As I renovate my home I am learning lots of interesting little things about the way I work. One lesson that is coming to the forefront as of late is finish what you start.
I'm always faced with a never-ending list of things to demo, make, buy, and refinish...a continual juggling act. What I discovered throughout my renovation is although I may try to focus on one area, another area always seems to come together first, so I just go with it. I love this spontaneous and surprising process, it keeps me on my toes. What I don't love is when an area is 90% done, and all I have left are just the mundane details or the not so fun parts to tie up loose ends...my attention starts drifting off elsewhere.
I've recognized once I've nearly finished a project and see that it's really coming together, I get a little bored and anxious, and want to move over to something else that is screaming for help. If I am waiting for the rest of the concept to gel in my mind or finding the right finishing touches then I'm fine with holding off, but when I am just being lazy about finishing the not so fun parts, that's gotta stop. Here is how I'm trying to combat this unfocused method of working:
Focus, Focus, Focus: Every time my mind starts wandering to a different project beyond the one on hand, I pause what I am doing, and write the idea down for later to keep on trucking with the task at hand.
Picture The Finished Product: Now I am able to see the finish product and get excited about the potential, so I have to keep visualizing the grand finale when I begin feeling the itch of distraction. It's also good to keep telling myself how nice it will be to be completely done with the space and not have to think about it anymore.
List It Out: As I'm in the process deciding on what area I am going to focus on, I am continually listing everything I need to do finish it from beginning to end. This prevents me from not moving on until everything has been crossed off my to-do list.
Multitasking Is Not A Virtue: Although multitasking has its time and place, I use it way too much. In the process of renovating, it is better to start and finish one project than start and almost finish four at the same time.
Distraction: I often listen to podcasts while I work, and I have begun to save episodes I'm really excited to hear for those last few tasks that I am really not looking forward to. It is a good distraction and helps me forge ahead.
Does anyone else out there find themselves in this predicament and how do you combat it? Let us know below.
(Image: Alysha Findley)
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I love the podcast idea. That could really get me to my desk for those unwanted but necessary tasks.
maybe we're twins separated at birth.
I know a lot of contractors that suffer from this, too. As soon as the initial euphoria of the work has faded, they are on to greener pastures.
What works for me 100 percent of the time is to send out invitations to a party when I start a project .. so that I have a real deadline!
Funny podcasts work best, you laugh while you work!
I like BarbaraEllen's idea - impending company works for cleaning my house. A party would be great incentive to stay on track and finish.
My friends are amused by all the 90% done projects in my house, so the company angle doesn't work so well. I'm about to try something really radical: make a list!
My 3 year old said it best, "mommy, you need to get all the people here to fix this spotty floor". Get help when you are too stuck to move on!
I'm totally in the same boat ... I get impatient when the project is close to done!
I now have a NO NEW PROJECTS mantra until I either complete the few I have started, or move them on to someone who will. I just craigs-listed some awesome MCM office chairs that I picked up and was planning to recover ... a year ago. Yes, it's time to let them go. I'm a bit heartbroken over it b/c I can see their potential, but they're not doing me any good in the condition their in, and I don't see them fitting into my schedule over the next few months. The truth hurts!
Impending company/visitors is also my DIY motivation. My husband and I were married in our home 3 months after we moved in. We accomplished more DIY projects in those 3 months than we have in the last 10 years!
Love the impending company idea!
I'm the opposite of the author in that when I'm 90% done I go on a roll and steam through, it's around that 50% mark that things usually fall apart. I'll get distracted or some emergency project will pop up and once I lose that momentum from the start it's very hard for me to get it back again without the end in sight.
I'm a big list person, I have lists for everything. Haven't made lists for the house reno because I'm atually scared to see all that stuff written down!
That picture sums up my house. I've been toying with the idea of rewarding myself with something nice when each project is completed. New mirror for the living room? Not until the molding is finished!
I am in school and a lot of the work is independently done with packets due at certain intervals. I use similar techniques to meet those deadlines (and the party idea is great because it sets an external deadline!). I will consider using any I am not currently using. Thanks!
I'd like to add, set long term goals and short term goals. With a renovation some projects are quick and some take months. Some are cheap and some are expensive.
If you have a clear idea of the category of the goal, it is easier to complete the goal.
And parties definitely work for a deadline.
This is great motivation for me. i bought an apartment over a year ago that needed help on every square inch of space - save for the wood floors in the living room. I've contracted renovation fatigue or something lately, and it's taking me forever to get the energy to get back to the living room wall and ceiling patching -mundane tasks which are hard to accomplish especially when there's gorgeous weather and a full social calendar. I've been tackling the reno room by room but it seems there are always loose ends! I will be creating my milestones directly into my calendar for the next couple months, and pen in dates with myself in order to finish my living room before mid november.
