As we prepare for the New Year ahead, a good thing to learn is how to finish what you started. Procrastination is the killer of so many dreams and goals. We all start with good intentions but somewhere along the way LIFE happens.
I shared 4 strategies last week and I hope you had a chance to try at least one. Don’t forget to leave me a comment and let know how well it worked for you. This week I want to share 4 more strategies to get you ready for what’s ahead as we tackle the holidays.
More strategies to help you develop the habit of being a finisher:
- Have realistic expectations. If you didn’t start playing piano at a young age and practiced for several thousand hours before your 18th birthday, it’s unlikely you’ll ever reach the level of a world-class pianist. This is especially true if you’re 48 years old, have a family, and only have 30 minutes a day to practice.
- While it’s admirable to strive for perfection, be careful. You’ll always quit if perfection is the only acceptable outcome. Have realistic expectations for your situation.
- Be realistic with your timetable. You might be making good progress, but if you believed that you should’ve mastered the Russian language by now, you’ll become discouraged. It’s not easy to estimate the amount of time it will take to complete something.
- Do you have a history of thinking that things will take less time than they actually do? Build a fudge-factor into your estimates.
- After you’ve make a little progress, revisit your expectations and adjust them accordingly.
- If you’re enjoying yourself, who cares how long it takes? Once you’re done, the fun is over!
- Get better at finishing the small tasks in your life. If you’re washing the dishes, avoid leaving that greasy, disgusting pan until morning. Fold all the clothes rather than leaving some of them for later. Clean the entire room. Pay all of the bills. Run the full 3 miles you planned to run.
- Finishing is a habit. Get in the habit of finishing all of the tasks in your life.
- Be immune to criticism. One of the reasons we stop before completing a project is to avoid criticism. Once it’s done and available for the world to judge, we can get apprehensive. Then we rationalize reasons not to complete it. The people that matter won’t be unkind. The unkind people don’t matter. There’s no way to stop the criticism, but you don’t have to allow it to bother you.
- Get an accountability partner. Find someone that will hold your feel to the fire and not allow you to give out excuses for not completing what you started. Find someone who cares about your success and believes in you. And, don't get angry with them for upholding their end of the deal by keeping you accountable. Remember, they want to see you succeed.
Half-finished projects are incredibly wasteful. You put in a lot of work and don’t receive the benefit. Learn how to finish and observe the impact it has on your life.
Be sure to leave me a comment if you try one of these strategies. I would love to hear your success stories.
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