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Finish What You Start: The Art of Following Through, Taking Action, Executing, Self-Discipline
Practical tactics to grow your willpower, stop procrastination, focus like a laser, and achieve whatever you set your mind to.
Following through and finishing what you start- more valuable skills than you realize. They are a combination of traits that enables you to create the life you want - without having to compromise or wait. The alternative is a status quo that you’re stuck in.
Is your life a series of unfinished tasks and intentions? That stops now.
Finish What You Start is a unique deep dive into the psychology and science of accomplishment, productivity, and getting things done. It takes a thorough look why we are sometimes stuck, and gives detailed, step by step solutions you can start using today. Every phase of finishing and following through is covered, and even productivity pros will be able to learn something new.
Above all else, this is a guide to understanding your brain and instincts better for optimal results.
Channel massive productivity and mental toughness.
Peter Hollins has studied psychology and peak human performance for over a dozen years and is a bestselling author. He has worked with dozens of individuals to unlock their potential and path towards success. His writing draws on his academic, coaching, and research experience.
Resist distractions, de-motivation, temptations, laziness, and excuses.
• The surprising motivations that push us past obstacles.
• How daily rules and a manifesto can help you achieve.
• Valuable and insightful mindsets to view productivity from entirely new lights.
Seize self-control and finally accomplish your big and small goals.
• The science and tactics to beating procrastination easily.
• Focus and willpower pitfalls you are probably committing at this very moment.
• How to beat distractions, remain focused, stay on task, and get to what matters - consistently.
Transform your life through productive habits and avoiding mental traps.
You only have 24 hours in the day, but so does everyone else. You can be among those who make the most and accomplish exactly what they want. The ability to finish and follow through parallels your ability to be happy and fulfilled. Your life is in your hands, so make the most of it!
Finish what you started by reading this far and click the BUY NOW button at the top of this page!
Following through and finishing what you start- more valuable skills than you realize. They are a combination of traits that enables you to create the life you want - without having to compromise or wait. The alternative is a status quo that you’re stuck in.
Is your life a series of unfinished tasks and intentions? That stops now.
Finish What You Start is a unique deep dive into the psychology and science of accomplishment, productivity, and getting things done. It takes a thorough look why we are sometimes stuck, and gives detailed, step by step solutions you can start using today. Every phase of finishing and following through is covered, and even productivity pros will be able to learn something new.
Above all else, this is a guide to understanding your brain and instincts better for optimal results.
Channel massive productivity and mental toughness.
Peter Hollins has studied psychology and peak human performance for over a dozen years and is a bestselling author. He has worked with dozens of individuals to unlock their potential and path towards success. His writing draws on his academic, coaching, and research experience.
Resist distractions, de-motivation, temptations, laziness, and excuses.
• The surprising motivations that push us past obstacles.
• How daily rules and a manifesto can help you achieve.
• Valuable and insightful mindsets to view productivity from entirely new lights.
Seize self-control and finally accomplish your big and small goals.
• The science and tactics to beating procrastination easily.
• Focus and willpower pitfalls you are probably committing at this very moment.
• How to beat distractions, remain focused, stay on task, and get to what matters - consistently.
Transform your life through productive habits and avoiding mental traps.
You only have 24 hours in the day, but so does everyone else. You can be among those who make the most and accomplish exactly what they want. The ability to finish and follow through parallels your ability to be happy and fulfilled. Your life is in your hands, so make the most of it!
Finish what you started by reading this far and click the BUY NOW button at the top of this page!
Audible Audio
First published January 1, 2018
2174 people are currently reading
5921 people want to read
About the author
Peter Hollins
154 books371 followersPeter Hollins is a bestselling author, human psychology researcher, and a student of the human condition. He possesses a BS in psychology and a graduate degree.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 392 reviews
June 17, 2018
Didn't finish this book....
February 18, 2019
An overly simple, very direct book on doing the work. It says things like: don't procrastinate, set small goals and don't quit. Everything he says has been been said better elsewhere. And if you were really struggling with persistence, this wouldn't be very practical or encouraging. It would likely just shame you further.
May 29, 2019
Very concise and to the point book about how to stay focussed and getting rid of distractions. It doesn't necessarily introduce completely new ideas if you've read other books on good habit and focus, but is definitely a very good reminder of what it boils down to when we procrastinate.
The book also covers a lot of good practices on how to address these obstacles when it comes to staying focussed and "following through". The summaries at the end of every chapter make it very easy to review what you've learned through out the book and make it even easier to review these practices and ideas in a future time without re-reading the whole thing.
Quick and good read, recommended.
The book also covers a lot of good practices on how to address these obstacles when it comes to staying focussed and "following through". The summaries at the end of every chapter make it very easy to review what you've learned through out the book and make it even easier to review these practices and ideas in a future time without re-reading the whole thing.
Quick and good read, recommended.
May 6, 2022
A good book but not for me.
In my vision There are no 10 or 100 rules to change your life, there is no path to follow or a books to read.
There are only two things:
1-Go hard
2-Repeat
Glory doesn't happen in front of a crowd. It happens in the darkness of the early morning in solitude where you try and try and try again. With every thing you have to be the best that you can possibly be better than you were yesterday.
Go hard. Repeat, And die hard.
I really went hard in life.
In my vision There are no 10 or 100 rules to change your life, there is no path to follow or a books to read.
There are only two things:
1-Go hard
2-Repeat
Glory doesn't happen in front of a crowd. It happens in the darkness of the early morning in solitude where you try and try and try again. With every thing you have to be the best that you can possibly be better than you were yesterday.
Go hard. Repeat, And die hard.
I really went hard in life.
April 2, 2021
Too often, we’ll say we’ll do something, and we might even start it one lucky weekend. But at the first sign of hardship, fatigue, boredom, or busyness, we abandon it all too easily, and it sits in our garage (mental, figurative, or literal) for the rest of eternity.
Finishing what you start and following through is breaking through that common loop and taking hold of your life.
Here are my favourite take-aways from reading, Finish What You Start by Peter Hollins:
Following Through
Following through is related to focus, self-discipline, action, and persistence, but it is not synonymous to any of them. Rather, it is a composite of all of them—a bit like how those big Japanese anime robots come to be formed by the fusion of smaller individual robot parts. Power Rangers, or Voltron, to be specific. And much like how each smaller robot forms a different body part in the big robot, so too does each of these four elements—focus, self-discipline, action, and persistence—correspond to a body part that, when pieced with the others, forms the whole of following through.
The Four Elements of Follow Through – focus, self-discipline, action, and persistence
The head: focus.
