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.

2 thoughts on “Get that monkey off your back

  1. Margaret

    Yah, I Like it.. “Get The Monkey off Your Back”. Good advice. It has motivated me.. to keep going. finish what I started.!! Thanks Neera..!

Comments are closed.

Recommended Posts

Motivation Productivity

Making Time

Productivity is not about doing more in less time. It is not about making to-do lists, prioritizing them, or even outsourcing. It is about “making time” in your day for the things you care about. What are your priorities? – Spending time with your family?– Learning a language?– Starting a […]

Neera
Inspirational

Self-doubt Is Our Ally

Self-doubt is your key to success. Self-confidence is overrated. Every personal development book puts “confidence” as the number one skill to achieve your goals. Like, if you have “self-confidence” everything else will come by default. The problem is most people don’t have self-confidence. Whereas everyone has self-doubt. It is almost […]

Neera