

How to become a great finisher - csl
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/06/how_to_become_a_great_finisher.html

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nostrademons
I've found that both "to date" and "to go" thinking impede my ability to get
the task done. If I focus on what I have left "to go", the problem seems
insurmountable, my stress level goes through the roof, and I never get started
on what's left.

Instead, I've found that the only way to make progress on a serious long-term
goal is to focus on "What can I do now?" It's completely present-oriented,
neither past nor future. I forget about everything I've done and forget about
everything I'm going to do, and think about only what I'm about to accomplish
in the next couple hours.

I started a 20% project with the express purpose of training myself to finish
large, far-off, independent goals with a minimum of stress, because all my
previous projects have hit the wall of "This is too big, I can't ever finish
this on my own". When I started, I set the rule for myself: I wouldn't be
bound by deadlines or obsess over the "right" way to do things, I'd only care
that every time I had some free time, I'd make a little progress on it. It
seems to have worked so far, as it's been a lot more fun on a project that's
been intrinsically more boring than many past projects.

~~~
Periodic
I find the best way for me to keep going on a project is to keep a list of
things I still want to do, but never more than 5-10. I don't think too far
into the future, but rather think, "what's the next thing I could do to to
make this more awesome." A key piece is to try to make it such that at every
step it actually does something and isn't stuck in the state of being "in
progress".

If my list ever gets too long from all the things I think I should do, I just
cross off things that aren't important. It keeps me focused on actionable
things that will make a real difference.

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imperialWicket
My problem with this type of argument/technique is they constantly identify a
completion state.

Stop thinking about completion, and start thinking about milestones
(waypoints, checkpoints, revisions, whatever). A popular startup mantra is
release early and often; another popular startup technique is to release
unfinished.

I say we need to stop thinking about what's been done, and also stop thinking
about what needs to be accomplished before we are finished. Think about what
needs to be completed for the next checkpoint.

In the ever-popular race metaphor: Put your right foot in front of your left,
then put your left foot in front of your right. Congratulations, you made it
one step further. Tell everyone what you accomplished, then take the next
step.

Using this concept, the hard part becomes determining what exactly constitutes
a step. This is no small task, but it seems easier to deal with than constant
concern about 'finishing'.

~~~
thisrod
I agree.

Let's extend the article's advice. Suppose, for the sake of argument, your
minions do work harder when you remind them how much they have to do and how
little time to do it. It follows that they'll work harder still if you mislead
them about how much time they have left, and set an artificial deadline.

Now, class, pick up _Peopleware_ , and turn to page 1.

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diiq
Read the abstract of the paper; it's a much clearer summary than this article,
which ignores the second control condition of "surety of commitment."
<http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/psp/94/2/183/>

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wccrawford
"To-go thinking" actually causes me to procrastinate... Because I have plenty
of time left.

Instead, I find that getting it 'working' with the minimum features, then
adding more and more provides that sense of accomplishment while motivating me
to continue making it better.

A lot of people will say 'Of course!' but once upon a time I didn't work like
that. I would plan it all from the start and you couldn't do ANYTHING with it
until it was almost completely done.

Now, I just plan broadly enough to make sure I'm not preventing any needed
feature, and then work on making it work as quickly as possible.

~~~
huherto
> "To-go thinking" actually causes me to procrastinate... Because I have
> plenty of time left.

You are focusing on the time left. IMHO, This is not what the article
recommends. You should focus on the tasks left.

~~~
wccrawford
Yes, I have plenty of time left to finish all the tasks.

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michaels0620
Does this validate negative self talk that most people say you shouldn't do?
Let's say someone ( _cough me_ cough) has a lot of weight to lose. I could
approach it as either "I've eaten pretty well this week, I can keep doing it"
or "Jeez, I'm still a fatty, I need to keep losing weight".

Nearly everyone would say to focus on the first type of statement and not the
second, but this article seems to contradict that. I'm sure the amount of
magnitude of the negativity would play a role as well.

~~~
wccrawford
There's a third choice: "I need to do X until Y to reach my goal on time." No
negatives, no positives... Simply facts. This is more what the article is
suggesting.

However, dieting is a different animal. You aren't building something. You
don't have hands-on control of the situation. The best you can do is alter
some metadata and hope the right outcome occurs. Less food, more exercise...
You can't actually say 'If I jog for 10 more minutes, I'll lose .2 lbs." It
just isn't measurable like that.

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xiaoma
It is measurable, but it's not as easy as in your example. A single 4-5 hour
long run burns a pound of fat (and uses many times that much water) for a
moderately fit man. If effort isn't made to regain that fat, it's gone. In
general, I think an _hour_ for .2lbs of fat is probably a good bet. Running is
one of the greatest fat burning exercises there is, and it also protects
muscle and bone density in a way that pure dieting won't. But most people
vastly, vastly underestimate the amount of work it takes.

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dlokshin
Really interesting that it's not that the future looks too daunting, it's that
past progress is so satisfying? Not what I would have thought intuitively.

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richcollins
The tough part with startups is you often don't even know what "to go" is.
Even if you have an idea about what you think it is, you still need to
constantly re-evaluate.

~~~
avk
Agreed but for me, the uncertainty helps fight the procrastination. Not
knowing how much is left keeps me humble and working.

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johnl
I break the goal into doable tasks and challenge myself towards the
accomplishment of each task. Each task has a timeline so I can pace myself. I
then know when in the future I an going to be complete so I really don't worry
about it, I can enjoy the coding. The final task always seems to be testing, I
hate testing.

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kayhi
I've done my share of endurance athletics and as an alternative to the 'how
far approach' instead focused on the moment. I usually use phrases such as
relax, long and smooth, etc... and knew the distance would take care of
itself.

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pknerd
There is a great book by Brain Tracy: EAT THAT FROG. I found that book quite
interesting and if one gets serious, he could easily implement what he talks
about