Following through involves having focus. It’s akin to the head because it is focus that keeps your head in the game and your eyes on the prize. Focus guides your thoughts in figuring out how to follow through and directs your actions toward achieving your vision.
Following through is not just about exerting effort; it’s about exerting effort that’s concentrated on a single goal
The spine: self-discipline.
The spine of following through, self-discipline, is what enables you to get your head down and work when you need to, even if you don’t want to. It’s the ability to control yourself so that you retain focus on what needs to be done, despite the temptations and distractions you may encounter. This element is essential to following through because it’s what gives you the power to regulate your own thoughts, feelings, and actions toward ends that are meaningful to you. Without self-discipline, you wouldn’t be able to consistently exert effort on something until it’s done, which is what following through is all about.
If you are focused on what you need to do, self-discipline will naturally follow. Likewise, if you are self-disciplined, it will be easier for you to focus on what needs to be done and avoid distractions.
The hands and feet: action.
Action, the hands and feet of following through, means prioritizing execution and simple motion. This is what makes following through more than just having focus and self-discipline. Following through is an intention that’s been translated into action. It is action that will move things in the real world and take you from Point A to Point B—that is, from where you are now to where the fulfillment of your goals lies. It is the visible aspect of following through, the one that’s actually observed, measured, and evaluated against your goals.
Action is crucial to the execution of your plans and the realization of your goals, for without it, plans remain abstract and goals remain dreams.
The heart: persistence.
Finally, at the heart of following through is persistence. Persistence is firmly sticking to something for a prolonged period of time, even as you encounter things that try to unstick you. It’s the tenacity to adhere to a course of action even in the face of obstacles. It is not enough to just start; you need stick with it until it’s done. Following through is about having enough heart to keep pushing even in the face of obstacles, distractions, and setbacks.
Many of the goals worth aiming for in life call for not just a sprint but a marathon. If your heart is not fit enough to run the length of it, then you will find yourself stopping halfway through and giving up before you reach the finish line.
Why Don’t We Follow Through?
We don’t follow through for two main reasons: we have an entire selection of
(1) inhibiting tactics and/or
(2) psychological roadblocks that hinder us from finishing what we start
Inhibiting Tactics
Inhibiting tactics refer to our schemes for misusing time and effort, with the end result of our being held back from following through. These are ways we sabotage ourselves, sometimes consciously. These tactics, which include (1) setting bad goals, (2) procrastination, (3) indulging in temptations and distractions, and (4) poor time management, inhibit us from maximizing the time and energy we have toward productive ends.
Psychological Roadblocks
Psychological roadblocks refer to the internal, often unconscious mechanisms in our psyches that act as barriers to following through. Among these mechanisms are (1) laziness and lack of discipline, (2) fear of judgment, rejection, and failure, (3) perfectionism out of insecurity, and (4) lack of self-awareness. These psychological roadblocks operate internally to inhibit external action, thus preventing us from following through.
We start with excitement and enthusiasm but end up with excuses and explanations. We start with anticipation but end up with alibis. And all too often, we don’t bother looking past what’s in front of us because what’s in front of us is easy and convenient. A part of us doesn’t want to know what’s possible beyond that because we’re afraid to want it and to have to do the hard work that will get us there.
Chapter 2: Staying Hungry
External motivations are mostly about avoiding pain, so figure out what pains you are avoiding or can create for yourself. Then let your urge to avoid those pains drive you. Avoiding negative social emotions works well because no one wants to feel shame, guilt, or rejection. Use your fear of negative social emotions to carry you through a project or commitment to the very end.
Sometimes we just don’t care about what we are doing, and thus we don’t follow through. We lose steam because of disinterest. That’s understandable. But even caring about something is not always the key to following through. Sometimes, even for things we care about, we still can’t follow through because we lack a drive to push us forward.
This lack of drive is caused by a massive disconnect between three important aspects: (1) what the things we care about represent, (2) the positive benefits we receive from our actions, and (3) the negative consequences we can avoid related to our causes. When we lose steam, we aren’t tied closely enough to any of those aspects, which come together to create motivation.
Accountability partners.
Accountability partners are people who hold you accountable. This is a person that you commit to something with. This person lets you know when you need to do things, and he or she chides you when you want to give up. Then he or she gets on your case for not following through.
Accountability group.
An accountability group can be more effective than a single partner. By having multiple people holding you accountable, you face the possibility of exponential shame—the shame and disappointment of multiple people building on top of each other is a horrible feeling that you will want to avoid. Plus, you will still have people to hold you accountable should one person drop out of the race.
Self-bribery
This is where you promise yourself a reward if you follow through. Therefore, you let that reward drive you and surmount your difficulties.
External motivators drive you forward out of fear of something unpleasant, while internal motivators make you feel that reaching your goal is going to give you a big reward and lots of pleasant benefits.
Internal Motivators
Internal motivators are about what you want, as opposed to avoiding a negative consequence or punishment. These are universal needs, drives, and desires that are easy to lose track of. The easy way to find these is to answer a set of questions that directly asks things such as how am I going to benefit from this and how does my life stand to improve from this? It’s only through answering these questions that you realize what you are neglecting.
Opportunity Cost
Everything in life is an opportunity cost, which means that everything you do will call for something from you. Every act takes away time or effort that could be committed to something else.
If the opportunity cost is too expensive for you to want to pay it, then you will not follow through. Therefore, you must find a motivator that drives you to accept the opportunity cost. If you don’t feel motivated enough to pay that cost, then you are guaranteed to lose steam and give up.
A manifesto is nothing more than a set of rules to follow every day.
Chapter 3: Create a Manifesto
Rules hold you accountable so that you are not winging it every day but instead are guided. Use your rules to guide your worldview and your daily actions.
Rule 1: Evaluate Yourself
Rule 1 is to ask yourself, “If not for laziness or fear, would I be giving up?” This makes it very clear to yourself that you are not acting out of a lack of ability or talent, but rather you are just taking the easy way out. Is that what you want to admit to yourself?
Rule 2: Three Tasks Maximum
Rule 2 is to focus on three things a day maximum. Only. Tops. Being overwhelmed or disorganized can kill your ability to get things done. Sometimes we can’t follow through on what we want because we don’t plan smartly. We give ourselves too much to do and we become overwhelmed. But using this rule enables you to plan against that problem by only allowing yourself to focus on three things a day maximum.
Rule 3: Create Limitations and Requirements
Rule 3 is to make actual rules for yourself. Create an actual code of conduct for you to follow in terms of being more disciplined and following through more. Write your code down in detail and then post it in a visible area. While you may not adhere to all of them every day, you at least stand a better chance of follow-through when you actually take the time to think about your code of conduct and write them down.
