How to Finish Everything You Start - Jan Yager

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"IF YOU HAVE EVERYTHING UNDER CONTROL, YOU ARE NOT GOING FAST ENOUGH"

          - INTELLIGENT INVESTOR

About the Author:

Jan Yager, is the author of 46 books translated into 34 languages including seven titles on time management such as Work Less, Do More. She holds a Ph.D. in sociology from The City University of New York Graduate Centre.

Lets us start our journey of getting better

The Epidemic of Unfinished Everything and its Consequences:

Have you ever had trouble finishing something, a project or something personal such as a book, or even a diet?

You are not alone. There is an epidemic of a “failure to finish” disease harming not only our lives but the world we live in.

For instance:

At work-

·       Setting a vision for the organisation

·       Finishing the online class

·       Writing a report of industrial field visit etc.

Personal-

·       Paying off my fees at college

·       Losing weight

·       Getting married

·       Emptying my house of useless stuff etc.

The goal is to explore the causes, and the possible cures and then empower you to get better at finishing every task or project that you decide you want to finish.

For example – In one of my friend’s case, she has been writing amazing articles in the newspaper from several months, which has got a positive response. But when she stopped, she lost the momentum. It had truly been challenging to get back to the project and restart again.

Here the problem is identified, it is restarting the stalled project.

Solution:

Reminding yourself that, “Only by starting will you be able to finish.”

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There are behaviours, beliefs, and bad habits that might be at the root of not finishing.

1) Fear of failure happens as the early stage of life when - the child is told that 95% is not good enough. A teen opting for his/her college should select science stream over what they want to do.

Instead of a parent or a teacher building up the child’s self-esteem, they are taught to feel like a failure because they always fall short of what is expected of them.

2) In personal relationships, applying perfectionistic standards to your friends or romantic partners can also harm a wonderful connection. Learn to accept imperfection in those who care about you.

 

My brain has too many TABS open: Having Too Much to Do at Once.

Imagine, you are in office trying to reschedule a contractor who failed to adhere to his schedule appointment, and at the same time, a friend calls to discuss a death in her family.

You accept her call and continue planning to reschedule your absent contractor.

While talking with your friend, your concentration is off and you give minimum responses as she explains the details of her loss because you are searching for the next date on your calendar.

Your friend senses the disconnect and eventually ends the call in a disappointed manner. You then realize that you let her down since you were not giving her your full attention.

Solution:

If you are doing something unavoidable, request for a better time for you to call them. It is very important not to hurt the feeling of your near ones, especially during their tough days.

The solution is simple but effective.

Dealing with Procrastination:

Are you avoiding a particular task because you find it boring or unpleasant? If so, take steps to get it out of the way quickly, so that you can focus on the aspects of the job that you find more enjoyable.

For example - A poor organization skill will lead to procrastination. An organized person will successfully overcome them because they prioritized things and create effective schedules. 

Many people easily get distracted and are effortlessly pulled away from one task, to do something else. Before you know it, you soon find yourself with too many unfinished jobs or projects.

Those unfinished responsibilities start to pile up and you feel overwhelmed. If this happens at work, you could not only be damaging yourself but the entire team. It could even put you at risk of being fired.

Solution:

Learn to organize things, a simple method is to create a TO-DO List: Put things according to the importance and stick to the schedules.

Over a period of time, you will see the clutter in your professional and personal life going away.

Rethinking deadlines:

Deadlines are to be treated as a blessing rather than something to be dreaded.

For example – Your Boss gives you a job but fails to give you a deadline, give yourself one! If you do not have a deadline for an important task or project, you need to create one for yourself.

The good news about imposing deadlines on yourself is that you get to have control over projects and situations. It will definitely help you to reframe your behaviour and attitude towards completing the task.

So the deadline is a very useful tool in your quest to finish everything you start.

Failure to finish the challenge: Solution

Let us break up F-I-N-I-S-H

F – Focus on one priority task

I – Ignore interruptions or distractions

N- Now is the time, not later or tomorrow

I – Initiate and innovate so you keep going

S – Stay the course however tough it gets

H – Hail finishing by celebrating your accomplishment.

For instance – Take a project, make it a priority. Interruptions will happen but learn to deal with it and get back to the project. Do not procrastinate it.

If you are distracted or finding yourself wandering away from this priority concern, be innovative in how to keep yourself on the track.

Stick to it no matter how tough it gets, it will definitely make a difference in your career. Ultimately reward yourself once you have completed it and achieved that goal.

The more positive you make the act of finishing, the more you conquer, and with time, finishing will get easier and easier until it is no longer the challenge.

Taking control: Goal setting & Prioritizing

Setting a goal will help you decide what to tackle first.

