Finish What You Start in 6 Steps

Are you like me? Start a project, then leave it half way finished without ever completing it? Then start something else and the vicious cycle begins again. Start. Stop. Start again. It can be frustrating. 

This is what I mean. I’ve been walking down my hallway at home for the past year where I had hung up a portrait gallery of my family.  Well, it wasn’t finished.  Day after day, I’d walk that hall and think to myself, “I’ll get to it”. And I didn’t have a good excuse as to why it wasn’t done.  I certainly could have put down my phone or made time to work on it.  But did I?  Nope. 

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Am I lazy? Yawn. 

Are my priorities messed up? Sometimes. 

Do I have DDD (Disorganized Detail Dysfunction) where I’m distracted by life…or gadgets?  Oh, yea!

Or am I just too busy being a mom, wife, employee, friend, yada, yada, yada? Bingo! 

Yep, that’s it!

Finish What you Start

It hit me hard in the face, recently one morning, when I realized I rarely finish what I start.   I looked at myself in the mirror with that very thought, “Kathleen!  What is wrong with you?  Why can’t you finish what you start????”  

Ding. Ding. Ding. That was a wake up call and the idea for this topic of discussion.  Finish what you start! I liked it!  Needed it!  I craved it like a slice of apple pie!  

Now this idea should be obvious. I mean, if you begin a project, obviously the goal is to finish it. But easier said than done with the other responsibilities and obligations in life. But it felt like a new motto I wanted to use. To implement in my life. 

After all these thoughts ran through my head about this,  I got up enough gumption to decide and do! To finish that thorn in my side portrait gallery that had been left abandoned.   

Well, boom POW, that gumption paid off! I frickin’ finished that project that afternoon…FINALLY… and what a great feeling it was!  And a relief, too!  No more underlying pressure to finish that portrait gallery every time I walked by it.  It was finally done!  

It turns out all I needed was a plan of what steps I needed to take to complete the task, then take Action and frickin’ DO IT!

What Makes Us Not Finish?

So, that got me thinking.  What makes us put things off?  Does it get too hard? Do you come across a stumbling block and throw your hands up in the air and say, “OK, you got me.  I’m stuck so I’ll stop in my tracks”, instead of plowing through the issue and resolving it?  

What the heck?  Why do us humans feel we need to screech to a halt when the going gets tough?  Is it a flight or fight coping mechanism?  I have so many articles halfway written because I’d run into that writer’s block wall. Screeeeech!  

Do you have projects laying around the house within reach of the finish line?  Or just barely started? Are you making up excuses as to why you can’t get to them?

Sometimes I have “legitimate” excuses like “Oh shucks, I gotta make dinner for the family” or “time to walk the dog or she’ll explode in a mess of pee” or, my personal favorite, “I’ve been at work all day and need a break from doing anything.”  

So, I sit and waste my time on social media or my addiction to playing Spider online (a great online card game, btw.) Both are a waste of my time, but sometimes mindless entertainment is all I want.  Meanwhile, all these projects sit and sit and sit.

Well, my friends, today is a day of change!  If you find yourself lost in project madness and need a little kick in the rear to finish what you start, then here are 6 steps to implement, so you can move on to other things. It’s time to tackle those unfinished projects. 

The 6 Steps to Finish What you Start

Here goes:

1. Set a deadline to have it finished and put it on your calendar.  Be realistic with the date.  Not so far in the future that you’ll have dust bunnies and huge cobwebs gathered all over the project or feel like you have sooo much time that you can put it off until later.  AND, not too soon either where you’ll feel so much pressure your head might explode.  

2. Work backwards from that deadline date.  If it’s due in one month, then what tasks do you need to complete in weeks 1, 2, 3 and 4?  Create a list of those tasks, breaking them down into small bite size pieces.  Then tackle those small tasks, one at a time.  You can be flexible as to which task you complete first, as long as you’re moving forward and knocking them out.  Each task finished is a step in the direction of completion and a feeling of relief and accomplishment!  Priceless!

3. Schedule your tasks in your calendar like you would a meeting. Figure out a day(s) of the week for an hour where you can focus on it, and add it to your calendar to make sure you stay on track. Then, when that time arrives, stop everything else and do it!

4. Still stuck? Make sure the projects you begin are something you are excited about, and have a purpose. Why waste your time starting something that you’re not on fire about. Not on fire about it?  Then rethink whether this project should be terminated.  But check yourself.  Don’t give up because it’s too hard or you’re not sure of your next move. As Roy T. Bennett, author of The Light in the Heart writes, “Be the kind of person who dares to face life’s challenges and overcome them rather than dodging them.”  If you are determined and ready to move forward, then visualize it finished and the benefits you’ll reap.  Give yourself a high five and move on to your next step. You got this!

5. As the deadline approaches, reevaluate where you are, the tasks unfinished and any resources you might need to accomplish your goal. Then make adjustments where needed.

6. Meet that deadline! Finish what you started.  Then, once finished, treat yourself to something special to celebrate your accomplishment.  A new haircut, a massage, a big glass of wine, a dance party – whoop it up!

Finale to Finish for Good

Really what it comes down to is focus, determination, making the time and taking action.  Then you will finish what you start.

Now, I’m moving on to my other half finished projects.  What will you finish today?  

Cheers!

Kathleen

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