Each of us has abandoned a project at some point, whether as simple as a lapsed exercise plan or as complicated as the Sagrada Familia Basilica in Barcelona, which has technically been under construction since 1882.
But why does this happen? What gets between the light bulb of the bright idea and the finish line of completion? Turns out there are lots of reasons, which, lucky for us, means there are lots of solutions. This week, by request from from listener Soni from Sydney, Australia, we’ll look at why we abandon projects and how to salvage them.
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First, let’s get organized: There are two big buckets of reasons for abandoning projects. The first bucket is filled with problems of motivation—you don’t really want to do the project, you don’t see the point, or it’s boring or aversive.
The second bucket is filled with problems of follow-through. These are markedly different: you can’t make time, can’t get organized, or are feeling overwhelmed.
First things first: Let’s start with solutions to problems from the first bucket—motivation.
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