How to Finish What You Start - by Dumb Little Man

How to Finish What You Start - by Dumb Little Man

One of the biggest problems I face is finishing what I start. I have numerous projects in various stages of completion. As well as the advice given in the above article, I've come to the conclusion that in order to finish what you start you also need to limit the number of items you get involved in.

Keep your list short

Ideally I believe one should have no more than 3 big goals going at any one time. Through experience I have found that having too many big goals going at the same time often results in none of them being completed. For goals to be achieved, constant focus needs to be applied on a regular basis and this an only be achieved with a short list.

Do one thing at a time

                  Image courtesy of Simon Stapleton (www.simonstapleton.com)


I am a big fan of multi-tasking, but just like having too many goals going at the same time doing mutiple things at once often results in something being left out or not being done to the required standard. I have come to the conclusion that when having many 'mini-tasks' it's better to attack them individually, finish them off then move on to the next. By concentrating on each individual task, you ensure it's completed to a reasonable standard. Also, the satisfaction of ticking off individual tasks one at a time provides a confidence boost. Having mutiple open ended 'mini-tasks' (a by-product of multi-tasking) tends to be discouraging and makes it much harder to finish off a project.

Involve others

 

Involving others in your goals has 2 benefits. Firstly you get the advantage of collective community knowledge. The more people you get involved in your projects the more likely you'll be able to complete them as it is likely that someone within the collective has been through what you are about to do or has knowledge that is beneficial. Secondly, there is the embarrassment factor in the event you fail. That embarrassment factor could provide the necessary motivation required to finish off what you start. That is one reason I find writing this blog could be a major factor in ensuring I achieve my goals.

Hard work and perserverance

At the end of the day, nothing beats plain old hard work and perserverance. A keen desire to complete the project/goal/job and putting in the labour/mental effort to complete the job is an absolute prerequisite to finishing off what you start!