Project managers stride into every new assignment with a degree of naivete. They have to, because without a dollop of ignorance the PTSD of strained project lifecycles would have them interrupt every kickoff meeting by pulling the fire alarm.
Just about every project lifecycle that has involved more than three people can be split into the same three stages: Excitement, Realization, Slog.
That first stage is the highest high; the team will never be more excited about a project than during a kickoff briefing while they imagine the world of possibility before them. That euphoria segues into a more grounded understanding as everyone gets all of the easy, fun work out of the way. Slowly facets of the project seep in that remind the team why someone is willing to–you know–pay money for this stuff. Once you crest this phase–usually around the second sprint–the gears start to grind much more slowly, and most of the team would willingly gnaw off their right leg to get assigned to literally any other project.
The slog is real, it’s demoralizing, and it’s where the most critical of productivity traits manifests: the skill of being able to finish.
We are measured by the works we create. A writer’s manuscript, an illustrator’s graphic novel, a business consultant’s case study: yardsticks can only be held up to finished product. Practice makes perfect and 10,000 hours and all of that sure, but until that work is shipped, a master craftsman and a novice are hard to tell apart.
Finishing is a skill. If you’ve endeavored on any creative project, you know the treachery of saying “I’m done.” One more revision, one more extension, it could be perfect if we just had more time. And worse yet when there is no deadline. How many half-crafted personal creative projects sit on shelves collecting dust.
The simple truth is that if we don’t finish a thing–perfection notwithstanding–it does not exist for anyone outside of the minds that originated it. Your favorite musicians and screenwriters have nearly-complete works sitting in software and headspace that you will never get to appreciate because they too are perfectionists with fleeting motivations and sometimes they start projects that they do not finish.
You can be a lot of things in life, but if you want to be good at any of those things, start by becoming a good finisher.
How do you become a good finisher? Ya got two options. The easy way is to pay the voice actor from Mortal Kombat to follow you around and shout “FINISH IT” whenever you start to slack off on an assignment.
Option B is less exciting and is mostly about establishing good habits and learning how to promote your own brand of productivity. But I will share one tip that’s worked for me for whomever may find it useful. Whenever you start a project, write it down on a sticky note and put it somewhere prominent. It stays there until you finish the project or until you scrap it entirely. Never have more than 3-5 sticky notes, and force yourself to make a conscious decision to abandon older ideas if you really want to begin something new. It clarifies your subconscious priorities, and makes it harder to beat yourself up over a dozen incomplete projects that you had long ago abandoned, but didn’t want to admit.
There are many gifted writers and artists honing their craft every day, and the world will only ever know of a handful of them. The ones we do admire all have something in common: they committed to finishing. Sadly, there is no doubt that some of the most beautiful art died on the vine because genius creators just couldn’t put the pencil down. So, make the best things you can, but remember that flawed but done beats perfect and incomplete every time.