The Secret of Finishing What You Start

Are you good at starting things?

Can you get a project or idea in motion quickly?

Some people are fast to charge into a new task.

However, finishing them is another matter.

Undone projects litter their desk, inbox, and todo list.

How are you at finishing things?

Started, But Not Finished

Being good at starting things is an important skill.

After all, you cannot finish if you don’t start.

However, being good at completing things is an entirely different skill.

Many people spend their lives “starting”things…

However, the ones who are successful are the ones who actually finish them.

Lots of people come up with great business ideas. Few people actually make a business a success.

Many people start writing a book. Few people actually publish one.

Most individuals have a dream. Few fully realize it.

As a general rule, we are good at starting things but we tend not to finish them.

What Is Not Done?

What have you started that you didn’t finish? What is hanging out on your todo list?

It could be something small, a todo or a task.

Or it could be something big, like a passion or a dream.

Whatever you have undone… chances are you need to finish it.

Here are 7 Things You Should Finish…

  1. The Task With The Deadline – Do you finish ahead of deadlines? Not finishing tasks by their deadlines usually results in a negative result. Whether it is a mark on your time management reputation, or something more tangible like a fee, penalty, or additional work.
  2. The Thing You Should Have Done Last Night – Ever have a morning where everything just went sideways? Most often it is because you did not finish preparing the night before. Your clothes aren’t clean. You didn’t prepare the kids for school. You aren’t ready for that meeting today.
  3. The Promise You Made to Someone Else – When you tell someone that you are going to do something, can they count on you? Or do people avoid you because you are known to be unreliable?
  4. The Item You Forgot – Oops, you forgot that task. It is hard to finish something if you forget that you were supposed to do it. Make sure that your todo list and other tools have your back. They should remind you of what you need to finish so that you don’t have to remember.
  5. The Todo That Is ALMOST Done – Almost done isn’t done. Almost finishing a job doesn’t deliver results. Make sure you take your tasks across the finish line and cross them off your list.
  6. The Never Ending Project – Ever had a project that just seemed to go on forever? (I have seen companies that have 6 month projects that go on for 6 years!) Set a tight deadline. And finish it.
  7. The Dream You Started – Dreams are often harder to finish because they involve longer timeframes and unless you are disciplined, you often do not have a finish line. Define your long term goals. Be specific (and realistic.) Write them down and hold yourself accountable.

The Difference Between Starting And Finishing

Starting something is often easy.

Finishing it?

That is usually much harder.

Make sure you put in the extra effort to finish.

Finish your todos and daily work.

Also, make sure you don’t stop short on your dreams.

Those are the important ones to finish.

What do you need to finish?

20 thoughts on “The Secret of Finishing What You Start

    1. @mathgodoy Love it! Thanks for sharing!

      I just read your post… Google translated it for me. 🙂

  1. @mathgodoy Love it! Thanks for sharing!

    I just read your post… Google translated it for me. 🙂

  2. Craig,

    I agree … finishing is much harder than starting.

    Once you finish a task you free up some of your brain capacity for other things.

    Cheers,

    Timo

  3. Craig,

    I agree … finishing is much harder than starting.

    Once you finish a task you free up some of your brain capacity for other things.

    Cheers,

    Timo

  4. Many “creative” types of personalities are amazingly effective at starting projects, until something more exciting and “shiny” comes along. In the vast majority of situations, we are recognized for, paid on, and realize the benefits of what we finish, not just what we start.

    Your techniques extremely helpful in completing projects. Here are a few other tips that have worked well for me:
    1. Using a mastermind or accountability group to hold your feet to the fire when it comes to completing tasks. They will not buy your excuses as easily as you will.
    2. Hiring a coach. I personally have ADHD, and my coach has offered several huge insights that would have been overlooked if she was not in my circle of influence.
    3. Set timers. Getting my head around writing a 50,000 word book is a very difficult thing to do. Setting a timer to write for 15 minutes per day is a solid bite-sized task that still pushes me forward without boring me to death.

    Have you ever used any of these tools?

  5. Thanks, Craig, for this reminder. It’s easy to start a task with gusto; it’s another to keep going when the momentum fades. This happened to me when I launched my 1st book in Jan. I had so much momentum, and then after it was over I crashed. Now it’s the day-in-day-out grind and discipline of connecting & marketing. Thanks for the tips.

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