How do you cope with unfinished projects?
There’s an unfinished manuscript in my Writing folder. Actually there are two. And let’s not count the Notes and stack of notebooks with all sorts of ideas that haven’t found any semblance of structure. Whether we admit it or not, many of us have projects that we haven’t finished or have not revisited in a while—yes, the unfinished manuscript, half-finished artwork on canvas, a craft project staring at you from the corner of your workspace, or even (God help us) a room renovation.
Most of us carry these unfinished projects along with a healthy heaping of guilt, but what if they actually bring us more than that? What is it beyond the shame, self-doubt, and clutter that we can take with us instead? What lessons do unfinished projects teach us?
1. We get to look back at our journey
If the state of an unfinished project is bothering you, look back and think of why you started it in the first place. What was your motivation behind it?
I started one of the unfinished manuscripts languishing in my Documents when I decided to return to writing full-time and my friend, who was a scriptwriter, was helping me get back in the proverbial saddle. It was a good practice and I got some feedback to revise it a certain way. But after a year, I still couldn’t make sense of the revisions. What I did get out of it was another story which I'm developing as a novel, which is what I am now pursuing. That original unfinished script brought me to a story that I do want to finish.
Some projects may lead you to what you truly want—and what you don’t want. It may lead you to finding your creative voice or style. (As artist Jill Arteche has shown us, one’s art style can evolve.) If the motivation behind the project you started and never got around to finishing has been reached or has changed, then rethink what you still want to get out of your creative piece. Is there still a story there to tell? Is there an opportunity to reshape it?
2. We get to rethink our steps
If you’re dragging your feet on a project because it’s huge in scale, what you need is a bit of planning. Take the time to think of all the tasks required to finish the project—write it down, from the major milestones and break those down further to smaller steps. This can help make the project less overwhelming.
When makers have to start their own brand or design a product, they break it down into major stages and what each stage entails. Cath Limson of Bedazzled Accessories, Luna Maia, K-Bang Manila, and Stories for Sepi shared in this episode how she started her retail businesses—she looked at each step she needed to take, the questions she had to ask herself, and the choices she had to make.
It was similar for Madz Sablada of Izzo Shop. To create her products, she specified each step that was needed before the products got to the shelves. In a previous interview, Madz elaborated on the details and tasks that went into each step to designing her products.
If you think you don’t have the time to do this, look at your calendar and schedule even half an hour a day or an hour each week to take on the necessary tasks. (Imagine, that’s probably just the amount of time we allocate scrolling through our socials.) And should the steps you’ve identified still feel like a huge undertaking, consider cutting down the scope of the project. If you can still achieve the result you’ve originally wanted with a scaled down version, then go ahead. There’s no project police who will guilt-trip you for changing it mid-way.
3. We learn to say goodbye (or goodbye for now)
Breakups are hard. Breaking away from a project you've spent time and resources on is not any easier. And as hard as it may be to accept, not all projects we take on are meant to be finished. Maybe the motivation or reason to continue is no longer there. Maybe you started it for fun or to sharpen a skill you just learned. If you’ve achieved your why behind the project, it’s not a waste to say goodbye to it. Because no project is without purpose or an invaluable experience to impart.
There’s also a chance that you just need to say goodbye to it for now. Elly Ang of Danger in Design reminds us in a recent YT interview when we don’t meet our goals that we are humans, we create things, and we are not machines. “Your frame of mind should be, you’re not failing, you are fermenting… Your ideas are in a jar and sometimes you have to wait a little while longer… Don’t immediately think that you failed just because you didn’t succeed in a made up timeline you made for yourself.”
The kindness we extend to others we should do so for ourselves, especially when we have to say goodbye to a project or put a goal in pause. “If I tried and it didn’t work out, I understand, and then I keep trying,” says Elly. “Give yourself grace.” If it’s the one thing we can take from a project left unfinished, then it’s a lesson worth taking with us when we move on and leave it behind.