Do you have projects that you have yet to finish? Come on, moment of truth. I do. Not one, but many. I have essays I started a long time ago, and then I put them in the “work in progress” folder. Yes, I have one of those and I might as well rename it ‘never to be finished stuff” because at the rate I am going it feels that way. I go there like one goes into a museum in an old town where there are some interesting things to see but same old same old, nothing new for ages. And then I have stories I started writing and said I will finish the next day, and the day never came. And I have photographs I have yet to organize and … yes, a long long list.
Let’s face it, there will always be something unfinished and that’s just fine. A writer needs a folder of drafts that will sit there like somewhat lost, yet still hopeful travelers waiting for the inspiration train to take them along. I don’t think I will ever be so organized to not have any unfinished projects. Nor do I want to, quite frankly. But too many get my stomach in knots more than I care to admit. Now they are all organized into “unfinished projects I want to deal with” and “unfinished projects I will let be”.
OK, so we have named the problem. If you can relate, let’s roll and find a solution for the “unfinished projects I want to deal with”. Here’s my plan, nothing fancy or I’ll get lost again:
- Keep the projects that I intend to finish. That means, no mercy. Taking a look at each and every one of them and discard the hopeless ones.
- Take one project a day or one weekly for the big ones and deal with it.
- If it becomes a hopeless one as I go, admit it, toss it and move on.
Will it work? I don’t know, but I’ll do my best. And if it worked before, it will again. There is something so very satisfying and addictive about a job well done, don’t you agree?
Ready to give it a try?