Do you have a habit of starting projects, but not
finishing them?
It might be the new business you want to start but
you’re still writing through the business plan. It
might be the album which you want to launch but
you’re still composing the songs. It might be the
book which you want to finish writing but you’re
still stuck in the early chapters.
If you have been taking action and working on
your goals, that’s a big achievement and you
should be proud of yourself! Getting started is
your first step to realizing your goals . However,
if you have a habit of starting many new things
but not finishing them, that’s something to look
into. Many people get stuck in the thinking but
not doing phase, and that’s not good because
your goals won’t magically get completed without
you taking action.
Completing a project successfully takes proper
planning and conscious action. If you have ever
embarked on a project, you’d know that every
goal/project comes with its own set of challenges
which are not visible when you first start.
Personally, I embark on many projects in the
course of running my business and pursuing my
personal goals, and I have a good body of
experience on how to successfully take projects
from start to completion.
Here are my 10 best tips on how to finish the
projects you have started:
1. Be selective in what you embark on
When you start on a project (especially if it’s a big
scale one), be sure that this is something you are
passionate about and you want to see through.
Personally I don’t start something unless I’m
absolutely sure that I’m interested in it.
I have embarked on things which I was half-
interested in in the past, for example learning
tennis or learning Japanese. Eventually I stopped
them mid-way. This resulted in waste of time and
resources which could have been better utilized
elsewhere. Because of that, I’m more conscious of
how I utilize my time and energy today. If you set
a high threshold on what you want to do, the
completion rate is also higher.
If you aren’t sure that this is something you really
want to do, you can dip your feet into the pool
first – try it out on a small scale and see if it’s
what you’re interested in. For example, if you’re
interested in starting a business, read up on it
first. If you’re keen to be a writer, try a personal
writing project (NaNoWriMo is a good place to
start) or getting some freelance work. Another way
is to sit on it for a few weeks. If you keep thinking
about it every day for weeks, then you should
probably give it a go-ahead.
2. Estimate the resources you need
In companies they do resource planning, where
they estimate how much resources is needed for a
project. After which, they plan out the manpower
and investment accordingly. For us, that means
doing a quick plan on how much time and effort
this idea will take, so we can have a bird’s eye
view.
It doesn’t have to be exhaustive. Just a quick
outline will help. The point is to have something
that guides you.
For example Live a Better Life in 30 Days
Program is a sizable project which took me about
6 good weeks to complete. When I first started
working on it, my first step wasn’t to dive in and
write as many words as I could. That’s sort of like
running a marathon by dashing right at the start.
It’s not going to work and it’s just going to burn
you out before you even get anywhere!
Rather, I created a simple, skeletal outline of the
key tasks of the project, which were (1) Create
outline of the book (2) Put together the raw
content (3) Collate pictures, select quotes, etc (4)
Evaluate and Rewrite the materials (5) Cover and
interior book design (6) Creating the sales page
and graphics (7) Tidy up all the details (8)
Marketing (9) Final launch preparation.
With the raw outline done, then I broke it down
into smaller tasks by each section, starting with the
first – creating the outline. I then moved to the
other sections. Having this skeletal outline gives
me a bird’s eye view on what needs to be done, so
I can prepare myself accordingly. This then brings
to the next point in resource planning.
3. Budget your time and energy accordingly
After you create your outline, you should have a
realistic idea of how much time and effort is
needed to complete it. Plan out your time and
resources accordingly and integrate them into
your schedule/to-do list. Block out time in your
calendar for the project. Give yourself some buffer
as well, in case of contingencies.
A big reason for loss of enthusiasm or energy is
when people underestimate the amount of work
needed to bring the goal to life. I remember last
year, I started on a book project which never saw
the light of the day. I dove straight in without any
plan, thinking that if I kept writing for one to two
weeks, it would eventually be finished. I spent
countless days and nights just writing, but it never
got anywhere after months. In the end, I was
getting new ideas on new things to do, and it was
time to move on to other projects.
Looking back, the biggest reasons why it was
never completed was because (a) I underestimated
the work required (b) I was being too hung up
about unimportant details (see #4 on
perfectionism). That led to unnecessary rewriting,
which prevented me from moving forward. To this
day the book still sits in my computer. I might get
to it in the future, but not now as I’ve many things
which I’m more interested to work on.
Good planning of resources help you plan out
your energy and expectations. You know you have
to put in X hours and X work to get the final
output, so you’ll manage yourself appropriately to
achieve your desired outcome. That’ll lead to a
higher project success rate.
4. Quit being a perfectionist
How many of us keep delaying work because we
want to get it just right? I’m all for perfectionism
and getting the best output, but if your desire for
perfectionism is preventing you from getting
things done, I think it’s good to challenge it. If
you’re stalled at a stage of the project and you
keep revising it again and again, park it for a later
stage and move on to a new part. Return to it later
on and see it with fresh eyes. You might notice
that what you were hung up about really isn’t that
big of a deal. Also, constantly referring to your
outline (step #2) is also helpful in getting
perspective.
