[[Notes]] - Topics: [[Productivity]], [[Perfection]] - People: [[Thomas Frank]] - Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ai8Irb7L_JM --- ## Summary - Limit key factors to enable you to move forward. - Limit choice, time, scope, tools, and your ability to undo. - [[Limit your focus, not your ambition]]. - [[To focus is to choose]]. - [[There are many reasons to stop doing something. Remember why you started. That's the only reason that matters.]] - [[Focus on producing, not perfection]]. - [[Perfection is achieved through prolific imperfect production]]. - [[The moment that momentum is lost marks the boundaries of your comfort]]. - [[Break the boundary and make it through. Don't let the boundary break you.]] ## Notes - We are very good at having ideas. We are very good at starting projects. We're just not very good at finishing them. - [[The moment that momentum is lost marks the boundaries of your comfort]]. Push beyond these boundaries to do the hard but important thing of finishing what you started. - [[The boundary is the "make it or break it" moment]]. - When the boundary pushes you; you push back. - [[Break the boundary and make it through. Don't let the boundary break you.]] - You may experience many discomforts when you're deep within a project. One of these discomforts may be an overwhelming amount of choice of decisions you have to make. - This **analysis paralysis** can stop many people from finishing off their projects. - There are many reasons to stop doing something. **Remember why you started in the first place**. - If that reason still resonates, and that is the only reason that truly matters. - "The abundance of choice, more than any other factor, causes most of us to abandon the projects we start". - [[To focus is to choose]]. - Create good limitations for yourself. - Intentional limitations help you focus on what matters most. - [[Limit your focus, not your ambition]]. - **Set a time limit** for your projects. Even those that may not be time sensitive. - Time is a limiting factor that forces you to limit your choices. - Limited time expedites choice. - "When you're under time pressure, you often have to go by instinct. Just go with whatever works best." - Some projects need time they need breathing room. Be intentional about allotting time and space. Cycle between periods of intensity and periods of rest. - [[A "one minute challenge" is a brutally effective exercise that forces you to make something]] - **Purposefully limit scope**. [[Think of many things; do only one]]. - **Limit your tools**. Tools or shortcuts that you can summon. They supplement your projects. They are your project. - **Limits your ability to undo**. - [[Perfection is achieved through prolific imperfect production]]. - [[Don't undo yourself into perfectionism]]. - Make every moment count. Make it all worth it. - Undoing something may correct your perceived mistakes, but it cannot get your time back. [[Undoing corrects all things except time spent]]. - [[Command Z is not a time machine]]. - Commit to permanence. - We can build on imperfect permanence, not perfect theory. Embrace [[Happy little accidents]]. Don't undo yourself to abandon. ## Original ![[How to finish what you start-1.jpg]] ![[How to finish what you start-2.jpg]] ![[How to finish what you start-3.jpg]]