Busy all day yet still feel like you get nothing done? What gives?
A usual suspect is starting tasks but not finishing them.
Which means at the end of the day you look around at your cluttered desk or at your overflowing email and you feel like you haven’t completed a thing.
Here are some problems with not finishing what you start.
#1: It feels like zero value.
No matter how long or how hard you work on something, if you don’t finish what you start, it feels like you did nothing.
Because value is created at the finish, not at the start.
Even if you spent 3 weekends organizing your garage but didn’t finish it, the garage was never organized.
Even you spent 4 hours creating an onboarding system but didn’t finish it, it still sits on your do-do list.
Unfinished tasks and projects linger on and on.
#2: You get even more scattered and overwhelmed.
Because you didn’t finish your task (and you got distracted by 5 other things) it feels EVEN harder.
The longer it sits incomplete, the heavier it feels.
With multiple unfinished tasks on your list, your mind is confused. You don’t know where to put your time and energy.
Completion allows for clarity.
#3: Your identity shifts. This one is most unfortunate.
You start to think and believe that you’re the type of person that doesn’t finish what they start.
Not finishing projects keeps you from moving on your goals.
Which is why it’s essential to finish things. There is power in completion.
So today, finish something.
Start small but go all the way. 100%.
Invest the 10-60 seconds it will take to finish the job.
When you respond to an email, take the few seconds to drag it into a folder or tag it with a label.
When you fill out a form or print out a document, take the extra minute to grab a manila folder, and file the paper away.
When you try on an outfit, take the 30 seconds to hang it back up.
Yes, half a minute is the difference between clutter pile up and feeling accomplished.
Don’t let unfinished business lurk in the corners of your life.
Incomplete projects, mental clutter, or confusion are ways it masks itself in your life.
Remember, value is created at the finish, not at the start.
Peace and satisfaction are on the other side of the completed tasks.
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