Rule 4: Reaffirm Your Intentions
This rule comes into play when you are faced with a fork in the road between deciding to follow through or not. This rule seeks to reaffirm your intentions by reminding yourself what they are and why you want to achieve them.
Rule 5: Think in Terms of 10-10-10
The next time you feel that you’re about to give in to an urge or temptation, stop and ask yourself how you will feel 10 minutes, 10 hours, and 10 days from now. This rule may not seem all that powerful, but it’s effective because it forces you to think about your future self and to see how your actions are going to affect yourself in the future—for better or worse.
Rule 6: Just 10 Minutes
If you want something negative, harmful, or detrimental to your follow through, wait at least 10 minutes before getting it. It’s simple and leaves no room for debate or excuses. When you feel an urge, force yourself to wait for 10 minutes before giving in to whatever the urge is. If you’re still craving it after 10 minutes, then have it. Or wait 10 more minutes because you’ve already done it and survived just fine.
Chapter 4: Follow-Through Mindsets
Follow-through is 100% mental. It takes a cognitive effort to follow through on something, especially when you hit discouraging obstacles. Mindsets help with that. A mindset is a set way of visualizing and approaching situations and problems. Certain mindsets are all it takes to find the will and motivation necessary to follow through on something.
Chapter 5: The Science of Smashing Procrastination
The main component in this self-defeating habit is called time inconsistency. This is where humans value immediate and instant gratification over long-term rewards.
The best way to counteract time inconsistency is to move future long-term rewards into the present more effectively. That way, your present self sees the benefit and wants to stick to the long-term program. Waiting for a future reward is often not sufficient to motivate your present self because your present self does not want to wait.
Temptation Bundling
Temptation bundling is an excellent and efficient way to kill procrastination and increase productivity by combining present and future selves and their conflicting needs. There is no need to suffer in the present to get something done for your future self; if you do suffer, then you will lose all motivation and procrastinate. So find ways to bundle your temptations with your long-term goals. In other words, pair your obligations with instantaneous rewards.
Small, Easy Increments
Another way to mitigate procrastination is to start in small, easy increments. Really, you want to break tasks down into minuscule, microscopic components. This makes your first step seem incredibly easy—and taking that first step is the hardest part with procrastination.
Inertia is the force that builds as you are at rest. On the other hand, momentum is the drive to keep moving forward until you get everything done. Your task here is to break inertia and gain momentum.
Chapter 6. No Distraction Zone
If you’re constantly distracted, you succumb to temptations without even giving yourself a chance to exercise your willpower. It just doesn’t occur to you, and you choose the path of least resistance despite your best intentions. Distractions sneakily eat away at our self-discipline. This process can go on in the background so that we don’t even realize that our discipline is lapsing until it’s too late and all of our past efforts have been wasted.
Batching
Batching is when you group similar tasks together to complete them all at once. Ford’s assembly line was essentially 100% batching because his workers only performed one task incredibly efficiently. Batching allows you to save your mental energy for the tasks themselves and not waste your energy on the process of switching back and forth between them.
Chapter 7: Deadly Pitfalls
False Hope Syndrome
False hope syndrome occurs when you think that you can do everything on your to-do list and reach your dreams in a short amount of time. You promise yourself, or a client, the moon. Then you are sorely disappointed when you cannot deliver, and those big expectations have actually caused a negative effect on your working spirit.
Chapter 8. Daily Systems for Success
A system is a set of actions that you consistently perform every day in order to streamline your success and reach your goals. Unlike your self-discipline and willpower, a system organizes you and helps you perform your duties without having to push yourself. Willpower and self-discipline, on the other hand, only offer you strength to force yourself to do things; they do not give you a set way of doing things or a streamlined list of actions to complete.
A system becomes routine so that you do not have to think about what you need to do, but instead you just do it.
Finishing what you start and following through is breaking through that common loop and taking hold of your life.
Here are my favourite take-aways from reading, Finish What You Start by Peter Hollins:
Following Through
Following through is related to focus, self-discipline, action, and persistence, but it is not synonymous to any of them. Rather, it is a composite of all of them—a bit like how those big Japanese anime robots come to be formed by the fusion of smaller individual robot parts. Power Rangers, or Voltron, to be specific. And much like how each smaller robot forms a different body part in the big robot, so too does each of these four elements—focus, self-discipline, action, and persistence—correspond to a body part that, when pieced with the others, forms the whole of following through.
The Four Elements of Follow Through – focus, self-discipline, action, and persistence
The head: focus.
Following through involves having focus. It’s akin to the head because it is focus that keeps your head in the game and your eyes on the prize. Focus guides your thoughts in figuring out how to follow through and directs your actions toward achieving your vision.
Following through is not just about exerting effort; it’s about exerting effort that’s concentrated on a single goal
The spine: self-discipline.
The spine of following through, self-discipline, is what enables you to get your head down and work when you need to, even if you don’t want to. It’s the ability to control yourself so that you retain focus on what needs to be done, despite the temptations and distractions you may encounter. This element is essential to following through because it’s what gives you the power to regulate your own thoughts, feelings, and actions toward ends that are meaningful to you. Without self-discipline, you wouldn’t be able to consistently exert effort on something until it’s done, which is what following through is all about.
If you are focused on what you need to do, self-discipline will naturally follow. Likewise, if you are self-disciplined, it will be easier for you to focus on what needs to be done and avoid distractions.
The hands and feet: action.
Action, the hands and feet of following through, means prioritizing execution and simple motion. This is what makes following through more than just having focus and self-discipline. Following through is an intention that’s been translated into action. It is action that will move things in the real world and take you from Point A to Point B—that is, from where you are now to where the fulfillment of your goals lies. It is the visible aspect of following through, the one that’s actually observed, measured, and evaluated against your goals.
Action is crucial to the execution of your plans and the realization of your goals, for without it, plans remain abstract and goals remain dreams.
The heart: persistence.
Finally, at the heart of following through is persistence. Persistence is firmly sticking to something for a prolonged period of time, even as you encounter things that try to unstick you. It’s the tenacity to adhere to a course of action even in the face of obstacles. It is not enough to just start; you need stick with it until it’s done. Following through is about having enough heart to keep pushing even in the face of obstacles, distractions, and setbacks.
Many of the goals worth aiming for in life call for not just a sprint but a marathon. If your heart is not fit enough to run the length of it, then you will find yourself stopping halfway through and giving up before you reach the finish line.
Why Don’t We Follow Through?
