Get that monkey off your back

I finally sent the book to the editor. And I had the rare opportunity to bask in the afterglow of finishing a project I have been working on for weeks now.

This “completion elation” surprised me a little. I was not working on it all the time. After the first week had passed, and I had compiled most of the material, it was hard to stay focused on it. The initial energy of the idea had gone. I wanted to do everything else but the project on hand.

I am becoming more and more convinced that in today’s age of too many choices (and distractions), we should finish any project as quickly as possible. There are too many new things all the time demanding our attention.

We spend too much time on a project because we want a certain degree of perfection. But often, perfection leads to procrastination.

Completion of something permits you to choose something else to take its place. That is why it is so important to finish that thing that you have started or had been on your list for a long time.

Procrastination not only fills you with guilt and self-loathing but also denies you the opportunity to move on other fun things that come next.

Get that monkey off your back.

Here is what you can do. Pick one thing that you have been postponing or slogging away for some time. Use the WOOP technique (Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, and Plan) to identify those obstacles and plan how to overcome those. Then forge ahead with new momentum. Finish it as quickly as you can.

Don’t aim for perfection, Go for completion.