Finish what you start (Part I)

By Engr. Carlos V. Cornejo

There are many books that can help you overcome your lack of persistence and procrastination, but this surely is one of the best, “Finish What You Start: The Art of Following Through, Taking Action, Executing and Self-Discipline” by Peter Hollins.

Usually when we start a project we experience a surge of inspiration, a great dose of excitement and our mind is bursting with ideas.  But when we encounter some difficulties along the way and when our inspiration becomes too familiar, we lose interest and little by little abandon our task or project.  The author says often times we give up because we take on a perfectionist mindset.  We are afraid that our project might not be good enough to get a good rating or earn the praise of others and so we abandon it.  The author suggests the following to finish what we’ve started.

Finishing Equals Learning

To overcome that perfectionist attitude, adopt a finishing equals learning mindset.  Instead of going after a perfect product which does not exist in reality, focus on completing it and learning from it.  There are several benefits we can get when we finish a project.  First, we get the opportunity to evaluate our work, adjust, and develop a better method.  A website that you have finished might not meet the expectations you’ve set but it could be a stepping stone to a better one.  And because you have developed the habit of finishing, after some time before you know it, you would have acquired the skill that you’ve dreamed of.   Second, you might discover another skill along the way that you would not have discovered had you given up.

Create a Manifesto

A manifesto is a simple set of rules you follow without exception. It’s your written promise that you will finish what you’ve started no matter what.  Your manifesto can contain one rule or ten rules.  An example of manifesto with two rules can be the “I want.  I will. I won’t” and the “10-10-10” rule

Manifesto Rule #1: When it’s time to work, state an “I want. I will. I won’t.”

A project is usually something we do outside of our regular work schedule.  We therefore need to set aside time to do it daily or on a weekly basis.  Time management experts would call it time blocks.  When the time block you have scheduled arrives, express your manifesto by stating what you want, what you will do first, what you won’t do.

Your “I want” is the end state you ultimately want to reach.  For example, “I want to experience the satisfaction of finishing my course on accelerated learning.”  Your “I will” is a small action you’re willing to take right now. The smaller, the better.  For example, “I will brainstorm ideas and outline the next module for two minutes.”  Small action is the anti-dote to procrastination because it helps build momentum leading to a snowball effect.  And your “I won’t” is what you will avoid doing to ensure you stay on task.  For example, “I won’t check my email for the next hour or I will put my cell phone under lock and key so that it will be very hard to get it.”

Manifesto Rule #2:  When you are about to procrastinate, conduct a 10‐10‐10.

The author says we usually procrastinate because there is no immediate pain associated with procrastinating.  Our “present self” only wants pleasure and avoids immediate pain.  The key is to let your “present self” travel into the future so that it experiences the pain of delaying.  The next time you’re scheduled to start working on a project but don’t feel like doing it, allow yourself to feel lazy, and then imagine how you’ll feel after procrastinating for 10 minutes. Now imagine procrastinating for 10 hours. Then imagine procrastinating for 10 days.

When you picture yourself procrastinating for 10 days, the guilt you experience is strong and painful because you could see the different kinds of troubles you will put yourself in for not finishing on time or not finishing the project at all.  As your “present self” experiences the future pain of not following through, remind yourself, “this pain can all go away if I take action right now…”.  And you can add to that the satisfaction and peace of mind you will have if you finish on time.

The finishing = learning mindset coupled with a finishing manifesto will make you an unstoppable finisher who gets to enjoy the pride and satisfaction that comes from finishing what you start.