We don’t follow through for two main reasons: we have an entire selection of
(1) inhibiting tactics and/or
(2) psychological roadblocks that hinder us from finishing what we start
Inhibiting Tactics
Inhibiting tactics refer to our schemes for misusing time and effort, with the end result of our being held back from following through. These are ways we sabotage ourselves, sometimes consciously. These tactics, which include (1) setting bad goals, (2) procrastination, (3) indulging in temptations and distractions, and (4) poor time management, inhibit us from maximizing the time and energy we have toward productive ends.
Psychological Roadblocks
Psychological roadblocks refer to the internal, often unconscious mechanisms in our psyches that act as barriers to following through. Among these mechanisms are (1) laziness and lack of discipline, (2) fear of judgment, rejection, and failure, (3) perfectionism out of insecurity, and (4) lack of self-awareness. These psychological roadblocks operate internally to inhibit external action, thus preventing us from following through.
We start with excitement and enthusiasm but end up with excuses and explanations. We start with anticipation but end up with alibis. And all too often, we don’t bother looking past what’s in front of us because what’s in front of us is easy and convenient. A part of us doesn’t want to know what’s possible beyond that because we’re afraid to want it and to have to do the hard work that will get us there.
Chapter 2: Staying Hungry
External motivations are mostly about avoiding pain, so figure out what pains you are avoiding or can create for yourself. Then let your urge to avoid those pains drive you. Avoiding negative social emotions works well because no one wants to feel shame, guilt, or rejection. Use your fear of negative social emotions to carry you through a project or commitment to the very end.
Sometimes we just don’t care about what we are doing, and thus we don’t follow through. We lose steam because of disinterest. That’s understandable. But even caring about something is not always the key to following through. Sometimes, even for things we care about, we still can’t follow through because we lack a drive to push us forward.
This lack of drive is caused by a massive disconnect between three important aspects: (1) what the things we care about represent, (2) the positive benefits we receive from our actions, and (3) the negative consequences we can avoid related to our causes. When we lose steam, we aren’t tied closely enough to any of those aspects, which come together to create motivation.
Accountability partners.
Accountability partners are people who hold you accountable. This is a person that you commit to something with. This person lets you know when you need to do things, and he or she chides you when you want to give up. Then he or she gets on your case for not following through.
Accountability group.
An accountability group can be more effective than a single partner. By having multiple people holding you accountable, you face the possibility of exponential shame—the shame and disappointment of multiple people building on top of each other is a horrible feeling that you will want to avoid. Plus, you will still have people to hold you accountable should one person drop out of the race.
Self-bribery
This is where you promise yourself a reward if you follow through. Therefore, you let that reward drive you and surmount your difficulties.
External motivators drive you forward out of fear of something unpleasant, while internal motivators make you feel that reaching your goal is going to give you a big reward and lots of pleasant benefits.
Internal Motivators
Internal motivators are about what you want, as opposed to avoiding a negative consequence or punishment. These are universal needs, drives, and desires that are easy to lose track of. The easy way to find these is to answer a set of questions that directly asks things such as how am I going to benefit from this and how does my life stand to improve from this? It’s only through answering these questions that you realize what you are neglecting.
Opportunity Cost
Everything in life is an opportunity cost, which means that everything you do will call for something from you. Every act takes away time or effort that could be committed to something else.
If the opportunity cost is too expensive for you to want to pay it, then you will not follow through. Therefore, you must find a motivator that drives you to accept the opportunity cost. If you don’t feel motivated enough to pay that cost, then you are guaranteed to lose steam and give up.
A manifesto is nothing more than a set of rules to follow every day.
Chapter 3: Create a Manifesto
Rules hold you accountable so that you are not winging it every day but instead are guided. Use your rules to guide your worldview and your daily actions.
Rule 1: Evaluate Yourself
Rule 1 is to ask yourself, “If not for laziness or fear, would I be giving up?” This makes it very clear to yourself that you are not acting out of a lack of ability or talent, but rather you are just taking the easy way out. Is that what you want to admit to yourself?
Rule 2: Three Tasks Maximum
Rule 2 is to focus on three things a day maximum. Only. Tops. Being overwhelmed or disorganized can kill your ability to get things done. Sometimes we can’t follow through on what we want because we don’t plan smartly. We give ourselves too much to do and we become overwhelmed. But using this rule enables you to plan against that problem by only allowing yourself to focus on three things a day maximum.
Rule 3: Create Limitations and Requirements
Rule 3 is to make actual rules for yourself. Create an actual code of conduct for you to follow in terms of being more disciplined and following through more. Write your code down in detail and then post it in a visible area. While you may not adhere to all of them every day, you at least stand a better chance of follow-through when you actually take the time to think about your code of conduct and write them down.
Rule 4: Reaffirm Your Intentions
This rule comes into play when you are faced with a fork in the road between deciding to follow through or not. This rule seeks to reaffirm your intentions by reminding yourself what they are and why you want to achieve them.
Rule 5: Think in Terms of 10-10-10
The next time you feel that you’re about to give in to an urge or temptation, stop and ask yourself how you will feel 10 minutes, 10 hours, and 10 days from now. This rule may not seem all that powerful, but it’s effective because it forces you to think about your future self and to see how your actions are going to affect yourself in the future—for better or worse.
Rule 6: Just 10 Minutes
If you want something negative, harmful, or detrimental to your follow through, wait at least 10 minutes before getting it. It’s simple and leaves no room for debate or excuses. When you feel an urge, force yourself to wait for 10 minutes before giving in to whatever the urge is. If you’re still craving it after 10 minutes, then have it. Or wait 10 more minutes because you’ve already done it and survived just fine.
Chapter 4: Follow-Through Mindsets
Follow-through is 100% mental. It takes a cognitive effort to follow through on something, especially when you hit discouraging obstacles. Mindsets help with that. A mindset is a set way of visualizing and approaching situations and problems. Certain mindsets are all it takes to find the will and motivation necessary to follow through on something.
Chapter 5: The Science of Smashing Procrastination
The main component in this self-defeating habit is called time inconsistency. This is where humans value immediate and instant gratification over long-term rewards.
The best way to counteract time inconsistency is to move future long-term rewards into the present more effectively. That way, your present self sees the benefit and wants to stick to the long-term program. Waiting for a future reward is often not sufficient to motivate your present self because your present self does not want to wait.
Temptation Bundling
Temptation bundling is an excellent and efficient way to kill procrastination and increase productivity by combining present and future selves and their conflicting needs. There is no need to suffer in the present to get something done for your future self; if you do suffer, then you will lose all motivation and procrastinate. So find ways to bundle your temptations with your long-term goals. In other words, pair your obligations with instantaneous rewards.
