(Aleksandra Domanovic’s art on stacks of paper via My Modern Metropolis)

Paper piles up.  Ideas pile up.  Projects pile up.  We flip out.

If you are surrounded by unfinished projects, it is time to take a beat and get them together.  Unfinished projects (IE: the half done screenplay, the abandoned DIY idea, the home repair left in ruins, the organizational project abandoned at the point of total chaos, etc. ) create stress, pull your focus in a million places and keep you in the “midst” of things that never get done.  Not a good place to be! 

 (Aleksandra Domanovic via My Modern Metropolis)

If you have lots of unfinished projects, its time to take stock and get them either done or deliberately off the list for now.  Making a list of what is half done and lingering (for me: recycling an old printer, getting a handbag repaired, donating clothes) is a good starting point.  Now, ask yourself “Why is this taking forever to do?”

Two major reasons things don’t get done: you aren’t sure how to do them or you are discouraged in the midst. There are other reasons, but these are the ones I hear most.  What don’t you know how to do? Who or what discouraged you? Can you call up friends or do some Googling to find experts that can help? Yes you can!

For creative projects, its a good idea to ask yourself if you actually still want to do the project.  There’s no shame in scrapping a draft of a script or painting over a painting. Just make sure its not a decision based on self-sabotage!

Now, once you are clear on what you have to do, just start. Even if you just start researching and asking for help to begin.   Make it a priority to get these lingering things out of the way.  The space in your psyche that is freed-up when you complete or scrap this stuff is astonishing! 

Good luck! xoxo Dana