Finish What's On Your Plate...
Are you constantly coming up with great ideas but never seeing them through? Bob Proctor says "excellence is a commitment to completion," and I believe this is one of the keys to success...
Happy New Week,
In the month of March, I gained a new mantra, “finish what’s on your plate”. As an ideas person, I'm constantly thinking about my ‘next’; my next move, my next campaign, or my next idea. It's easy to fall into the trap of coming up with great ideas, building them out, and then for one reason or another, abandoning them and never putting them out into the world. Most people can relate, we all have great ideas, projects, content, that are still yet to be completed and put out to the world.
“Excellence is a commitment to completion.” Bob Proctor
Seeing things through to the end is not always easy. There are countless hurdles and obstacles that will come your way and throw you off course. The opportunity or blessing you’ve been praying for could be hidden in that thing you’ve been prolonging completing. You will never know what could come from it if you don’t complete it and put it out for the world to respond to it.
It is very important to finish what you started. Finishing something that we have set out to do is extremely satisfying and enjoyable. It becomes a source of confidence that we can build upon. Anytime you finish anything, a task, project, book, it is creating a habit. When you don’t complete things you start, that also creates a habit. Success comes from completion. When we stack successes, we gain confidence that we can improve, and do better next time. This gives us satisfaction as we are growing, but growth does not come without effort.
Three tips to help you build the habit of completion
Set deadlines to complete tasks - most ideas get abandoned because they are personal ideas/projects that don’t have a deadline. When there is no time pressure it becomes something that you’ll do when you get round to it. Setting deadlines adds a sense of urgency and means that you have to complete it by a set time. Committing to having it done by a set time will lead to completion. Some people may require an extra step of setting repercussions if not achieved by the deadline.
Limit your scope so you can actually execute - when you have an idea it is easy to add a ton of things on top. This then leads to a simple idea you have becoming extremely complicated which overwhelms you. When you have an idea, task, or project, try to keep it simple, break it down into stages, once one stage is complete you can move on to the next.
Hold yourself accountable or have accountability partners - accountability is key if you want to get things done. If you have the mindset of it is your responsibility to get something done you are more likely to get it done. Having accountability partners is great because it can be the added pressure you may need to complete tasks.
You can be your biggest obstacle when it comes to finishing what you started. Your doubts, fears, and anxiety may hold you back from finishing and putting out your complete project or product. The longer you delay completing your work, the longer it takes for you to learn some meaningful things that will help you progress forward.
Success is an iterative process. You have to finish things, get feedback, act on the feedback, and go again. Completing and delivering invites learning, and when learning is a daily habit, you’re setting yourself up for success. You can not improve an idea, project, or product if you don’t complete and launch it.
When you get stuck or feel like quitting, remember ‘why you started’ and ‘what you’re doing this for’ this will give you the motivation to keep going. Remember nobody cares about how many great ideas you had, they only care about the great ideas you have brought to life. Execution is everything.
Having a to-do list and ticking things off is a great feeling. If you struggle with planning your day or don’t have a place to write down all your tasks. The Hustle Smart Productivity Planner is a tool I created to help me and others take more action and become more structured and organised.
Go back to that uncompleted project, idea, song, whatever it is, and if it’s important to you, commit to completing it.
Finish what you start this week, despite the odds!
Have a great week,
Subomi