Small, Easy Increments
Another way to mitigate procrastination is to start in small, easy increments. Really, you want to break tasks down into minuscule, microscopic components. This makes your first step seem incredibly easy—and taking that first step is the hardest part with procrastination.
Inertia is the force that builds as you are at rest. On the other hand, momentum is the drive to keep moving forward until you get everything done. Your task here is to break inertia and gain momentum.
Chapter 6. No Distraction Zone
If you’re constantly distracted, you succumb to temptations without even giving yourself a chance to exercise your willpower. It just doesn’t occur to you, and you choose the path of least resistance despite your best intentions. Distractions sneakily eat away at our self-discipline. This process can go on in the background so that we don’t even realize that our discipline is lapsing until it’s too late and all of our past efforts have been wasted.
Batching
Batching is when you group similar tasks together to complete them all at once. Ford’s assembly line was essentially 100% batching because his workers only performed one task incredibly efficiently. Batching allows you to save your mental energy for the tasks themselves and not waste your energy on the process of switching back and forth between them.
Chapter 7: Deadly Pitfalls
False Hope Syndrome
False hope syndrome occurs when you think that you can do everything on your to-do list and reach your dreams in a short amount of time. You promise yourself, or a client, the moon. Then you are sorely disappointed when you cannot deliver, and those big expectations have actually caused a negative effect on your working spirit.
Chapter 8. Daily Systems for Success
A system is a set of actions that you consistently perform every day in order to streamline your success and reach your goals. Unlike your self-discipline and willpower, a system organizes you and helps you perform your duties without having to push yourself. Willpower and self-discipline, on the other hand, only offer you strength to force yourself to do things; they do not give you a set way of doing things or a streamlined list of actions to complete.
A system becomes routine so that you do not have to think about what you need to do, but instead you just do it.
April 24, 2021
Terrible and judgmental
I've read my share of self help/productivity books. I liked the concept of the title, which was focusing on completion. However, its the same old tired and worn out generic advice from every other life coach hacks. The only difference is the guy really lacks empathy, and is basically stating you're a lazy loser if you don't accomplish your goals. There could be a myriad of factors that hold people back that go beyond the over simplified reasons of "You fear success. You need to make sacrifices." Yeah, the person may suffer from depression and trauma, or have a chronic health issue, or the live in an abusive house hold. Or hey, maybe they realized they didn't like what they set out to do after all. But I guess that makes you a lazy looser according to his prescribed methodology. Anyway , this book is getting deleted from the library.
I've read my share of self help/productivity books. I liked the concept of the title, which was focusing on completion. However, its the same old tired and worn out generic advice from every other life coach hacks. The only difference is the guy really lacks empathy, and is basically stating you're a lazy loser if you don't accomplish your goals. There could be a myriad of factors that hold people back that go beyond the over simplified reasons of "You fear success. You need to make sacrifices." Yeah, the person may suffer from depression and trauma, or have a chronic health issue, or the live in an abusive house hold. Or hey, maybe they realized they didn't like what they set out to do after all. But I guess that makes you a lazy looser according to his prescribed methodology. Anyway , this book is getting deleted from the library.
May 2, 2021
It was really useful. Very concise and straight to the point. Few but good examples. Lots of tips and content that actually make sense and are doable in real life. I highlighted lots of sentences that I want to review in the future. The summary at the end of each chapter is amazing. I recommend it.
May 22, 2019
The author is clearly smart. In a simple way he has shown how one can persist. He forgot to point out that some things are just never meant to be finished. Dead ends happen. Knowing when that happens is a skill on it's own.
February 7, 2021
FINiSH WHAT YOU STARTED by Peter Collins is a book which motivates us to make what we do fruitful by giving our "full self" to it. The major steps in achieving a fruitful result is by the art of following through, taking action, executing & self discipline.
The book says,
🔸Make your intentions reality
🔸FINiSH what you state & following through is breaking through that common loop & taking hold of your life.
🔸Stop thinking, just execute.
🔸The more prepared & planned we are the better.
🔸Failure in following through is due to the lack of focus. Without focus all our efforts go wasted.
🔸Self discipline gives us power to regulate our own thoughts, feelings & actions towards ends that are meaningful to you.
🔸 Leisure is important part of life , but if it's excessive & takes the place of reasonable productivity, then it becomes a vice.
🔸Action is crucial to execute our plans & the realisation of our goals, for without it, plans remain abstract & goals remain dreams.
🔸 Persistence us firmly sticking to something for a prolonged period of time, even as we encounter things that try to unstick you.
🔸We don't follow through for 2 main reasons. We have an entire selection of (1) intuiting tactics / or (2) psychological roadblocks that hinder us from finishing what we started.
🔸Giving ourselves, a well deserved break by indulging in activities, we find enjoyable would help recharge us.
🔸We could function better with good time management, a schedule is cleverly organised & then promptly followed, so tasks get done as planned.
🔸Inplace of laziness & lack of disciplines, we need will power & disciplines.
🔸Lack of self awareness could also be a psychological barrier against following through.
🔸 Motivation, not only drives us, but also discourage us from giving up.
🔸Self confidence & hardwork makes our efforts fruitful.
🔸The more you do things that make us uncomfortable, the more comfortable you become with discomfort.
What is temptation building? How to realize if we have false hope syndrome?
🔸Over thinking is a silent killer of joy, hope & reasons.
🔸 Knwoing ourselves enables us to figure out how to work best & create the most beneficial environments for us
The book says,
🔸Make your intentions reality
🔸FINiSH what you state & following through is breaking through that common loop & taking hold of your life.
🔸Stop thinking, just execute.
🔸The more prepared & planned we are the better.
🔸Failure in following through is due to the lack of focus. Without focus all our efforts go wasted.
🔸Self discipline gives us power to regulate our own thoughts, feelings & actions towards ends that are meaningful to you.
🔸 Leisure is important part of life , but if it's excessive & takes the place of reasonable productivity, then it becomes a vice.
🔸Action is crucial to execute our plans & the realisation of our goals, for without it, plans remain abstract & goals remain dreams.
🔸 Persistence us firmly sticking to something for a prolonged period of time, even as we encounter things that try to unstick you.
🔸We don't follow through for 2 main reasons. We have an entire selection of (1) intuiting tactics / or (2) psychological roadblocks that hinder us from finishing what we started.
🔸Giving ourselves, a well deserved break by indulging in activities, we find enjoyable would help recharge us.
🔸We could function better with good time management, a schedule is cleverly organised & then promptly followed, so tasks get done as planned.
🔸Inplace of laziness & lack of disciplines, we need will power & disciplines.
🔸Lack of self awareness could also be a psychological barrier against following through.
🔸 Motivation, not only drives us, but also discourage us from giving up.