I like @tiffanyseattle 's reward idea and will need to keep it in mind for my "almost done" project list! Lord knows my list is very long...that's a lot of rewards coming my way! :D
Fellow sufferer!
An additional challenge is that I'll take time off work to get a project done; complete the bulk of it just before I have to return to work; leave the trim until the next chance I get; and then instead of finishing the trim, I take on another project!
It really is so much more satisfying, though, to behold a 100% complete project. We just gotta stick to our guns and get 'er done!
My husband is really good and keeping me grounded and on task. I am oft to get carried away on a new project (last weekend I was working on the guest room when I decided to customize a new mailbox!) My better half steps in and puts me back on the right path. I also try to leave the fun stuff for last, the pretty final touches. That makes the last bit fun.
UGH, this post reminds me that I have a bedroom that has been without floorboards for about 5 years.
I finished my bathroom renovation about 7 years ago and thought that I had better touch up paint the floor boards so they have a nice glossy finish. I failed to do that and now they NEVER look clean. I also have a bare bulb for lighting since in 7 years, I have NEVER settled on a new fixture.
i have this 'itis too. podcasts work well and so do fluff novels. i listened to the hunger games while i was finishing my bathroom. i barely even noticed that i was working.
A common problem, obviously. I think, for me, it's time in my life to just STOP. I have too many projects all the time, too many thrifty cool "I can fix that" projects, resulting in end products I don't need. (Like the chair rehab I saw here -- painted white, blue-and-white upholstery, found the exact same chair for $5 at the thrift store... but no place to use the finished chair. Y'know?)
THANK HEAVENS I'M NOT ALONE.
To me though it seems like it HAS to be psychological. Otherwise, why in the world would I so strongly avoid one or two more days' work on a project that has taken me weeks or months?
Armchair psychologists love to say "we're afraid of success, not failure" but at least for me, that's baloney, I think it's more that every time I'd finish something as a kid, its drawbacks would be pointed out, or some other passive aggressive technique utilized to keep me from being happy and celebratory.
I always got A's in school, but when the primary care(not)-giver never approves, it outweighs all the outside praise. I know, boo-hoo. But I think it's a valid hypothesis.
Oh projectitis, what a malady! It's just so much easier and way more fun to start a project. Finishing is often derailed by dissatisfaction with the less than perfect results, wildly underestimating how much work/expense would be involved, other people dragging me off in some other direction with their projects, or a variety of little niggling details. I have a sewing room full of "almost finished" projects that I'm now going through and either finishing, reworking or dumping back in the raw material pile.
I am horrible about having five or six projects going on at the same time. What I do now is refuse to buy anything for the next project until the current one is complete. Helps to reduce clutter in the garage too.
I was not prepared for the reality of renovating our house. My husband did try to tell me. But I could not truly comprehend the never-ending mess/tasks/decision making.
I agree- podcasts are the greatest. And the having company idea is effective, but I find it incredibly stressful and don’t look forward to having the guests as much as I look forward to it all just being over.
My husband and I were in a habit of both working for a set amount of time at night on house projects neither of us wanted to do. Painting molding, tedious stuff like that. Summer derailed it, but the schedule was really helpful in forcing us to get things finished.
I am really looking forward to the comments for this article because, if I had to name my most perplexing and annoying habit, this would be it. I NEVER finish anything..not even a cup of coffee!! (OK, I have finished a few projects, but not many)
I have no idea why I do this, but it drives me nuts. Right now I have a half dozen unfinished drawings, a partially painted room, a couple of pieces of partially refinished furniture, two e-books that are 80% finished and and dozens of other loose ends waiting for my attention..Why oh why can't I get them done????
I am hoping some of the wonderful people here on Apartment Therapy will help me to get my act together at least a little bit more.
PS I am no kid..I should know better by now!
I have a few friends who are great 'finishers' -- I am envious of their ability and when I get to the end, I think of them and I mantra 'be a finisher' "be a finisher' 'be a finisher'...
It sort of helps..
The hard thing for me is my extremely limited budget. When i see something that I want for a future project that is extremely cheap I scoop it up. This means that I never have a total room bought but several things for several different rooms. So I work on different rooms at the same time. It drives me crazy. I just wish I had all the money, time, and ability to finish each room in a month. Oh well, first world problems.
lists, accountability, dates, deadlines and a finish deadline all help.
pve
Podcasts and News are my form of entertainment.... especially during house work and projects! Don't know what I'd do without them!