Your objective is to finish the project, so keep your
eyes on the prize. If your perfectionism is
preventing you from even getting started, try these
two tips: First, break the task into many little
steps, then focus on one part at the time. If you
still put it off after breaking it down, then break it
down even further into mini pieces. Soon, you’ll
be left with such a simple task that you’ll be
wondering what was keeping you from doing it
from before!
The second tip is to give yourself the permission to
do a draft version. Meaning, there’s no need to get
it done right the first time. Just creating a draft,
even if it’s a crappy one, is better than if you
didn’t do anything at all. Get started and things
will roll on from there.
5. Commit to it
Once you start, commit to it. Whatever you have
planned, do them. Give yourself the option to exit
a project if it’s really not in line with your vision
(see #9), but otherwise hold yourself to your
word.
Last month I was overseas in Hong Kong for a
conference and a business meeting. While I was
there, my friends asked me if I wanted to go
sightseeing during the weekday evenings and
weekends. I rejected the offer because I was
working on the 30 DLBL program and it was
falling behind my personal timeline. I knew if I
were to go out for the week, the book would
never be completed on time, because (a) there
was a lot of work to be done and (b) I had other
projects lined up after 30 DLBL. I wouldn’t feel
happy at all while I was out because I wasn’t being
true to myself. Finishing the book was about my
commitment to myself and also to my readers out
there who would truly benefit from it. Sightseeing
was something I could always do in a separate
time – it was not big of a deal.
Likewise for you, ask yourself what’s more
important to you – Going out to party for the
weekend or to work on that business you’ve been
meaning to set-up? The former might bring you
some temporal gratification, but the latter is what
truly gives you satisfaction. The rewards you get
from doing the latter are rewards which you’ll
continue to reap long afterwards.
6. Connect with your end vision
You might have experienced this. Whenever you
begin on a new project, you’re full of energy and
enthusiasm. Then when you get into the thick of
things, this energy fades away, bit by bit. You’re
still excited about the overall project, but you’re
not so hyped about the nitty gritty tasks that come
as part of the work. After all, it’s the beautiful
house that you seek at the end, not all the brick
laying and cementing work.
But all the brick laying and cementing work IS part
of what makes that beautiful house in the end.
Every little bit you’re doing now counts toward
realizing that end vision. It’s just easy to lose
sight of that because you’re caught up in the daily
micro-tasks that keep coming, one after another.
The problem here is your end vision is slipping
away from you, so just bring it back in sight (both
physically and mentally). Surround yourself with
anything that’s reminds you of your end goal, such
as your vision board, pictures of others who have
achieved the same goal, objects that represent the
goal, etc. For example, one of my clients has a goal
to get a Cadillac one day, so he bought a small toy
Cadillac model from Walmart which he puts in
front of his desk.
In front of my work desk is my life map, an
inspiring quote of the moment and pictures of my
top goals, and these continuously remind me of
my end vision, in a conscious and subconscious
manner. That’s environmental reinforcement at
work and it’s very effective because it’s effortless
on your part.
Creating a mock-up of what you’re doing (where
applicable) is extremely helpful too. When I was
working on 30DLBL program in word processor in
the past, I would regularly export it into a pdf and
scan through it. This small action reinvigorates me,
since the pdf mock-up draws the immediate link
between how what I’m doing now contributes to
the end output. If you’re working on a blog/
website, then preview the site as it’d look to the
readers. If you’re working on a computer
program, then run it and test it as a user.
7. Follow the path of highest enjoyment
I found one of the easiest and most effortless ways
to complete my projects is to be flexible in my
project management approach. In Steps #2 and
#3, I mentioned creating an outline of what needs
to be done, section by section, step by step. Now,
most people will finish the tasks in sequential
order. Task 1 comes first, followed by Task 2, then
Task 3, etc. Sounds straight forward and easy,
doesn’t it?
I did this for a long time until I realized it wasn’t
the most effective method. For example, some
days I would feel like doing Task 3, but if I follow
the project timeline, I had to do Task 1 before I
could get to Task 2 then 3. The thought of having
to do 1 and 2 first was a downer. This would slow
down the project… eventually reaching a halt
because it stopped being fun. Working on the goal
felt like a hollow activity.
On the other hand, when I give myself flexibility
over what to do (while maintaining within the
confines of the project), working on the project
becomes like a big adventure. For example for
30DLBL program, I created the sales page and the
cover design before I started on the book, even
though these were the later tasks in the outline.
Because I was inspired to work on them, the
output came readily. The cover design was
finished in the same evening, while a good portion
of the sales page was finished in that same session.