🔸Self confidence & hardwork makes our efforts fruitful.
🔸The more you do things that make us uncomfortable, the more comfortable you become with discomfort.
What is temptation building? How to realize if we have false hope syndrome?
🔸Over thinking is a silent killer of joy, hope & reasons.
🔸 Knwoing ourselves enables us to figure out how to work best & create the most beneficial environments for us
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 12, 2019
Strong start, weak finish
The summary at the end of each chapter is helpful, and perhaps all you need. I enjoyed the first half of this book more than the latter. I think more specifics would help.
The summary at the end of each chapter is helpful, and perhaps all you need. I enjoyed the first half of this book more than the latter. I think more specifics would help.
April 27, 2022
Most of the information in this book is something you probably have read someplace else. A bit too much repetition and some weird ideas about what should be done make it a bit less appealing.
September 13, 2023
Nearly didn’t finish this book. Thankfully maths was zzzzzzz and I discovered I had 5 pages left.
/
Hollins begins by giving us an overview of necessary values: focus, self-discipline, action and persistence. Does he outline how these values work in practice? No - only that they are good. Logically the reader already knows this; thus he has not given any new info.
Hollins also confronts psychological roadblocks - laziness, fear of rejection, perfection out of insecurity, lack of self-awareness. Acknowledges that they occur ‘because we are unconsciously protecting ourselves’ but does not give us a means to contend with our fears.
He now posits a counterpoint: What if we do follow through? But we already know these benefits otherwise we would not pick up the book.
The rest of the work offers some interesting strategies; the 10-10-10 rule; temptation bundling; batching; a don’t do list; the 40-70 rule and a brief exploration into alpha (and other) waves.
It’s worth noting that I’ve always believed that self-help strategies should be used to supplement a pre-existing understanding of self - as such, definitely agree with Hollins that motivation ought to be intrinsic, but it would do his work a service if he would present a more compelling argument for self-reflection.
/
Hollins begins by giving us an overview of necessary values: focus, self-discipline, action and persistence. Does he outline how these values work in practice? No - only that they are good. Logically the reader already knows this; thus he has not given any new info.
Hollins also confronts psychological roadblocks - laziness, fear of rejection, perfection out of insecurity, lack of self-awareness. Acknowledges that they occur ‘because we are unconsciously protecting ourselves’ but does not give us a means to contend with our fears.
He now posits a counterpoint: What if we do follow through? But we already know these benefits otherwise we would not pick up the book.
The rest of the work offers some interesting strategies; the 10-10-10 rule; temptation bundling; batching; a don’t do list; the 40-70 rule and a brief exploration into alpha (and other) waves.
It’s worth noting that I’ve always believed that self-help strategies should be used to supplement a pre-existing understanding of self - as such, definitely agree with Hollins that motivation ought to be intrinsic, but it would do his work a service if he would present a more compelling argument for self-reflection.
July 30, 2020
قەت لەو بڕوایە نەبووم ئەم جۆرە کتێبانە بخوێنمەوە چونکو پێم وایە قووڵ و کرداریی نین و زیاتر بۆ حەشامات و بازرگانین، بەڵام ڕاستییەکەی ناونیشانی ئەم کتێبە زۆر سەرنجی ڕاکێشام. لیستێکی ئەو کتێب و زنجیرانەم نووسی کە پێشتر دەستم پێ کردبوون بەس تەواوم نەکردوون، لیستەکەم هەتا ئەو ٣٠ دانە درێژ بوویەوە!! وەلحاسڵ خوێندنەوەی ئەم کتێبە واهەستەکەم پێویستی بوو و هەستیش ئەکەم زۆر کاریگەری باشی لەسەرم ئەبێت.
April 25, 2023
I read “Finish What You Start” for a book club with some guys from my work as a way to connect and participate in some personal growth and development. We don’t finish on this book until the end of June, but there was no way I was going to read this for two more months. I wish I could say I finished because it was a real page-turner, but that’s just not the case. I am absolutely dumbfounded by the litany of 5-star reviews on Amazon and the “bestselling author” label under the author’s name… THIS is a bestseller?
The content itself is unoriginal; if you know anything at all about productivity or habit development, this will not teach you anything new. In fact, everything here has been far better stated elsewhere by other, more reputable authors. It felt like the methods of following through that Hollins shares constantly contradict each other, rely on willpower, or are just blatantly obvious (stress doesn’t help productivity, so…de-stress yourself!) The small smattering of scientific research referenced throughout isn’t cited, which instantly leaves me feeling like this isn’t credible work… Add in the countless grammatical errors and you’ve got a very unprofessional piece of work. And why was there no conclusion? It just…ends.
I think for me the cherry on top was when Hollins is talking about this idea of “temptation bundling,” which essentially means “reward your present self while you do the hard thing that’s going to get your future self to the intended goal”, and he uses the example of eating Twinkies while working out.
You can’t make this stuff up.
I think my time would have been better off spent reading something like Atomic Habits by James Clear. Needless to say I will not be picking up any one of the MANY other books by Peter Hollins that appear to be the exact same thing as this, regurgitated with a different cover.
The content itself is unoriginal; if you know anything at all about productivity or habit development, this will not teach you anything new. In fact, everything here has been far better stated elsewhere by other, more reputable authors. It felt like the methods of following through that Hollins shares constantly contradict each other, rely on willpower, or are just blatantly obvious (stress doesn’t help productivity, so…de-stress yourself!) The small smattering of scientific research referenced throughout isn’t cited, which instantly leaves me feeling like this isn’t credible work… Add in the countless grammatical errors and you’ve got a very unprofessional piece of work. And why was there no conclusion? It just…ends.
I think for me the cherry on top was when Hollins is talking about this idea of “temptation bundling,” which essentially means “reward your present self while you do the hard thing that’s going to get your future self to the intended goal”, and he uses the example of eating Twinkies while working out.
You can’t make this stuff up.
I think my time would have been better off spent reading something like Atomic Habits by James Clear. Needless to say I will not be picking up any one of the MANY other books by Peter Hollins that appear to be the exact same thing as this, regurgitated with a different cover.
December 11, 2019
OK, but nothing really new
February 2, 2021
As a list of practical tips and ideas for beating procrastination and following through on your plans, it's a good book to have.
It's not deep, science-wise. Most of the examples come in the form of fictional thought experiments, and while studies are referenced every once in a while, none are really ever dug into. This is a direct and practical book that simplifies and gathers strategies that have been covered frequently and more deeply elsewhere. That's not necessarily a bad thing; it makes for a good personal reference manual for when you want to review strategies. Just know what you're getting.
