Here’s How to Finish Anything You Start

Everybody loves finishing tasks and putting a big check mark next to completed to-dos. When it’s a bigger project or a longer-term task, sometimes that check mark seems impossibly far away. So how do you get to the finish line?

A few strategies work no matter what it is you’re trying to finish. Most importantly, set goals, pace yourself, and find the motivation to get past whatever obstacle is hindering your progress.

Here are specific tips and tricks to pass the tough spot and finish different kinds of tasks.

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Reading a book

What happens: You’re a few pages in, and so far you’re into it. But then life happens. Life might take the form of TV, Facebook, a new app, or actual work. Whatever the reason, next thing you know, the book has been sitting on your bedside table for weeks. It just has so many pages.

Try this: Get out of the mindset where you’re counting down how many pages you have left. Focus on what you like about the book: what about the story or the argument made you pick it up in the first place? Try reading five or ten pages a day—if you get into it and read more than what you’ve assigned yourself, even better. Before you know it, you’ll be wondering how all those pages flew by.

Writing a book

What happens: You have a great idea, a stunning outline, and a handful of pages. Some authors get stuck on page ten, some get stuck on page one hundred. A book is no small task, and it’s easy to get discouraged. You say “I’ll finish one day…” but that “one day” never seems to roll around.

Try this: Pick a precise date that will be your “one day.” Set small goals leading up to that day. If you don’t have many pages yet, set a goal for how much you’ll write each day. If you have way too many pages, create a strategy for how you’ll edit and organize what you have. Make an outline, set deadlines for yourself, rally some friends and editors, and keep going.

Need more specifics? Dive into our article on tips and tricks for long-form writers.