It was extremely fun the whole time I was working
on it and it felt effortless. Subsequently, after
finishing them, I then picked the next task I
wanted to work on, then proceeded from there.
This approach makes me feel like I’m in a candy
store and I get to pick whatever candy I want. It
excites me because there’s an element of choice. I
also give myself freedom to drop a particular task,
move to another one, and come back when I feel
like working on it again. Essentially, as long as I’m
working on the goal, I’m progressing. So, it doesn’t
matter whether there’s something that’s not
completed – it’s just temporary. And because I’m
excited about it, ideas flow readily and I work
faster too.
I refer to this as the path of highest enjoyment –
doing what makes you feel happiest at the
moment. When you do so, you automatically
become productive in your work. Try this out and
see how it works for you.
8. Track your progress
Tracking your progress helps you understand how
you’re doing and gives you a target to reach. This
makes it easier to keep up with your momentum.
Create a project sheet that records your targets
and your current status. Specify key performance
indicators (KPIs) that you want to achieve. If your
goal is to lose weight, your KPIs will invariably be
your weight, your fat percentage, and perhaps
your performance during your exercise sessions
(example – the distance covered in 30 minutes,
how many weights you lifted, and the like). If your
goal is to start a business, your KPIs may be your
weekly customers, revenue and net income.
Every week, review your progress. What % of your
end goal have you achieved? Is it on track against
your target? Why or why not? What are the key
things to do next? What is your target for the next
week? Tracking makes you accountable to your
goal and helps you to stay on track.
9. Celebrate what you’ve done so far
Sometimes we get discouraged with all the things
that need to be done. It seems like no matter how
much time we spend, it’s impossible to finish it.
The amount of work overwhelms us and we opt
out halfway.
Here’s the thing – Everything you’ve done so far IS
an accomplishment! Many of us tend to emphasize
on the last finishing task as the most important
task, but really, all that you’ve done and what
you’re doing now contributes toward the final
product. So celebrate it. Give yourself a huge pat
on the back and a big bear hug. Celebrate the
process, the resting, the doing, the completion,
everything. Take the opportunity to recharge and
regroup. When you’re ready, continue on to with
what you’re doing. You’re really doing a fantastic
job.
10. Don’t force it if it’s really not working out
Sometimes, it just happens that you lose interest
in the goal. It happens, and it’s normal. We
change, our interests change, and we get new
ideas and inspiration the whole time. Some people
may feel it’s a waste of their efforts if they do
something and don’t complete it, so they push
themselves to go on.
Personally, I think it depends on the situation. I
think whatever efforts you’ve put into the situation
is already a sunk cost, and it shouldn’t factor into
your decision of whether to continue doing it or
not. The things that should influence your decision
are (1) the benefits you will reap (2) the costs
involved (future time, effort, resources that are
needed). If it’s really not working out for you,
then I recommend you drop it and move on to the
next thing. Spending more time (and energy) on it
is just a big waste.
Considering you have no desire to do it anymore,
you’re expending a lot of energy just to overcome
that resistance! Think of it as dragging a car up a
hill. For all that energy you spend battling your
resistance, you can already use it constructively
on something else.
It might seem like a big waste dropping all that’s
done, but it’s not big of a deal. You are creatively
capable of achieving a lot more than you realize.
What you’ve done so far is just a small speck of
what you can achieve. Trying to hold on to what
you’ve done just prevents more goodness from
coming your way.
I adopt the drop-and-go approach a lot with my
work. For the 400 over articles you see here,
there are actually about 100 half-written articles
that have not seen the light of the day (yet). Some
of them are 10% complete, some 30% complete,
and some about half done. When I started out, I
would make sure that I finish every article I start.
Subsequently, it led to a lot of wasted time and
effort in rewriting (and rewriting, and rewriting)
whenever I tried to complete an article which I
had lost inspiration for. On the other hand, when
I follow my inspiration, the work is just effortless.
You might ask: Wouldn’t all the work that went
into writing the posts (halfway) go to waste? Not
at all. They all add to my 10,000 hours of
experience. I learn from writing them, and this
learning will come in handy for my future posts.
Give yourself the permission to drop what you’re
doing if it’s not working out, and you might just
find many new things coming your way straight
after that.
Of course, don’t just start dropping every single
thing you’re doing now just because you lose
interest. It’s a benefits vs. costs equation. If it’s
almost done (99% completion), and the benefits
from pushing through that final 1% far outweigh
the costs, then go ahead and get it done. It’s a
judgment call that you make from weighing out
the benefits and costs.
Apply the Tips
Review the 10 tips above – How can you apply
these tips in the project you’re currently working
on? Write down your answers and start acting on
them.
Bookmark this guide because it’ll come in handy
in the future. When you’re starting on a new
project, use this list as a guide. If you feel burnt
out mid-way, apply the tips and it’ll help you to
swing forward.
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