I have a few objections that are mostly personal. I won't ding it too many points for them, but they do impact how I feel about this book so I'm bringing them up here. I didn't really connect with the examples, the characters used in the thought experiments clearly have different ambitions in life and mindsets than I have. Sometimes I find what motivates me about a strategy is different from what the author says the motivation behind a strategy should be. For example, he states that shame is the primary driver behind the accountability buddy strategy, although in my experience it's the mutual encouragement. Having someone to excitedly share your progress with and to cheer you on is far more motivational than feeling ashamed of lack of progress, in my opinion. There are a number other times where I was like, "that's just not me."
All in all, I'll give this 4/5. It's a decent reference on productivity tips, which means it serves its primary purpose, but it isn't sufficiently original, strongly founded, or personally resonant for this to warrant full marks.
It's not deep, science-wise. Most of the examples come in the form of fictional thought experiments, and while studies are referenced every once in a while, none are really ever dug into. This is a direct and practical book that simplifies and gathers strategies that have been covered frequently and more deeply elsewhere. That's not necessarily a bad thing; it makes for a good personal reference manual for when you want to review strategies. Just know what you're getting.
I have a few objections that are mostly personal. I won't ding it too many points for them, but they do impact how I feel about this book so I'm bringing them up here. I didn't really connect with the examples, the characters used in the thought experiments clearly have different ambitions in life and mindsets than I have. Sometimes I find what motivates me about a strategy is different from what the author says the motivation behind a strategy should be. For example, he states that shame is the primary driver behind the accountability buddy strategy, although in my experience it's the mutual encouragement. Having someone to excitedly share your progress with and to cheer you on is far more motivational than feeling ashamed of lack of progress, in my opinion. There are a number other times where I was like, "that's just not me."
All in all, I'll give this 4/5. It's a decent reference on productivity tips, which means it serves its primary purpose, but it isn't sufficiently original, strongly founded, or personally resonant for this to warrant full marks.
March 7, 2023
It took a Goodreads friend asking me how the progress was coming along to jog my memory and help me finish what I'd started when I opened this book months ago. Ironically. It's a really short book so it shouldn't have taken me this long - once I'd gotten started, I finished it in two days (from the night of May 22nd to the afternoon of the 23rd) - but life got in the way and I pushed it to the backburner.
It's a good book, insightful and eye-opening, and it has some good pointers in identifying issues and roadblocks in you that have been stopping you from finishing, but I wish it had more pointers in how to combat these things. Unlike one of my favorite books of all time, Big Dreams, Daily Joys, this one didn't have as many clear-cut actionable tips, but it did set up some ways you could mentally get over the hurdles you put up in your head - it just wasn't as helpful or easy to understand as Big Dreams Daily Joys. The end of the chapter has a summary that was helpful if you're like me and started zoning out towards the end of each one, which I appreciated.
All in all, not groundbreaking by any means, but it's helpful and might be what you need if you struggle with finishing what you start.
It's a good book, insightful and eye-opening, and it has some good pointers in identifying issues and roadblocks in you that have been stopping you from finishing, but I wish it had more pointers in how to combat these things. Unlike one of my favorite books of all time, Big Dreams, Daily Joys, this one didn't have as many clear-cut actionable tips, but it did set up some ways you could mentally get over the hurdles you put up in your head - it just wasn't as helpful or easy to understand as Big Dreams Daily Joys. The end of the chapter has a summary that was helpful if you're like me and started zoning out towards the end of each one, which I appreciated.
All in all, not groundbreaking by any means, but it's helpful and might be what you need if you struggle with finishing what you start.
August 1, 2025
At first, I thought my biggest problem was laziness. But reading this made me realize the real issue was deeper: I kept living in the “starting” phase and never trained the muscle to actually finish. It hit me hard that finishing is not about willpower; it’s a skill that needs deliberate practice.
One idea that completely shifted my perspective was the power of momentum. I used to wait until I felt motivated, but now I see it works the other way around—taking even the smallest action creates the motivation to keep going. That simple shift made the first step feel less terrifying.
The way this book reframed self-discipline was also eye-opening. I used to see discipline as restriction, but here it’s shown as freedom. By committing to finish, I free myself from the constant mental weight of half-done projects and finally make space for what really matters.
Another punch-to-the-gut insight was about perfectionism. I realized I often avoid finishing things because I’m afraid they won’t be “good enough.” But done is infinitely more valuable than “almost perfect.” This mindset helped me let go of unrealistic standards and just complete what I start.
By the end, I felt both called out and strangely relieved. Finishing isn’t about working harder; it’s about prioritizing, cutting the noise, and building habits that make follow-through automatic. For the first time, I feel like I have a map out of the cycle that’s been keeping me stuck.
One idea that completely shifted my perspective was the power of momentum. I used to wait until I felt motivated, but now I see it works the other way around—taking even the smallest action creates the motivation to keep going. That simple shift made the first step feel less terrifying.
The way this book reframed self-discipline was also eye-opening. I used to see discipline as restriction, but here it’s shown as freedom. By committing to finish, I free myself from the constant mental weight of half-done projects and finally make space for what really matters.
Another punch-to-the-gut insight was about perfectionism. I realized I often avoid finishing things because I’m afraid they won’t be “good enough.” But done is infinitely more valuable than “almost perfect.” This mindset helped me let go of unrealistic standards and just complete what I start.
By the end, I felt both called out and strangely relieved. Finishing isn’t about working harder; it’s about prioritizing, cutting the noise, and building habits that make follow-through automatic. For the first time, I feel like I have a map out of the cycle that’s been keeping me stuck.
September 11, 2020
I'm good at starting and finishing what others started, but all too often drop my projects for no apparent reason.
Was skeptical at the beginning (the intro is frankly awful), then got curious.
First, I like how concise and structured it is—books you can digest and take notes in a couple of hours are priceless.
Then, a couple of things really stung—and I think it's good. The more motivation to follow through, the better ;)
Aaand it's the first time I see the concept of "opportunity cost" explained clearly.
So... yes, it's good. Might be a bit dry, still certainly a great review of what you might be missing.
Was skeptical at the beginning (the intro is frankly awful), then got curious.
First, I like how concise and structured it is—books you can digest and take notes in a couple of hours are priceless.
Then, a couple of things really stung—and I think it's good. The more motivation to follow through, the better ;)
Aaand it's the first time I see the concept of "opportunity cost" explained clearly.
So... yes, it's good. Might be a bit dry, still certainly a great review of what you might be missing.
April 2, 2019
"Finish what you start" helps you develop self-discipline of getting things done. The book has some cool tips and tricks that can help anyone follow through on their goal, tasks, or habits. This is an all-around great book for staying motivated and getting things done. I liked it as a welcomed boost to my productivity.
