You’ve probably heard of the art of the start. But what about the culture of completion? Or more precisely, get things done so that you can accomplish your goals.
Like many of you, I can get pretty excited about embarking on new adventures.
I love the novelty and thrill of sparking new initiatives. These can be anything from launching a new website, starting a new social media channel, reading a new book, or volunteering for a new cause.
Over the years, however, I’ve learned that while it is important to start on a new goal, its probably more important to finish that goal. Getting things done is the only way to ensure success in any personal or professional endeavour.
Thanks to the book Finish — Give Yourself The Gift Of Done by Jon Acuff, we now have a framework to model after.
In this article, you will learn how you can complete any project by following these pointers taken from the book.
#1 Kill Perfectionism
If beginnings are beautiful, then endings should be ecstatic. Sadly, many do not complete the journey due to the curse of perfectionism.
Here are several ways in which perfectionism can destroy your determination to get things done:
- Imperfect goals that are judged to be “not good enough”
- Missing a day in your goal (eg your goal is to run 5 km every day, but you stopped after losing one day due to rainy weather!)
- Using the “might as well” excuse — I missed eating clean for one day, so I “might as well” continue to eat junk food today
- Aiming too high, and failing to reach that lofty aspiration
To get around this, ensure that you’re ready for “the day after perfect“—get back on track, even if you’ve missed a day (or a week) of sticking to your routine.
#2 Cut Your Goal in Half
Over-excited at the start of any project, we end up setting over-ambitious goals. Scientists call this “planning fallacy,” a syndrome in which “predictions about how much time will be needed to complete a future task display an optimism bias and underestimate the time needed.”
To avoid this, consider cutting your goal in half!
Instead of trying to save $1 million in 5 years, who not go for an easier $500,000 instead?
Instead of trying to lose 20 pounds in 30 days, aiming to lose 10 pounds could be more manageable.
If you can’t cut down your goal, consider doubling your timeline. Aim to save up $1 million in 10 years. Or to lose 20 pounds in 60 days.
Find it difficult to do so? Consult a friend, and seek their views on whether your goals are too extreme.
Do also ask yourself what’s the worst that can happen. Often, it isn’t as bad as it seems.
#3 Choose to Flop in Certain Areas
You can’t be a perfect mother, wife, daughter, and manager all at the same time. Often, something has to give.
Rather than try to achieve what is humanly impossible and fail, why not just “choose what to bomb and succeed at a goal that matters.”
Just say no to activities that are less important in your life mission. For instance, going out with your friends so that you can be their best buddy. Or catching every episode of the latest K-drama flick.
If you can’t drop these areas, find a way to simplify. Rather than follow every Netflix series that trends, choose to watch just one. Or none.
Do also consider if you can press the pause button on relationships that are stopping you from finishing your goal.
#4 Make It Fun!
“Make it fun if you want it done.”
One of the lies of perfectionism is that fun doesn’t count. The only goals worth aiming for involves lots of sacrifice, misery and pain.
That’s total nonsense—at least according to Acuff.
Fun goals count, and they help us to complete the projects that we’d otherwise abandon halfway.
To make your goals more fun:
- Rank how fun your current goal is on a scale of 1 to 10
- Decide if you’re motivated by fear or by reward
- Write out what is fun for you: “This is weird, but I find _________ fun.”
- Pick three small points of fun you can add to your goal
#5 Leave Hiding Places + Ignore Noble Obstacles
A hiding place is a “safe place you to go hide from your fear of messing up.” It is the task that makes you feel good (and feed your perfectionism fetish) as you avoid your goal.
For some, it could be playing computer games. For others, it could be extreme exercise. For yet others, it could be binge-watching Netflix movies.
Ask yourself these questions:
- Do you find yourself going there accidentally?
- Do you have to give a complicated explanation to justify why you’re giving it time?
- What do your friends think?
To circumvent these, use the three questions above to identify your hiding places, share them with a friend, and give them permission to tell you when you’re hiding.
Noble obstacles, on the other hand, are the “Very Good Reasons” why you cannot pursue your goal. Here are some examples of these:
- “I can’t do X until Y” — I can’t start exercising until the weather is perfect!
- “If… Then” — These are the two extremes, eg Either you don’t blog at all or you have to write 1,000 words every day
- “It’s Too Hard” — I need to do it perfectly in this manner, otherwise I can’t do it at all!
To overcome noble obstacles, simplify your goal, admit and eliminate any side goals that you’ve taken on, and ask a friend to identify what your these are.
#6 Secret Rules? Get Rid of Them
Secret rules are the mantras and pre-conditions that we impose on ourselves on how we should live our lives.
For instance, it could be phrase like “if it doesn’t come easily, it’s not worth doing.” Or “if you have to learn something new, you’re failing.”
Here are four questions to identify what secret rules are:
- Do I even like ___________? If you don’t, then you should quit that goal!
- What’s my real goal? What is it that you’re really after?
- Does the method I’m using match who I am?
- Is it time to quit? Yes, there are times when you should.
To destroy your secret rules, write down “What does it mean?” for each secret rule that you encounter. Doing so helps you to see how ridiculous such rules are.
Create a new rule to replace the old one, and enlist a friend to help you see when you’re living by a secret rule.
#7 Use Data To Celebrate Imperfect Progress
By measuring what you’ve already accomplished, you’re more motivated to continue along the journey to completing your goal. That is the true value of tracking your progress.
However, instead, of trying to track 20 different KPIs, narrow it down to just one to three things you should track.
Do also consider reviewing your goals from the past. Are there anything you can learn from the prior projects that you’ve finished?
Find your airplane—this will be the preferred spot where you can focus and concentrate on completing your task.
If you happen to fall behind, consider adjusting one of three different goals:
- The goal: Can you reduce it so that its easier to achieve (see earlier points above)
- The timeline: Can you give yourself more time to accomplish it?
- The actions: Are you able to intensify your actions so that you can make up for lost time?
#8 Prepare for The Day Before Done
Sometimes, we sabotage ourselves just before we cross the finish line. It’s not uncommon for us to experience the fear of success as you get closer to finishing.
(I’ve certainly had my share of such fears.)
There are three fears that you may experience here:
- Fear of what happens next: What should you do after you lost 20 pounds? Or hit a million dollars in net worth?
- Fear that it won’t be perfect: What if the ending isn’t amazing? Well, that’s life. Besides, nobody can predict the future.
- Fear of “What now?”: This is about finding a new goal entirely so that you don’t end up feeling past your prime.
Rather than give in to such fears, consider reaching out to a friend (Haven’t we heard that before?), and to get them to kick your a**.
Ask yourself this question: “What am I getting out of not finishing?” Be honest with yourself, and make your reward or fear motivation of finishing bigger than that thing. Tip the scales in your favour as you approach the finish.
Conclusion
Written in a breezy and easy-to-read fashion, Finish is a great motivational tome for procrastinators and “all-or-nothing” excuse givers.
While much of what it purports is common sense, putting it into these simple guidelines helps us to leapfrog over the numerous imaginary obstacles that prevent us from finishing our projects.
Which of these techniques will you start applying today?
