pleasing
#208| Why Perfectionism is Just Fear in Disguise (And How to Move Past It): Overwhelm, Productivity, Time Management & People Pleasing
Are you actually struggling with time management—or is perfectionism quietly keeping you stuck and overwhelmed?
If you constantly feel busy but still struggle to finish things, second-guess your work, or delay putting yourself out there, this episode will help you understand why. Perfectionism often disguises itself as productivity, planning, or “high standards,” but underneath it is fear that keeps you from taking meaningful action.
When you listen, you'll gain:
- A clear understanding of what perfectionism really is (and why it’s not about excellence)
- Insight into how fear-driven perfectionism shows up as procrastination, overworking, or decision fatigue
- A simple but powerful way to identify the fear beneath your perfectionism so you can finally move forward
Press play to learn how taking imperfect, messy action can free you from overwhelm and help you build confidence by actually moving forward.
Wondering why you're overwhelmed? Take my "why am I overwhelmed" quiz to find out the source of your overwhelm, and what to do about it.
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Life can be overwhelming, but on this podcast, you'll discover practical strategies to overcome overwhelm, imposter syndrome, and negative self-talk, manage time effectively, set boundaries, and stay productive in high-stress jobs—all while learning how to say no and prioritize self-care on the Overwhelmed Worki...
Perfectionism looks like productivity, but it's really just a polished form of procrastination and fear.
Michelle Gauthier:You're listening to Overwhelmed Working Woman, the podcast that helps you be more calm and more productive by doing less. I'm your host, Michelle Gauthier, a former Overwhelmed Working Woman and current life coach. On this show, we unpack the stress and pressure that today's working woman experiences. And in each episode, you'll get a strategy to bring more calm, ease, and relaxation to your life.
Michelle Gauthier:Hi, friends. Today we're going to be talking about perfectionism. Perfectionism is something that does cause quite a bit of overwhelm and sometimes kind of tricks us into thinking that we have a time management problem when really the root of the problem can be much more than that. So when you listen today, we're going to talk about what perfectionism really is, how it can keep you stuck, and how to understand what's really beneath your perfectionism, which is the best way to move out of it.
Michelle Gauthier:So let's talk about perfectionism in general. Perfectionism isn't actually about being your best, even though if you're a person who likes to do things perfectly, but instead it's about fearing your worst. So it's really the fear of getting something wrong or looking like a failure or letting anybody see the cracks or find out that you're actually human or the idea that if you fix just one more thing, then you'll feel ready. So sometimes perfectionism shows up looking like procrastination, like you don't start on something because it has to be perfect. So you might think about the idea and do little tweaks but never actually get started. It can show up as overworking where you spend hours perfecting the smallest detail. I know I can definitely get into that mode when I'm working on a presentation or a worksheet or something, and I'll mess around with the fonts and where they're located and all that. It's like this does not matter. It can show up as buffering, which I would call anything that keeps you busy so you don't have to risk your mind being quiet. So if I just keep working on this and say this isn't finished, then my mind will be occupied. It can give you decision fatigue because you're terrified of choosing the wrong thing.
Michelle Gauthier:So, whatever way perfection shows up in your life, I think there is one thing in common. And that's the first thing I want to talk about is that perfectionism is really fear, not just high standards. So we like to think about perfectionism as something that is about ambition or excellence, but most of the time it's really just fear running the show, fear of not being good enough or being judged or failing publicly. It's not about high standards, it's really about avoiding discomfort. So, for example, if you write an email five different times before sending it, you might tell yourself, I just like to make sure that things are said perfectly. But I think underlying that could be a fear like if I sound unclear, they'll think I'm unprofessional. If you delay posting things to your website for weeks, you might think if it's not perfect, people won't take me seriously. Or if you avoid having a hard conversation because you want to just get your words exactly right, you think if I say the wrong thing, they'll be upset and I'll feel terrible. So even though it shows up as you having very high standards, and I'm not doubting that you have very high standards, it's often fear that drives that.
Michelle Gauthier:The other problem with procrastination is that it really keeps you stuck. It's tricky because it feels like you're doing something. You're busy, you're like getting things ready and making progress on things, but you're actually avoiding the part where you have to show up or risk rejection and feel vulnerable by turning something in or showing someone something that you're working on. I just talked to a client today who told me that she is great at spending hours and hours color-coding her planner and making tons of plans to get organized first. And that way she gets that all perfect, but that helps her not work on the things that are actually on her planner. Or maybe if you own your own business, you wait to launch a new offer until you've created the perfect sales page. Or if you have a job where you create a lot of presentations, you can mess around and make that absolutely perfect. So perfectionism is number one fear. And number two, it keeps you stuck.
Michelle Gauthier:First of all, it's always most important to realize that you're doing it. But the way out of this is to really get underneath what is that fear that is driving the perfectionism in you. Next time you feel stuck and notice that you're swirling around in perfectionism and you're not able to get yourself to turn something in or just to finish the task, pause and ask, what am I afraid will happen if I do this now? If I just turn this in now or give this to someone now. And most of the time, if you ask yourself that question, you'll uncover something deeper. Like, I'm afraid if I fail, it will prove that I'm not good enough, which I've always worried about. Or I'm worried that if someone doesn't like it and they criticize me or give me feedback, that I won't be able to handle it. Or if I don't do it perfectly, I'll disappoint someone and I don't know how to handle those feelings. And if you were my client, we would talk through each one of those and figure out, is that really true? Is that fear really true? Is that a fear you could handle? But for today, I just want you to take away that if you're feeling like perfectionism is part of your life and it's making you feel stressed out, that the first thing to do is just realize you're doing it and then get underneath it and see what the fear is. Once you understand what you're really afraid of, it's easier to realize that you can survive turning in something or giving something to someone that is maybe a little bit messy or not exactly up to your 100% standards, and you'll gain confidence by taking action and not perfecting it behind the scenes. So this week, as we're leading up to the end of the year, I challenge you to do something imperfectly, something messy, take some messy action and move forward and see how that feels to you. That's it for today. See you next week.
Michelle Gauthier:Thank you for listening to the Overwhelmed Working Woman podcast. If you want to learn more about my work, head over to my website at michellegauthier.com. See you next week.
