3 helpful ways to finish well when you’re discouraged

3 helpful ways to finish well when you’re discouraged

Few things are as self-defeating as being a master planner, but a crappy finisher. 

Overplanning and underdelivering can really mess with our heads and prevent us from moving forward. That discouragement keeps us from relishing the power of complete.

Yet, there is something so hopeful about a freshly penned planner spread. Everything is nice and tidy seemingly realistic.

Blocks of time are spoken for, and high expectations come with the hope of celebrating an equally tidy week of checked boxes and completed tasks.

Life usually has other competition for our time. We often forget to leave allowance for sickness, errands gone wrong, or meeting the needs of our community and family.

When that happens, and it will, we need to have a plan to stay on track with what matters the most! In our brains, we tend to think it is ALL important. And it is, but not equally so.

The game-changing power of fewer plans

If you are anything like me, the plans are the easy part…it is the execution that trips us up. The unrealistic time allotted to the multitude of needs, while the things that might ask for a primary focus get pushed aside.

Have you heard the phrase the tyranny of the urgent?

It illustrates how the supposed needs in our lives bully the desires, plans, and goals right into the background.

3 helpful ways to finish well

1. Use a timer to not get sidetracked- Using a timer can become a powerful reality check when seeing how much time things really take. My timer sets for increments of 5, 15, 30, and 60 minutes. By setting what we THINK each time will take, it becomes clear quickly whether we are allowing sufficient blocks for our tasks. This was a real eye-opener for me, as I know understand that my imaginary clock seldom syncs up with the actual needed time. This tool helps prevent underestimating the true cost of our days
2. Ask for help to set realistic, refined goals- Quiz the people who know you (and your habits) best and ask them about any patterns they see. Listen without bristling up if they tell you the opposite of how you THINK you operate. This is gold, my friends. Someone who is passionate about your success, and honest about why you might be getting off course, can help us reevaluate our plans with laser focus.  I have a trusted advisor who I try to come to in advance of adding things in now. They know my tendency to overcommit and the frustrations that come from not being able to feel peace in that mental space. My current and future goals are considered through the input I get from this treasured filter
3. Do small tasks vs nothing at all- Christa Hutchins at Do A New Thing taught me a priceless tool this year when I was sick and unable to accomplish my dreams.  Her tip was to create a list of “productive tasks for non-productive days”.  This was life-changing, friends! Choose the areas that best describe your days. For example, my categories included Quiet Time, House Care, Professional Work, Creative Outlets, Communications, Health, etc.  Next, create lists of things that can happen on the hardest days. I was delighted to find my lists came easily. Now on the chronic illness days, or scatterbrained weeks…I simply pull out my list and don’t have to rethink what to do next. This freedom has created SUCH a sense of forward motion. Accomplishment

The journey of moments

Small actions might seem rather unimportant, but they hold surprising power to help us to finish strong instead of discouraged.

An over-planned life can leave us frustrated and frozen.  Margin is difficult to find because we don’t understand how to fight the urgent and achieve progress that feels truly satisfying.

We can feel great about our mission when we remember that our journey is about the moments, the in-between,  not just the end goal.

On a personal level, I need to remind myself of this message continually. My plans for summer projects were exciting and the days loomed ahead with endless potential.

Significant health issues wound up stealing the season from me, and this is my first attempt to sit at my writing again in MONTHS (I’ve never gone that long in 10 years without creative work).

So I take my own advice to embrace the small actions. Leave margin. Set reasonable tasks that make sense for YOU…don’t compare yourself to what anyone else “seems” to be doing.

 We live well in the acceptance of what is, instead of always striving for what isn’t.  

Let’s encourage each other in dreaming big…while also leaving room for reality, whatever that may be.

May our expectations be guidelines instead of guilt inducers. Our days full of contentment in whatever accomplishments are gained.

2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.

Some days we slay everything and feel like we conquered the world! Other days, well, we barely drag ourselves to bed at night. Finishing strong, instead of discouraged, is determined by the lens we choose to view our days.

Big wins are awesome and should be celebrated, and so too shall our tiny victories.

Need inspiration about being productive with uncertainty?

• Chronic Resilience: 10 Sanity-Saving Strategies 
• Have More Fun: How to Be Remarkable, Stop Feeling Stuck, and Start Enjoying Life
• Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones 
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