How to Finish Things: Lessons from James Bond’s Supervillains

Tell me if this sounds familiar.

You’re watching a James Bond film (like you do) — preferably an older film, maybe from the Connor or Moore eras. Our hero will be either in hot pursuit of a bad guy or even engaged in some hand-to-hand combat when the bad guy has a clear and obvious opportunity to send 007 to an early grave. Instead of taking this opportunity, though, the villain will, frustratingly, decide that it’s time to go into a self-aggrandizing monologue instead of double-tapping the annoying Brit and then enjoying a crumpet.

As much as we all love watching Commander Bond emerge victorious, there’s a small part of us that feels like maybe things would have worked out a little differently had the bad guy been a little less of a moron and actually taken the plain chance to win the fight when it presented itself. Personally, this bugs the hell out of me (yes, yes, suspension of disbelief and all that — it still makes me a little crazy). Mr. Evilpants didn’t realize how close he was to checking a major item off on his to-do list.

Part of the reason we have such a hard time finishing things is, I think, a lack of clarity as to the benefit. There are the obvious rewards of, say, finishing your ebook or fixing the hole in your picket fence: you might make some cash and your fence will no longer look shabby. But, we often overlook the more immediate benefit of finishing something: relief. I don’t know about you, but when I finally check something big off of my list, I feel like a freaking champ — especially if it’s been quietly taunting me for several weeks.

My problem — and, perhaps, yours — is that I have gotten remarkably adept at looking at a task, becoming overwhelmed by it and dismissing it in favor of some other thing. When I have a big project that’s due to ship and/or completely stagnated, you can bet your ass that my kitchen sink looks immaculate and that you could confidently perform surgery on my squeaky-clean commode. The reason I’m able to go from zero to “ugh” so quickly with a given project is that I have neglected to take the one critical action that will make completion a reality. And, it’s the same little tidbit so often neglected by our token Bond bad guy…

Thinking.

The biggest reason we become overwhelmed by a thing is our lack of understanding of the thing. In a “doing stuff” context, this usually means you either a) don’t know precisely what “done” looks like or how to get there or b) are subconsciously scared of what will happen when you arrive at “done”. For me, it’s the former about 98% of the time. For instance…

I’ve been trying like hell to get the next version of Evernote Essentials out the door for months now. I’ve got virtually all of it written, but I’ve just been utterly daunted by the task of turning what I’ve written into a shippable product. There are, in fact, several steps that exist between here and there and, for some reason that likely involves my bumping my head at some point, I get all wigged out and turn into a big ball of nerves whenever I think about it. It’s a little ridiculous, honestly, and I’m more than a touch embarrassed to being saying it “out loud”, as it were.

I was recently lamenting my lack of progress to my long-suffering bride when it hit me like a cue-ball-laden sweat sock: all of the pieces already exist and I have access to every answer to every question I had. I just needed to stop and think.

• 4 hours to get the current text into a workable state.
• 3 hours to merge my new chapters and edits into the existing text.
• 2 hours to verify that my screenshots were current and accurate.
• 2 hours to thoroughly read the text for technical and mechanical correctness.

That’s it. I came up with that breakdown in about ten minutes after I realized that I could, in fact, approach this beast with a clear head. Now all I need to do is carve eleven hours-worth of time out of somewhere and I’ll be pretty damn close to finished. I keep myself pretty busy, but even I can manage to set aside a total of eleven hours over the course of, say, a week.

It’s difficult to overstate just how dumb I feel for having allowed this to plague me for as long as it has. Hours and days of subtle psychological uneasiness were assuaged by ten minutes of thinking like a freaking adult. Thankfully, I’m on the road to “done”.

Presumptuous as it may seem, I can’t believe I’m the only person for whom this solution is applicable. I know that a few of you are working on big projects — ebooks, websites, cumin waffle recipes, whatever — and that it’s entirely possible that your great big dam in the river could be shattered to bits by a quiet half hour with a pen and paper.

They say that starting is the hard part, and it is; but don’t underestimate the last mile’s ability to do a damn fine job of kneecapping all of your drive and inspiration to cross the finish line.

Though you may crawl across it, exhausted and dripping with self-doubt, the finish line is generally a good deal closer than you may realize. Spending a bit of time plotting how you’ll get there is a great way to haul your tired ass off of the sidelines and finish it — whatever it is.

Photo by ~dgies