I’ll never tire of saying it: productivity doesn’t mean doing more things; it means completing them. Busyness is doing things. Productivity is getting things done. Jesus said a healthy tree is known by its fruit (Matthew 7:17). Lots of leaves, no fruit? That’s a problem. When we don’t discipline ourselves to see things through, we might burn plenty of energy, but we’re not actually bearing fruit. We aren’t producing anything when we don’t finish what we start.

There’s something intoxicating about starting a new project—gathering supplies, the fresh notebook smell, the rush of possibility. But when the shine of motivation wears off, it’s easy to let ourselves drift to the next exciting thing.

But finishing what you start is a mark of maturity. 

I often marvel at the efficiency of my children’s mess-making abilities. They start playing with Legos, get bored, then get out the craft supplies, next it’s the doll house, and in thirty minutes flat, the living room I just picked up is a disaster again.

That’s what kids do. And it’s our job as parents to train them to finish what they start, clean up after a job is done, and not leave behind a trail of half-done projects. 

Even as adults, sometimes we need that same reminder to finish what we start.

Today, I want to suggest three reasons to be a finisher. And at the end, I’ll offer some practical tips for how to train yourself in this vital skill.

1. Unfinished work is a burden to the mind.

Psychologists call it the Zeigarnik effect: incomplete tasks create “open loops” in the mind that consume mental bandwidth even when you’re not working on them.

We all know the guy (or have been the guy) who tears apart the leaky faucet on an ambitious Saturday, then leaves it disassembled for six months. Physical messes at least serve as a built-in reminder to finish what you started. But mental half-starts just drain you.

A mind full of half-done projects is a mind that can’t rest or focus.

Read More