On finishing things

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses the author's struggle with finishing projects, the importance of sharing one's work publicly, and strategies for improving project completion.

🙋 Q&A

[01] Finishing Projects

1. What are the key challenges the author faces in finishing projects?

• The author has difficulty determining when a project is truly "finished" - an essay can always be edited more, an app can always be further refined.
• The author feels more confident in their abilities now, so testing themselves is less interesting. Most of their projects are aimed at creating something useful for others, but they struggle to get to the point of sharing their work publicly.
• The author finds the "boring" work like setting up a landing page or writing documentation to be a major obstacle to completing projects.

2. What are the potential benefits of sharing one's work publicly?

• There is practically no downside, and the potential upside is very high - even if just one person finds the work useful or inspiring, it makes the world a slightly better place.
• Sharing work publicly can be therapeutic, as it encourages more rigorous thought processing and helps determine if an idea has legs.
• Completing the difficult task of sharing one's work builds character and discipline.

3. What strategies does the author suggest for improving project completion?

• Writing a product specification upfront to clarify ideas and anticipate challenges.
• Timeboxing the project by giving oneself a concrete deadline, which helps maintain focus and avoid getting bogged down in unnecessary details.
• Treating project completion as a "muscle" that can be built up through repeated practice.

[02] Next Steps

1. What is the author's plan for sharing their past projects? The author plans to set up a projects page to publicly share the specifications, demos, and retrospectives of their personal projects, even the "unfinished" ones. This will provide a sense of closure and stronger accountability, even if the author doesn't proactively share all of the projects.

2. What is the author's plan for discussing their project completion challenges? The author plans to discuss their project completion challenges on Hacker News on August 20, 2024.