# On finishing things

![rw-book-cover](https://readwise-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/static/images/article1.be68295a7e40.png)

## Metadata
- Author: [[alexreichert.com]]
- Full Title: On finishing things
- Category: #articles
- URL: https://www.alexreichert.com/blog/finishing
- Archive: https://web-archive.alecodes.page/bookmarks?bf=1&search=&title=On%20finishing%20things

> [!note]
> **Background:** The intent is to develop the ability to consistently complete projects in a timely manner while overcoming obstacles related to accountability, clarity of goals, and the fear of sharing work.
> - [ ] 📝 **Create a project specification document for each new project to clarify goals and outline necessary tasks.**
> - [ ] ⏳ **Set a deadline for project completion, ideally within 2 to 4 weeks, to establish a concrete finish line.**
> - [ ] 🌐 Develop a public projects page to share specs, demos, and retrospectives, including unfinished projects, to foster a sense of accountability.
> - [ ] 🎯 Regularly review and adjust project goals to ensure they are clear and measurable, reducing procrastination.
> - [ ] 🔄 Share work with peers or a community for feedback to overcome the fear of sharing and validate project usefulness.
> [!tldr]
> Finishing projects can be really challenging, as it's often unclear when something is truly complete. Sharing work publicly can help overcome this difficulty and offer personal growth, accountability, and potential connections. To improve, setting clear goals and deadlines can make it easier to push through to the finish line.

## Highlights
This begs the question: why is it important to share your work with the world?
First, because there's practically no downside, and very, very high potential upside. [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01j68aj6hyksvsfzm62xr7y5k7)) [[favorite]] 

because it's weirdly therapeutic. In the same way that journaling can alleviate anxiety by externalizing it, writing publicly encourages you to process your thoughts more rigorously, and launching an app forces you to find out if your idea has legs or not. [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01j68akfqnw95egtaczyadh2z8)) [[productivity]] 

First of all, more often than not, the end goal is neither clear nor concrete. It's not obvious where the "finish line" even is. When this is the case, it's easy to procrastinate by nitpicking the design, adding little flourishes, or using "perfectionism" as an excuse. [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01j68anqkv399fr50q8qhehvgm)) [[favorite]] [[productivity]] 

I think there are two strategies that would help a lot: 1) writing a spec (i.e. a plan) upfront, and 2) timeboxing the project by giving myself a deadline. [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01j68aq1fbhqx79hp9mnvn39n1)) [[productivity]] [[favorite]] 

I've started setting up a [projects page](https://www.alexreichert.com/projects), where I plan to share the specs, demos, and retrospectives of my personal projects. Even for the "unfinished" ones, sharing them here gives me a small sense of closure. [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01j68ath2r2az2v2hwzc6y7jxt))