I'm with the "Plan a Party" consensus here. I have found that planning a party ALWAYS means projects will get finished and heavy cleaning will be done. I also have lists. Master lists of all projects for each room and then prioritized lists of things that are the most critical and need to be finished first. When I start a new project, I try to list all of the steps that must be done for the job to be completed and crossing things off makes me feel like I'm accomplishing something. I have adult ADHD, so I need all of the structure I can get to complete tasks.
Start one job before you begin another. An excellent rule. One I've never learned to follow.
I suffer from ADD when it comes to my creative projects. These are great tips and will definitely give them a try the next time I want to start something else before finishing what I am working on.
Hire someone.
I couldn't decide on a paint color so I had several splotches on my dining room and living room walls for over a year. I finally found someone to finish the paint job for me and it took me minutes to choose the color. It's as if I always knew but was afraid to pick the wrong one, just in case. I paid him $100 to finish and finally, I have one color throughout!
I agree with those who say part of the problem is fear of making the wrong decision. At work, I'm typically very focused and decisive, and in other areas of my life, I know my own mind; I'm not one of those types who dither over a dinner menu or a clothing purchase, for example -- but some of the condo decisions are driving me nuts! -- Pick a paint color for the hallway? Find a decent vanity for the bathroom? Yikes! Takes me forever!
Currently, I'm procrastinating on a bathroom remodel, partly over the challenge of finding a decent contractor whose work I can afford, and while relying on reviews from Yelp and other non-firsthand referrals, so that is making me nervous about my contractor choices (hence my procrastination).
Beyond that, I just think it's an issue of time, energy and money -- working long hours, not having much time/energy to spend on projects, not having a car to facilitate shopping for home improvement stuff, and being antsy about the economy (job, housing market, etc.) and the pros and cons of spending x dollars to improve an underwater condo.
I like the "reward" stategy one commenter mentioned. I think it could also help to stagger big, daunting projects with quickie projects that can be done in a day and lift the spirits: framing or hanging some pictures, upholstering a footstool, rearranging some items for a new look to a room or part of a room, etc.
I'm certainly in this group. I moved a picture in my living room and patched the huge hole from the anchor and it sat there for over a year and a half before I finally painted over it. It took painting the whole wall for me to finally get to it. Also, in my bathroom I peeled all the wallpaper off the walls and painted, but I slopped paint all over the vinyl trim at the bottom thinking I would soon be replacing the floor and the vinyl trim. 6 years later I still haven't. I second the "throw a party" advice. I'm throwing one this weekend and although there won't be new flooring in the bathroom I'm going to paint the vinyl trim white so at least it looks acceptable.
My problem is that I'm so perfectionist when I'm working on a project, I don't START because I know I will give it my undivided attention until it's done. That's also why I often don't get others to do stuff too, if I suspect they will leave a job half done.
I have a rule for myself that I must finish a project before I buy any new parts, materials, or tools for a future project. I enjoy the process of picking out and buying those things, so it 's way to trick my brain into completing my current project before I can "reward" myself by starting on the next project.
I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one. Company always works when I have to clean the house, but not for anything else. I have so many to-do lists for each room of my house that I jump from one list to another and never complete a room. I just end up adding more to my lists. I need to stick to ONE list and get it done! Wish me luck! :)
My parents are currently re-doing their house. I offered to do the paint job at a fraction of the cost (they are saving ~$2000-~$3000 by having me do it). I decided to work room by room, start to finish. Even though it might be a little better idea to prime the whole upstairs at once or something, I am finding working room by room makes the house still look put together, despite it going through a re-do.
I put Parks and Recs on Netflix and get to taping off and priming. While that dries, I might go to the next smallest room there is to do and tape off/prime that one. By the time that's done, the priming in the other is dry and I can paint while room 2 dries. Then I move on to room 2. Easy way to knock out 2 rooms at once. If I'm feeling lazy about it, I just use the drying time to grab a snack or take a break. Either way, going room by room might take a little bit longer, but it makes sure I start and finish each room and the house still looks fine during the process.
I hear you! I spent several months non-stop on a kitchen renovation and I have yet to photograph it and post it on my blog because I have some patches to sand and paint in spots where the electrician needed to cut into the wall. What is wrong with me??
sueathome.com
I get distracted once I feel like a project is well in hand. I will also avoid the more unpleasant or tedious tasks. Maybe sharing my renovation projects online will provide some motivation. Of course, with my luck, it will be my husband in the comments asking, "Have you finished painting the kitchen?" Heh