Starting is easy. Finishing is hard. And we all tend to beat ourselves up over our many unfinished projects. I have just as many as you do, I’m sure. So here’s a trick I thought of while talking with the very smart Rob Hatch, and I think it has real potential.
![]() |
We all have trouble finishing what we start. [An unfinished portrait. Photo (CC) by Heather Miller.] |
Starting is easy because you get to do the fun stuff. For me, the fun part is having those exciting initial discussions about an idea, and then planning out how it will work. For another friend, it’s the designing of new logos and the developing of the concept.
We love these parts because we get to do what is tasty and new. The implementation seems so much harder because we already did the fun parts. Now it’s down to the work.
What if you built in more of the fun stuff along the way? Can you find a way to give yourself little shots of the fun stuff as a reward during the hard part? Can you dream up a way to renew the project or remake it with more fun baked in?
I don’t know for sure that this will work. I’m just staring to test it myself. But it sounds pretty good to me. How would you improve on it?
New to SmallBizSurvival.com? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Get our updates.
- Check your small business website for outdated pandemic changes, missing info - January 31, 2023
- Rural Tourism Trend: electric vehicle chargers can drive visitors - January 15, 2023
- 2023 trends for rural and small town businesses - December 26, 2022
- Local reviews on Google Maps drive enduring value - December 17, 2022
- Extra agritourism revenue from camping, cabins and RVs with HipCamp - December 12, 2022
- Harvest Hosts attract vanlifers and RV tourists, Boondockers Welcome - December 2, 2022
- Holiday 2022 marketing: Tell your founding story - December 1, 2022
- Holiday 2022 Marketing: Tell your customers’ stories - November 30, 2022
- Holiday 2022 Marketing: Introduce your people - November 29, 2022
- Holiday 2022 Marketing: Share your holiday traditions - November 28, 2022
I always try to break the plan or project into very small bits. Then, the feelings of accomplishing something come much closer together. And, anyone can do the “nasty bit” if one can see that it can be finished really quickly.