I hate unfinished business. Maybe that’s why I’ve usually had a scorched-earth policy when ending romantic relationships. Anything else seems like there are too many loose ends.
Even this blog post is being written because it’s on my to-do list. Unfinished business.
But outside of that, having a task list of stuff that I know can be done, or should be done, drives me nuts. Which means that frankly, I’m nuts all the time. Life is just a series of unfinished tasks. You finish one and add a couple more, and some of them are never over. As a parent, you’re always chasing something better for your kids. I know I’m always trying to be a better marketer, to get more done, faster. A hobby is just one big unfinished task – it’s truly impossible to learn everything you want to learn about a topic, or master everything you can about a topic. Knowledge isn’t having all the answers, knowledge is knowing what questions you can’t yet answer.
So how do you manage the stress of unfinished business? The short answer for me is probably “badly.” Beyond that short answer is prioritization and linear processes. I work on a thing until it’s done, and then I work on the next thing. I move one ball 100 yards, instead of moving 3,600 balls one inch. I have a to-do list and make a point of creating tasks that I can complete on the daily. Big projects get broken into small, doable tasks.
And still I’m stressed out. Still the ghosts of unfinished business haunt my dreams, and drive my waking moments. Things I haven’t finished, things I haven’t started, things I’ve delegated that aren’t finished. It affects everything I do. I push off the people around me because I have to do something – go to the gym, cook dinner, work another hour.
Maybe I need a vacation. I think I’ll finish some business, and schedule one.
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