After determining the WHY it’s time to explore the HOW!
So, in my situation, I’ve determined that boredom is one of the biggest reasons I end up shelving various tasks, projects or challenges that I start. See Day 3 of NaNoWriMo for the details!
A little research turned up these 3 strategies for increasing my odds of finishing things…
STRATEGY #1 – Apply a little psychology
1 – Search for patterns in past unfinished projects. List every past project you can remember. Note why you started the activity, and when and why you stopped. Notice any reoccurring themes? (This would take me WAY too long, so I skipped this tip.)
2 – Research your next project before jumping in. Try to identify what others have experienced when attempting a similar goal. This can help with recognizing unrealistic project goals. (Probably not going to take the time to do this one either.)
3 – Know yourself and be realistic. Setting goals you can’t possibly achieve, while insisting you can, sets you up for failure. (This is at odds with my personality, because my favorite quote is “Shoot for the Moon, even if you miss, you will land among the Stars.”)
4 – Make a timeline or list the steps needed to finish the project. Focus on specific efforts you can apply towards the ultimate goal, like so many words per day, hours per week, etc. (I do see the value in this one – will try to put this one into action.)
5 – Identify intrinsic motivations for achieving this goal. Identify the rewards that you will get from the journey. This will help if it’s taking longer than expected to complete things. (I have an inspiration block in my office that states “The Journey is the Reward”, so this definitely aligns with my personality; unfortunately, It hasn’t helped me finish my projects so far!)
STRATEGY #2 – Find an Accountability Partner
The American Society of Training and Development found that people are 65 percent likely to meet a goal after committing to another person, and their chances of success increase to 95 percent when they schedule ongoing meetings with their partners to check in on their progress. (I do agree with this because in the past when I’ve done this, I definitely had a higher completion percentage!)
According to Jocelyn J. Jones of “Faith on the Journey” (and most people would probably agree), too many of us fail to take this crucial step when starting out on a new venture. Having friends and mentors in your life help to make sure you keep the promises you make to yourself!!! (100% agree – will implement this as well)
STRATEGY #3 – Start fewer things and kick the perfection habit!
Taken from ideas in the book “Essentialism – The Disciplined Pursuit of Less” by Greg McKeown..
Most people would agree that starting new things can be exciting. Our brain sends us feel good signals when we are starting something new. And of course because it feels good, we repeat the behavior that results in that feeling. Unfortunately, once the excitement fades we tend to lose interest in things we don’t really care about, so we set them aside, half-completed. There they sit on a “to do” list or haunting us in some other way, leading to guilt and then stress.
McKeown suggests that we can break that cycle. How? “Count the full cost,” he says.
When we think about how long it will take to complete something, or how much it will cost, most people grossly underestimate the investment. Been there done that A LOT!
Mr. McKeown suggests that whenever you estimate your investment – multiply it by three. While that sounds like a lot, I feel like from my own experience, it’s pretty spot on. McKeown himself has found this little trick to be “absolutely” accurate when making realistic estimates.
Making more realistic estimates of how much time or money this “new thing” is going to cost you will help you be more selective of what you decide to start, leading to you starting fewer things! Fewer things started, fewer unfinished projects. Wow – this makes too much sense 🙂
Once you’ve identified that the task, project, challenge or goal is “worth the full cost”, how do you increase the odds that you don’t abandon it the first time you come up against an obstacle to completing it?
One of the big reasons we hit obstacles is that many of us seek perfection (I’m definitely guilty of this). So kick the perfection habit and go for… DONE, FINISHED, COMPLETE.
Summary of what will help me finish more of what I start…
- Do a mental calculation of how much time a new venture will take and multiple it times 3!!!
- Based on the cost, decide if it is worth starting! If it’s a go, continue with the next strategies.
- Make a timeline for the project and list any steps required.
- Focus on enjoying the journey!
- Find an accountability partner to keep me honest.
- Kick the perfection habit and finish.
Let’s go finish some stuff!
*If you’re wondering what NaNoWriMo is… it stands for National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo is an annual event that began in 1999 as a challenge to writers to write a novel of 50,000 words in one month! Whew, crazy right? Not everyone uses this challenge to write a novel. Take me for example, I signed up for NaNoWriMo and challenged myself to write one blog post every day for a month and that is what you are seeing in these NaNoWriMo posts!!!