10 Tips For Finishing Your Project
Starting a project is so exciting and finishing your project can be so hard. You’re not alone; this happens to all of us.
You bolt upright in bed, eyes blazing, a story idea crystalizing in your mind. The itch to pull out that notebook or grab your keyboard makes you giddy. You imagine the magic of seeing that story in the hands of readers… and then you remember the fifteen other projects languishing in various states of completion. You sigh, lay back down, and go back to sleep dreaming of the future where you will have written, published, and shelved your stories.
Sound familiar? If so, consider putting together a system to help see your project through to the end. Here are my ten tips for moving forward and building finishing energy to help finish your project.
1. Visualize the End
Often the tingle of excitement for starting a new project comes with a vision of what finishing your project could mean for you. Maybe it’s seeing your book in a shop, or in the hands of a reader on the bus. It could be the satisfaction of accomplishing a bucket list item or creating another source of income. Whatever your vision is, capture it. Write it, paint it, record it, but don’t lose it! Keeping the big picture in mind will help whenever your motivation flags.
2. Make a Plan
Now that you have your vision or end goal firmly set in your mind, you need a plan of how you’re going to achieve that goal. Take a moment to note the steps you’ll need to finish to complete your project. How you document the steps is up to you; what’s important is taking the time to understand what they are.
You can keep your plan high level or break out the tasks for each step; do what feels right for you. One thing to note, don’t let your plan enable procrastination. This can happen if you get focused on crafting a perfect plan. Plans often change, so do the best you can with the information you have, and move forward. I’ve just reviewed the plan I set for Book 1, and I can see where I’ve deviated!
3. Budget Time
A crucial part of finishing your project is making the time to work on it. Finding time is impossible. Stealing a few minutes from your life to work on your project will not allow you to make as much progress as setting aside time specifically to work on your tasks. We all have the same number of minutes in a day, but different demands on our time. Often, identifying time for your project will mean sacrificing time you were spending on something else, and that’s a choice you’ll have to make for yourself.
Once you’ve decided when you’ll work on your project, schedule the time to protect it. We all have multiple demands competing for our time, and it’s easy to push aside your creative project time if you don’t have it scheduled somewhere.
4. Incorporate Accountability
Without accountability, I procrastinate, I get distracted, I forget my goals, and I don’t get things done. Accountability can come in many forms; from setting deadlines to announcing your intentions.
One of my critique partners is drafting her novel and uses the date of our next scheduled meeting as a deadline for delivering three chapters. I had success using the #100dayschallenge, and writing in sprints with others during writing retreats.
5. Use Gimmicks
Something that caught my eye the other day is #NaNoFinMo, which stands for National Novel Finishing Month, brought to you by the NaNoWriMo folks. The hashtag caught my eye as I’ve been dragging my feet on getting through the edits of Book 2. I’ve signed up for Camp NaNoWriMo which started yesterday, with a project of editing 50,000 words. I’m already a day behind (oops) but I’ll work to catch up today to meet the goal I’ve set for myself this April.
6. Bet on Yourself
It’s much harder to throw away the work you’ve put in toward finishing your project if you have invested money in it. As a writer, it’s too expensive to invest in editing, cover design, and software for layout as a hobby, so I will finish my projects. If you’re in the drafting phase, give money to a trusted person to hold on to until you’ve completed your draft. Make the amount high enough that losing it will be painful if you don’t finish; depending on your circumstances, the amount might be $100, $500, or even $1,000. Earning your cash back can help keep you motivated!
7. Stay Healthy
Your physical and emotional health will absolutely play a part in your productivity. Burnout is a real thing, so sleep, eat, play, and keep hydrated.
Be kind to yourself; if you need to take some time off from your project, do it, but update your schedule and your plan, and take time off with intention.
Remember, finishing your project is your goal, so playing hooky on the schedule you’ve set for yourself moves you further from your vision.
8. Mark Progress
I find checking things off of my list enormously satisfying and motivating. I also mark progress by tracking word counts, streaks where I’ve met my goals, and beating my estimates. Give yourself a visual way to mark your progress. If you get stuck in the slog, look at the progress you’ve made to help refresh your motivation.
9. Banish Perfectionism
Perfectionism is a type of procrastination born of fear. Fear of failure, ridicule, success- whatever makes you shiver.
While we all strive to do the best work we can, it’s healthy (and liberating!) to realize perfect is unattainable. This project will stand as a milestone marker on your journey, and that’s okay.
10. Celebrate Milestones
As you complete the steps you outlined in your plan, celebrate them! Each step completed gets you that much closer to finishing your project. You’ve worked hard, you’ve sacrificed time and money, and you deserve to feel good about what you’ve accomplished.
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