3 tips for finishing

Finishing is a key skill in life. “Flow, focus, finish and, as a by-product, find fulfilment,” is the motto. Sounds easy in theory, but how does it work in practice? For example, how can you complete a book, perform well to the final whistle in a sporting event or finish a project successfully? Here are three tips for finishing.

1) You can clarify your successful pattern for finishing.

Try tackling the exercise called Finishing. Looking back at your life, describe something you have finished successfully. What did you do right then? Be super specific. For example, one person said:

“Five years ago I finally completed work on refurbishing the ‘Granny annexe’ at our house, something I had delayed for years. First, I decided whether or not I wanted to do it. Certainly I could have hired a local builder - which would have freed up time - but I chose to finish it myself. Second, I set aside time to do the job, booking long weekends over a period of 12 months. I ring-fenced this time, rather than allowing it to become cluttered by other events.”

“Third, I established a working ritual, starting on Friday morning, working all day and most of Saturday, then allocating the rest of the weekend to the family. Fourth, I made it as pleasurable as possible, playing my favourite music, listening to the radio and having frequent coffee breaks. Fifth, I followed the discipline and kept working until it was finished. Now my teenage kids have moved into that part of the house - so Granny will have to wait.”

Clarify your successful pattern for finishing. Consider how you can follow similar principles in the future. There may also be other strategies and skills you can add to be an even better finisher. (You may have different patterns in your personal and professional life. For example, when moving-on from a relationship or completing a work project.) Try completing the exercise on this theme – then go onto the next step.

Finishing

The time I finished something successfully was:

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The specific things I did to finish it successfully were:

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The steps I can take to finish things successfully in the future are:

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2) You can choose something you want to finish.

Looking into the future, choose something you want to finish. Be selective to be effective. You can’t complete everything in life. Providing you accept the consequences, it can be okay to say: “I don’t want to finish it.” Then focus on other priorities. Identify what you want to finish and treat it like a ‘project’. Employ good planning exercises. For example, start by clarifying your picture of perfection. Identify the pluses and minuses involved in reaching the goal - and decide whether you want to go for it. If so, clarify the three things you can do to give yourself the greatest chance of success. Create a road map - a project plan - for achieving the picture of perfection. Try completing the following sentence.

The specific thing I would like to finish in the future is:

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3) You can follow your successful pattern - then flow, focus and finish.

Set aside time to finish, otherwise you are destined to fail. Divide the task into reasonable chunks and set yourself a realistic goal for each time period. Reaching it will give you a sense of achievement. The next step is to follow your successful pattern. Writing in her book The Creative Habit, the choreographer Twyla Tharp recommends establishing daily habits. Now in her 60s, she starts her day at 5.30 am, walks out of her Manhattan flat and hails a cab. This takes her to the gym for a two hour workout. Twyla believes that starting the day properly propels you towards your goal. She writes:

“Being creative is an everyday thing, a job with its own routines … The routine is as much part of the creative process as the lightening bolt of inspiration (perhaps more). And it is available to everyone. If creativity is a habit, then the best creativity is a result of good work habits.”

Make good use of your prime times - the times when you have most energy. Eat properly, take time to relax, rest and recover. Encourage yourself. Surround yourself with positive things - people, music or whatever. Everybody experiences setbacks. When you hit difficulties, lift your eyes to focus on the picture of perfection. See things in perspective. If possible, learn to love the process as much as reaching the prize.

Do the right things in the right way every day. Be calm, controlled and centred. Keep working hard and, almost as a by-product, you will finish. Relax. Clarify what you did well - and how you can do more of these things in the future. Clarify what you can do even better next time - and how. Try completing the following sentence.

The specific things I can do to flow, focus and finish are:

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Finishing is just another name for beginning. Soon it will be time to find another challenge to tackle, another dream to pursue. You can then again follow your successful pattern for finishing. Enjoy the journey.

3 tips for delivery

Great workers focus on desire, discipline and delivery. They begin by having a strong desire to reach a specific goal. They then follow daily disciplines and continue until they deliver. Looking back on your life, can you think of a time when you followed these principles? You may have been learning a skill, writing a book, launching a product or whatever. What did you do right then? How can you follow similar principles in the future? Let’s explore these steps to doing fine work.

* You can focus on desire.

Looking to the future, think of a goal you want to achieve. You may want to take care of your health, start a business, lead a team or whatever. Start by describing your goal, then consider your desire on several levels. First, be crystal-clear on what you really ‘desire’. Make sure you know the real results you want to achieve. Second, be clear on the benefits. You can keep focusing on these when times get tough. First, be clear on your level of motivation for reaching the goal. Make sure it is at least 8/10. Try completing the following sentences, then move onto the next step.

Desire. The specific goal I want to achieve is:

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The real results I want to achieve by reaching the goal are:

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The benefits of reaching the goal will be:


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The desire I have to reach the goal – on a scale 0-10 - is:

____ / 10


* You can focus on discipline.

Great workers develop good habits. Tiger Woods, JK Rowling and Steven Spielberg, for example, follow their daily disciplines. So do people who want to change their life-styles. Sophie, for example, wanted to retake control of her life. She wanted to be healthier, happier and feel successful. That meant developing fresh habits. First, she began eating healthier food. Being an inveterate ‘nibbler’, she chose to eat fruit, rather than bags of crisps. Second, she returned to attending dancing classes on the weekend, rather than sit waiting for her husband to return from his golf. Third, she developed the habit of getting an early success at work each morning and this helped to set the agenda for the day. How can you follow this path in your own way? Bearing in mind the result you want to achieve, try completing the following sentence.

Disciplines. The disciplines I can follow to work towards reaching the goal are:

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* You can focus on delivery.

Great workers are good finishers. They keep going until they deliver the goods. Professional writers, for example, break-down their assignment into chunks, establish a daily rhythm, encourage themselves on the journey and so on. “That’s the way I do it,” said one author. “Writing a book takes at least a year. So I set the goal of completing at least 3 pages a day. Reaching this target produces a sense of success.” What is your successful pattern for finishing? How can you follow it to reach your goal? Try completing the following sentence.

Delivery. The specific things I can do to do my best to deliver are:

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“Delivery is crucial in my business,” said one MD. “So I also use this three step model when leading teams. First, I establish that the team really has the desire to reach a specific goal. I ask: ‘Bearing in mind both the pluses and minuses involved, are we prepared to do the hard work?’ Second, I encourage people to pursue the required disciplines. Third, I do everything possible to ensure that people deliver the goods. Previously I made mistakes by assuming people were motivated, but not checking this out properly. Now I go through all three stages.”

You will follow these steps in your own way. Whether you are working as an individual or leading a team, you will focus on desire, discipline and delivery. This will give you the greatest chance of success.