What Is One Thing You Will Finish This Year?
I ended up writing about two things in this post: one thing and the social reality effect. Feel free to skip to either one.
Around this time every year, I find myself with many things I want to do and many things I've started doingâall paired with waning focus and motivation.1
Coincidentally, the fall also seems to be the busiest and most stressful time at work, which drains my creative energy.
What Is One Thing You Will Finish This Year?
In these times of limited mental resources, I find it useful to choose one thing2 to focus on. Choosing one thing sets me up for success by (1) stripping away almost all expectations and (2) making it extremely easy to know how to focus my time.
Through answering this question, I've gained clarity on what matters the most. If you don't know what this is, trying to answer the question of one thing at least forces you to think about your priorities. Newton's first law of motion often applies to humans too. When we're in motion, we tend to stay in motionâeven if that motion isn't directed towards the things that matter the most to us.
Through answering this question, I've been able to grant myself permission to stop working on the things I can't seem to get across the finish line in favor of getting one thing done. This may sound obvious, but I struggle to quit and tend to let things fizzle out.
But what about the time I've already spent on those other things?
Yes, one option is to view the time already spent on other things as a sunk cost! It's true that you'll never get that time back. But on the flip side, stopping other things to focus on one thing is an effort to ensure the time working on your one thing isn't wasted.
Additionally, being able to actually finish something is bit of a lost artâat least for me. These days especially, it seems that the bar to start doing anything you want is really low. Intrinsic motivation and a little bit of discipline are usually required to see something through to the end. To me, these skills are like musclesâthey need to be worked every once in a while to be ready for action when you need them.
Now that I have my one thing that I am planning on finishing this year, can I share it?
No! Whatever you do, please do not share your one thing! It must be kept a secret. Keep reading to learn why.
What Is One Thing I Will Finish This Year?
While I'd love to share it with you, my aim is for you to find out through my actions rather than my words.
Seriously though, I won't tell anyone due to the social reality effect. It frequently contributes to me not finishing things I've started.
When you share your goals, you are neurologically rewarded for doing so, which tricks your brain into thinking you've artificially made more progress than you actually have, which decreases your drive to continue on and make more progress.
Is this phenomena more than pseudoscience? I'm not entirely sure. But I do believe there is at least something to it, especially at the start of an endeavor. At the outset of something, you often have very consequential things and an overwhelming number of things to figure out. Paired with zero momentum, it is easy to see why you might struggle to get away from the starting line and across the finish line.
So in my effort to get my one thing across the finish lineâI won't tell you my one thing and please don't tell me your one thing until you've accomplished it. Though consider sending me an email when you do :)
Last year I found myself in the same boatâI had started many things but struggled to finish them due to the mental and creative constraints this time of the year. Last year, my solution was: don't start anything new, just finish the things you've already started. How many of the ~5 things did I actually finish? I don't think any. In retrospect, I think I had way too many things that I wanted to do and it wasn't clear where to focus my time.↩
I regularly use this strategy at work. I write down one thing that if accomplished, the day can be considered a success. I find it most effective to proactively plan the one thing the day before so that your one thing isn't a result of reacting to the emails received in the morning.↩