Do You Have Finishiative?
I was cleaning up the desktop on my laptop yesterday when I saw a file I didn’t recognize. I opened it. It was a partly completed gratitude challenge. I had checked off the first six days of October and the 15th of the month. But the rest of the gratitude calendar was blank.
I’d obviously started off with good intentions. I had the initiative to begin, but I lacked the conviction to finish. I’m sure there are excuses: I got busy with other things, I forgot, something came up, or I didn’t feel inspired. But the reality is I didn’t finish what I set out to do.
How many projects have you started and not finished?
If you’re like me, there are lots.
Today, I came across a piece of writing by the scientist Bill Nye. In it, he coined the term “finishiative”. He describes it as having both initiative and perseverance or the ability to finish what you start. I like that word for all too often I focus on the initiative. I’m great at telling myself and others what I’m excited about starting but not so hot about my non-completions.
But, I’m not into shaming and blaming myself. So, I’ve adopted another of Nye’s concepts: monotasking. In contrast to the popular “multitasking”, monotasking applies your focus to one thing or step at a time in order to maximize efficiency. For the past couple of years, I’ve been using Focusmate (www.focusmate.com), an online platform that lets you schedule 50-minute work sessions with a partner. You show up, introduce yourself, and share the task you’re going to work on. At the end of the session, you share your achievement. I have become far more productive since I’ve started using Focusmate because I have “finishiative”. Working with a partner provides accountability. I’m far more likely to do what I’ve told my partner I’m going to do. If left to myself, I could easily come up with a dozen excuses for procrastinating or putting off the task forever. Like my gratitude calendar.
Thanks to “finishiative” I’m pleased to say that I completed all 30 days of my November gratitude project. And I’ve begun one for December. And the 3 things that top my list? Gratitude for Focusmate, monotasking, and finishiative.
If you are great at starting projects but not following through with them, don’t beat yourself up. Sign up to Focusmate, practise monotasking, and adopt a little finishiative. You’ll be surprised at how much more productive you become.
Michael Williams is a recovering perfectionist and procrastinator who enjoys writing, storytelling, playing the ukulele, and helping folks organize their affairs and plan for their future life wishes. He considers his local mall his “church” and you’ll often find him there partaking in the communion of the masses.
