No, you’re probably not. Because you have eight projects going at once. Because you’re a chronic procrastinator. Because no matter what you’ve heard about starting, finishing something can be the hardest part. So what do you do when your desk and brain are full of ideas and nothing seems to be going from your inbox to your outbox?

Get Your Proverbial Ducks in a Proverbial Row

Prioritize

Maybe there’s a small project you could knock out if you devoted a few days to it (and only it). Perhaps your biggest potential money-maker or business-advancer should take the lead. What’s going to best move you toward your goals? Or, heck, what would be the most fun to complete? Don’t be afraid to back burner something for now. Maybe you can come back to it when you get a few things off your desk.

Toss the Dead Weight

The best way to make a plant grow is to cut off the dead leaves and branches. Psst. That was a metaphor. There’s nothing wrong with killing a project that’s not going anywhere. Look over your current array of in-progress projects. Is there anything not worth keeping on even your backest of back burners? You might find relief and new energy when you decide, “Hey. This thing isn’t going to happen. It’s not a needle-mover, it’s not interesting, and it’s not fun. Bye.”

Quit Starting Things!

The bad thing about ideas is that they don’t have the decency to show up in a timely fashion. Once the gears are turning, you’re likely to find yourself with an idea for another new project, and another, and another. When a new idea pops up, it can be super tempting to jump in and start plugging away. Resist. Resist. Write the idea down and put it away. Believe it or not, you might come to a point in your life when the ideas aren’t flowing as easily. That’s the best time to push and ship on your awesome backlog.

Get Moving

Lose the Distractions

If I was honest about how many times I checked email, got a drink of water, pet a dog, changed playlists on Spotify, and talked to a coworker while writing this post… Well, I’m just not going to be honest about it. You know how it goes. When it comes to really making moves on a project, you’ve got to plant your feet and hunker down. Turn off the TV, close your browser, go offline. Find a dark corner if you need to. Get antisocial. You won’t miss much in the wide world for an hour or two at a time.

Set a Deadline

Office life is full of deadlines. Johnson, I want this on my desk by Tuesday morning. But what about when you’re the boss AND, well, Johnson? Putting a little pressure on yourself can be really motivating. To take it further, make your deadline known. Tell your friends. Tell Twitter. No backing out now!

Time Blocking

It’s the tried and true method for getting stuff done, and it helps you bounce from project to project productively instead of frantically. Do an image search for ‘time blocking’ and you’ll get a feel for it. Simply put, chunks of devoted time for particular projects and particular types of work can help you manage your, well, your entire life. Set it up in your regular calendar, or make a chart on a dry erase board. Pro-tip: write the framework (days and times) in permanent market and use dry erase markers for filling in the time blocks. 1:00-2:30 on Wednesday is for writing your space opera. 2:40-4:15 is for video editing. 4:30-6:00 is for research and blogging.

> “Professionals do things on a schedule, and amateurs do things when its easy for them or when they feel inspired or motivated to do it.” - James Clear

Make a List

A big project is made up of a dozen or a hundred (or more) tiny projects. Make a list of every single component between now and completion, put them in order of urgency, and get to striking. Crossing items off a list feels sooo good. As a bonus, mark the major milestones of your project.

There Is No Perfect

There’s great work, there’s greater work, and there’s work that doesn’t exist because the creator can’t ever get it juuust right. If you really, really look, you could probably find a typo in any New York Times Best Seller, even in a third edition, fifth printing. There comes a time when you’ve got to just let something be done. 21st Century bonus: digital products can be updated. If you finish and release a project only to find that you missed a comma (the horror!), just add some bonus content, correct the typo on the sly, and send an update to your audience. Chances are, they didn’t even notice in the first place.

Treat Yourself

I’ll say it again. Finishing a project is hard. So when you do, celebrate. You made a thing. That’s significant.

We’re almost finished with the Gumroad 30 Day Challenge. If you’ve been participating, we’d love to hear from you. How’s it been going?