How to Break the Cycle of Starting and Never Finishing

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Table of Contents

Podcast Description

Transform your approach and finally break the cycle of unfinished projects. Discover how breaking down your projects into manageable steps and setting realistic deadlines can empower you to achieve your goals and maintain momentum like never before.

In this episode, I’m sharing my secrets to staying focused and motivated, ensuring that no project is too big or too small to handle. By the end, you’ll know the 3 steps to keeping you on track, helping you break free from the cycle of starting and never finishing.

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Episode Transcript

(Note: This is a formatted AI-generated transcript to make it easier for you to read through, but is not an optimized blog post. Please excuse any spelling or grammar errors and filler words – it’s just how I speak LOL)

Episode Intro

Hey, I’m Lucy Reyes, your host of the Cheerful Productive Chats Podcast, where I’m on a mission to help online entrepreneurs like you focus on all the right things and kiss overwhelm goodbye. Here, you’ll learn strategies that will boost your productivity so you can scale your online business and impact lives sooner. It’s your time to shine, so let’s get started!

Hey, welcome back to the Cheerful Productive Chats Podcast, and a Happy New Year! Can you believe we’re already in 2025? I can’t.

I was talking with a business bestie the other day, and I realized I’m now in 2025, feeling more prepared to move forward into this new year than ever before. Reflecting on 2024, I recognize it was a year where I often left things to the last minute and engaged in short-term planning. I didn’t really focus on long-term strategies. Last year, I experimented a lot and revisited projects I had previously abandoned. It’s been a cycle, and I’m ready to do something different this year.

This brings me to today’s topic: how to break the cycle of starting and never finishing. This is a common challenge I hear from my members and students. They start tasks and projects with enthusiasm but struggle to complete them. Whether it’s creating systems, choosing a project management tool, or other projects in general, finishing what you start can be elusive. There are numerous reasons why people can’t complete their projects, and I’m no exception. However, it doesn’t have to remain that way.

I understand how frustrating it can be to start a project full of excitement, only to abandon it days, weeks, or months later. You might wonder if it was going to work or not, and it feels like you’ve wasted time because you didn’t make a strategic decision to stop working on it—you just let it go.

If you make a strategic decision based on data analysis, market research, and business insights to discontinue a project, that’s different. But often, projects are abandoned without such consideration, leading to feelings of regret and wasted effort.

Why Does This Happen?

Feeling Overwhelmed:
- Starting a big project without a clear plan can make the task feel too daunting. Without breaking it down, the project becomes overwhelming, leading you to stop altogether.
Perfectionism:
- As a perfectionist myself, I know how the fear of not doing something perfectly can paralyze progress. Whether it’s getting the spacing right on a graphic or avoiding filler words in a recording, perfectionism can halt your momentum.
Lack of Clarity:
- Without a clear plan or a detailed task list, you can become confused and lose motivation. Not knowing all the steps required to complete a project contributes to abandonment.

For example, I’m currently considering moving from one email marketing platform to another. I started the project by creating a task list, only to realize I have numerous sequences, automations, and tags to manage. Should I clean them up first? Perhaps rewrite my email sequences? Or work on a long-standing process I’ve been postponing? This indecision is why I rely heavily on systems to keep me organized and sane.

Shiny Object Syndrome:
- Jumping from one project to another without finishing the first makes it hard to commit to completing anything. As a multi-passionate individual, I love experimenting and trying new things, but sometimes I overextend myself, leading to unfinished projects.

Breaking the Cycle: Practical Steps

If you’re tired of starting projects you can’t finish, here are some practical steps to help you break the cycle:

Break It Down into Smaller, Manageable Tasks:
- Before diving into a project, divide it into small, actionable steps. This makes the project feel more achievable and provides a clear picture of what’s involved, helping you decide whether to proceed.
Set Realistic Deadlines:
- Create achievable and realistic deadlines to foster accountability and maintain momentum. Assign deadlines to individual tasks within the project rather than leaving them open-ended.
Create a Task Flow to Stay Organized:
- A task flow is a step-by-step plan outlining all the steps needed to complete a project. It automates decision-making by providing a clear path forward, eliminating confusion about what to do next. This structure helps you stay focused and motivated, as you can see your progress visually and enjoy the satisfaction of checking off completed tasks.
Avoid Overcommitting:
- Ensure that the projects you take on are manageable within your bandwidth. If a project becomes too overwhelming due to deadlines or other commitments, it’s okay to postpone it until you can fit it into your schedule.

If you’ve been listening and thinking, “Yes, Lucy, but I need more help creating these task flows,” stay tuned! In just a few days, I’ll be launching a pre-sale for my newest course, TaskFlow Magic. In this course, I’ll guide you step-by-step in creating your own task flows from scratch using my proven framework. You’ll learn to handle projects of any size with ease, ensuring you follow through and achieve your goals.

Cheers to breaking the cycle of starting and never finishing! By breaking projects into smaller tasks, setting deadlines, and using task flows to stay organized, you can make 2025 your most productive year yet.

If you’re not already on my email list, be sure to sign up. There’s a link in the show notes where you can join for a free private podcast designed to help you manage a highly efficient online business. Signing up will give you access to exclusive content, including everything you need to know about Task Flow Magic.

Thank you so much for listening to the Cheerful Productive Chats Podcast with me, Lucy Reyes. To view the full transcript and all the links mentioned in today’s episode, visit cheerstoproductivity.com/podcast. Before you go, make sure to follow or subscribe wherever you’re listening so you know when the next productive chat is released. Talk soon, and cheers to your productivity and success!