How to Stop Procrastinating and Finish Projects

Summary

The speaker encourages tackling overwhelming tasks by focusing on the first step, like reading page one of a book. They discuss the pressure of goals and the value of living in the present. Sharing personal experiences, they highlight the importance of starting projects and the satisfaction of completing them, even if only one in ten. The speaker also addresses the guilt of unfinished projects, suggesting that they can be valuable resources for future needs. They emphasize the personal growth and learning that come from engaging with unfinished work and the idea that projects should be completed when they are needed, not just for the sake of completion.

Takeaways

• 📚 Start reading by focusing only on the first page, ignoring the rest.
• 🌳 Living in the present helps to avoid feeling overwhelmed by future goals.
• 🔍 Sometimes, goals can make tasks feel more difficult.
• 📈 Accept that not all projects will be finished; it's okay to have many unfinished ideas.
• 🎯 Prioritize finishing projects that are valuable or in demand.
• 🗒️ The speaker has many notebooks filled with ideas and unfinished projects.
• 💡 It's beneficial to start and work on many projects, even if they aren't all completed.
• 📅 A project that was started years ago can still be valuable when completed later.
• ✍️ Writing, even if unpublished, helps clarify thoughts and ideas.
• 🔑 Unfinished projects can be valuable for learning and self-improvement.
• 🌟 The value of a project is not solely in its completion but in its utility and demand.

Q & A

What is the advice given for starting to read a large book?

The advice is to start by ignoring all other pages and just focus on reading page one. The action of starting is the same regardless of the book's length.

Why does focusing on the goal of finishing a large book make it harder to start?

Focusing on the goal can make the task feel overwhelming, which is why it's suggested to live in the present and not be preoccupied with the end result.

What is the speaker's approach to handling unfinished projects?

The speaker embraces having many unfinished projects, suggesting that it's okay to have a high number of incomplete ideas, as long as some are completed when needed.

Why does the speaker believe it's beneficial to have multiple unfinished projects?

Having many unfinished projects allows the speaker to be prepared with ideas when the community or a situation requires something, leveraging the strength of being a prolific 'ideator'.

What is the significance of the speaker's statement that 'every finished project was unfinished at some point'?

It emphasizes that the state of a project being unfinished is temporary and that the value of a project is not determined by its current state but by its potential for completion when necessary.

Why does the speaker suggest that it's not necessary to publish writing to gain value from it?

The speaker believes that the act of writing itself clarifies thoughts and provides personal growth, regardless of whether the writing is published or not.

How does the speaker feel about the idea of finishing projects for the sake of finishing them?

The speaker suggests that finishing a project just for the sake of completion without a clear purpose or need is a waste of time.

What is the speaker's perspective on the value of unfinished projects?

The speaker views unfinished projects as valuable for learning about oneself, the process, and the material, and they can be completed when there is a demand or need for them.

Why does the speaker compare unfinished projects to unfinished papers from an English degree?

The comparison is made to illustrate that only projects or papers that need to be finished are completed, and the rest remain unfinished until they are ready or required.

What is the practical advice the speaker gives for dealing with the feeling of having 'finished zero' projects?

The speaker advises to not be hard on oneself for not having finished any projects yet, as everything is unfinished until it is completed, and the potential for completion exists in the future.