A goal-setting approach tool acronym S.M.A.R.T introduced by Duncan Haughey is used by management to prepare a business plan which is

S - Specific

M- Measurable

A-Assignable

R- Realistic

T- Time

Goals at work and in your personal life help you to know what you want to achieve.

Once you have a clearer vision of what you want to accomplish you can put the time and energy to make it happen.

Goal not only speaks of what you want to do, it also speaks of what you do not want to do

Once the goal is set we know the difference between important and must be done versus can be rescheduled or even left undone. So - Prioritize

For example – One of the prioritizing tools taught in our management B-schools was Pareto’s 80/20 rule. Which suggests us to put 20% efforts on the task which will give 80% results.

So the key is to figure out the 20% tasks and make it a priority and ensure that you do the activities that will give you the biggest payoff, whether it is in your business or personal life.

To-Do Lists That Works

You must do what you put on your “TO DO” list.

There is something about writing things down that makes it real and this strengthens your commitment to accomplishing anything.

It can be listed in your To-Do List. The list can be organised in two ways:

1. Chronologically – list what you will do from morning till night.

2. By Importance – List by the ranking that you give to tasks, regardless of time.

Example – Do we ever make a grocery list before shopping?

If not, we will end up spending more money and time at the store. Shopping lists help with planning and accomplishing more in less time at the supermarket.

Another example - If you are working on a huge project say “planning the annual day” for a specific day, you might have to prepare tasks, as well as multiple deadlines, within the overall task.

Doing this, you are creating and monitoring your to-do list in a way to maximize your efficiency and increase the likelihood to get a project finished.

Learning to say “No”

It is okay to make yourself and your mental health a priority.

Many people struggle with saying, "No" If someone asks you for a favour or a commitment, you may feel obligated to say "Yes." Think about things like your personal boundaries and the situation at hand.

When saying "No," do so in a polite manner that makes your boundaries clear. Work on avoiding guilt after saying "No." Understand you always have a right to turn down an invitation or refuse favour.

For examples – Give a clear "No." – I really don’t have the time to run back and forth from your place this weekend. I already have plans with family."

Ask for more time before committing. You can say "I will think about it" will usually get the person off your back. This will give you time to genuinely consider your response.

Once you have thought about it, get back to the person and stick with what you have decided. Never let that person hanging. “NEVER”

Becoming a better delegator

Do you have more work than you can handle? Do you hesitate to take vacations fearing what will happen while you are gone? Do you have employees whose talents are not being fully tapped?

The answer is simple – Start Delegating.

For example - If you keep cancelling meetings or postponing important projects, it is a signal that you are taking on too much responsibility.

If you find yourself stuck doing your old job (i.e. helping write reports, answering phones, or completing cases) on any given day rather than doing more important work, you may need to delegate more of these tasks to your team.

Effective delegation is a long-term investment in your team.

It is not merely a tactic to minimize your personal workload; it is one of the most effective ways to develop your people and give them an opportunity to grow and improve.

I hope you loved reading this summary! 

Please Note: I have omitted many key points and examples from the book, if you have liked the summary I am sure you will love the book. 
Please go ahead and purchase the book and encourage the publishers. Here is the link How to Finish Everything You Start  (👈 LINK)  

Concluding thoughts:

So how do you feel once you complete what you have started?

For example, at the beginning of a new semester the college professor, teachers and students are mindful of when the course will end, and look forward to that ending.

But when the day arrives, most are unsure about the ending. Students feel nostalgic moving on to the next step in their lives.

You should rather celebrate or reward yourself. Once you have taken some time out to celebrate the victory of finishing, it is best to throw yourself into the next task or project.

Please note - To overcome the puzzle of unfinished tasks and to reinforce what you learnt, You must take steps as mentioned in the book. The more effort you put into it, the more likely you are to see positive behavioural changes in yourself.

Dear Readers,

This blog is my personal attempt to help you.  If you find this article to be helpful, kindly share it with your near and dear ones.

I would be very glad to hear your feedback, in fact, it will motivate me to continue my journey of, Blog and Teach.

Thanks for reading, I hope you apply some or all the lessons learned and become a better person consistently.

All the best!! 👍👍👍

Cheers 🍹

Intelligent Investor 

Hi,

This wonderful book has been summarized, by a very good friend. I have shared it as a guest blog. Here is a brief note about the writer:

Neha Desai

She is a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration and holds a Master's in Management with a focus on Human Resource from Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research. Her passion is Organization development.

A "perfectionist" in her work with keen "attention to details". You can connect with her on 

LinkedIn: Neha Desai  ( 👈 LINK)