Letting go of Unfinished Projects
Why letting go is following your today’s joy
I have never NOT finished a book I started…
Call it the Completionist (a gentler word for a recovering perfectionist?) in me or falling victim to the sunk cost fallacy or loving to add another checkmark to my productivity list, but once I start a book, I desire to finish it. It might take me a long time to finish it…but I do eventually do it.
Which is why, when faced with a surface-level easy decision of deciding whether to stop reading a book midway and return it to the library, felt monumental to me. I had interesting feelings come up around the decision, which gave me cause to reflect. I realized these feelings are similar to the ones we encounter when we look at our piles of unfinished projects that we’ve kept for years, but still haven’t gotten to.
Maybe for you it’s an unfinished craft project or a hobby you thought you’d always return to. Maybe for you it’s the travel photo album you thought you’d make or like me, a book that you started, but never finished. Maybe you’ve attached a meaning or identity to yourself around this project and it feels bad to abandon it now.
A case for letting go of the unfinished…
In my case, this was my circumstance: I was only a quarter of the way through this book, but had also committed to reading another book for a book club with some friends for June. So, here I was, a few days into June, and I knew I didn’t have the time to get through two books in a month.
My first course of action? Try to speed-read through the first book I had already started. I spent 30 minutes reading one day, and that’s when it dawned on me — I enjoyed the book, but I wasn’t in the right mindset to read it. The truth was, I was speeding through it because if I were to honestly ask myself what I wanted to read right now, in this moment…if I asked myself, what I wanted to spend 30 minutes reading today…it wasn’t this book.
And that’s when I realized, I wasn’t following my joy. I was following my “shoulds.” And my “shoulds” sounded like: But, I’ve already started it and I always finish books!
But my joy, was saying… enjoy a new fiction book and there is a deeper opportunity to connect with your friends, here — take it. It was also loudly saying, girl, do not stress yourself out over finishing two books in one month, that will definitely NOT bring you joy.
So, I made the decision to return the book to the library unfinished. I relieved myself of the stress and burden of it hanging over me visually and physically in my space, and mentally in my mind. It just didn’t fit with where I was right now or with my priorities, in this moment. And that was OK.
(Bonus points: returning the book to the library, also gave someone else the opportunity to read it and make use of it now!).
Getting clear on your priorities of today
If I ever decide I want to return to this beautiful book, I can find the book again and really enjoy it when I’m ready. I might do it, I might not do it…but, I get to clear my space and get clear on how I want to spend my time today.
Letting go is following your today’s joy. And that’s the beauty of letting go of unfinished projects. When you let go, you get to amplify what’s important to you right now, eliminating the stressors that unfinished tasks trigger. You get clear on your priorities mentally and get clear on your space’s priorities, all rolled into one. If a project or task turns into a priority in the future, you can be in the right mindset to tackle it then.
Helpful questions to help decide if you should let go of an unfinished project*
*An unfinished project can be anything interrupted mid-way, never started, or a future aspiration.
How long has this project sat unfinished or untouched? Are the pieces and related supplies still in good quality? This can help set mindset for timeliness and evaluation of what is needed to finish the project.
Would I rather be doing something else than finishing this project? This will help clarify your priorities.
If suddenly, this unfinished project disappeared, how would I feel? If you would feel relieved to have it gone, take it as a sign to let it go. If you feel sad, block out a time in your calendar right now, to start working on the project. If you’re not sure, I urge you to try working on it for 15 minutes and see how you feel.
What are the factors that are stopping me from completing this project? Let this be your guide in deciding whether taking the time to overcome these factors is a priority.
Why do I want to finish this project? This can help you decide if the motivation for the project still resonates. The reason of “because I’ve kept it for so long” is not a good reason. A reason connected to your ideal lifestyle or current priorities is.
Can I easily return to it in the future? Though you might argue that it might mean that you may need to repurchase or borrow supplies, recognize that there are other costs (space, energy, and time, to name a few) involved with keeping it.
✨Are there any unfinished projects you can release today?✨