February 20, 2022
Following through is related to focus, self-discipline, action, and persistence, but it is not synonymous to any of them. Rather, it is a composite of all of them.
We don’t follow through for two main reasons:
(1) inhibiting tactics are the ways we plan against ourselves without even realizing it.
(2) psychological roadblocks are the ways we don’t follow through because we are unconsciously protecting ourselves.
Inhibiting Tactics:
(1) setting bad goals
(2) procrastination
(3) indulging in temptations and distractions
(4) poor time management
Good time management involves the ability to schedule tasks and the ability to recognize which tasks are best done when.
Psychological Roadblocks:
(1) laziness and lack of discipline
(2) fear of judgment, rejection, and failure
(3) perfectionism out of insecurity
(4) lack of self-awareness.
By not acting and not following through, we have already judged and rejected ourselves even before we’ve started. We have already failed the moment we decided not to try.
External Motivators:
_ Accountability groups > Accountability partners
_ Putting money down upfront
_ Self bribing
External motivations are mostly about avoiding pain, so figure out what pains you are avoiding or can create for yourself. Then let your urge to avoid those pains drive you.
Internal motivators are about what you want.
Internal Motivators > External Motivators
Cues to Motivation:
_ Can be spread across our five senses in imaginative and creative ways.
_ Be sure to move and change these cues around every few days.
_ Having very noticeable cues worked better than cues that did not stand out.
Rules help you follow through because they limit your vision. When you are robbed of your decision-making power then your hands are tied and following through is the only choice you have.
Rule #1: Before you give up, make it a rule that you always ask yourself if it is laziness or fear that is holding you back from action.
Rule #2: Focus on three things a day maximum.
Rule #3: Give yourself five daily limitations and five daily requirements.
Rule #4: Reaffirm Your Intentions by saying if i want to ... i will ... i won't ...
Rule #5: The next time you feel that you’re about to give in to an urge or temptation, stop and ask yourself how you will feel 10 minutes, 10 hours, and 10 days from now.
You might want to change the parameters to 10 weeks if you’re mostly engaged in longer-term
decisions and tasks.
Rule #6: If you want something negative, harmful, or detrimental to your follow through, wait at least 10 minutes before getting it.
Similarly, if you want to quit something beneficial.
Simply by choosing to wait you remove the “immediate” from immediate gratification—building discipline and improving decision-making.
The *** does not have a lasting benefit, but it does have a lasting cost.
Assigning value and remembering how each thing you do ties into your main goal is very important because it helps you feel that you are doing well just by working.
View life as a series of lessons that you can use for future betterment.
"What can i learn from this?"
Become comfortable with discomfort. Everything you want to do will have elements of discomfort. Thus, becoming used to this feeling allows you to tackle what you want without fear.
Your future self wants goals that pay out at some future date after work performed in the present. The present self wants rewards that pay out now, which in turn often hurt your chances to get your future self its long-term rewards.
Start with the easiest tasks first.
Productive paranoia is being paranoid about what may go wrong, by always planning for the
worst and trying to avoid the worst. As a result, fear motivates you and will keep you from
procrastination.
Procrastination comes from boredom, complacency, and safety, so stripping those feelings away can leave you paranoid and eager to avoid bad consequences.
Distractions sneakily eat away at our self-discipline. This process can go on in the
background so that we don’t even realize that our discipline is lapsing until it’s too late and all of our past efforts have been wasted.
Avoid multitasking whenever it's possible.
Do all the similar tasks together, one after the other, and then move on to the next batch of similar or related activities.
Any time you face a hard choice, you should have no less than 40% and no more than 70% of the
information you need to make that decision.
False hope is about controlling your expectations (not too high not too low).
Instead of overthinking, place an emphasis on action. Most actions are reversible. you’ll have gain no further information if you stay in the same place without moving.
Worrying causes you to suffer twice—once during the worrying and again if the dreaded event actually occurs. And if it doesn’t occur, you’ve just suffered for no reason at all.
Failure is useful only when we’re aware of the cause. When we see the cause, we can see how to fix it and how to avoid repeated failure in the future.
If you see no obstacles in your path, you need to brainstorm more to account for potential pitfalls.
Gather all of the information and materials you need all at once and before you get started. This allows you to work interruption-free and gather momentum.
We don’t follow through for two main reasons:
(1) inhibiting tactics are the ways we plan against ourselves without even realizing it.
(2) psychological roadblocks are the ways we don’t follow through because we are unconsciously protecting ourselves.
Inhibiting Tactics:
(1) setting bad goals
(2) procrastination
(3) indulging in temptations and distractions
(4) poor time management
Good time management involves the ability to schedule tasks and the ability to recognize which tasks are best done when.
Psychological Roadblocks:
(1) laziness and lack of discipline
(2) fear of judgment, rejection, and failure
(3) perfectionism out of insecurity
(4) lack of self-awareness.
By not acting and not following through, we have already judged and rejected ourselves even before we’ve started. We have already failed the moment we decided not to try.
External Motivators:
_ Accountability groups > Accountability partners
_ Putting money down upfront
_ Self bribing
External motivations are mostly about avoiding pain, so figure out what pains you are avoiding or can create for yourself. Then let your urge to avoid those pains drive you.
Internal motivators are about what you want.
Internal Motivators > External Motivators
Cues to Motivation:
_ Can be spread across our five senses in imaginative and creative ways.
_ Be sure to move and change these cues around every few days.
_ Having very noticeable cues worked better than cues that did not stand out.
Rules help you follow through because they limit your vision. When you are robbed of your decision-making power then your hands are tied and following through is the only choice you have.
Rule #1: Before you give up, make it a rule that you always ask yourself if it is laziness or fear that is holding you back from action.
Rule #2: Focus on three things a day maximum.
Rule #3: Give yourself five daily limitations and five daily requirements.
Rule #4: Reaffirm Your Intentions by saying if i want to ... i will ... i won't ...
Rule #5: The next time you feel that you’re about to give in to an urge or temptation, stop and ask yourself how you will feel 10 minutes, 10 hours, and 10 days from now.
You might want to change the parameters to 10 weeks if you’re mostly engaged in longer-term
decisions and tasks.
Rule #6: If you want something negative, harmful, or detrimental to your follow through, wait at least 10 minutes before getting it.
Similarly, if you want to quit something beneficial.
Simply by choosing to wait you remove the “immediate” from immediate gratification—building discipline and improving decision-making.
The *** does not have a lasting benefit, but it does have a lasting cost.
Assigning value and remembering how each thing you do ties into your main goal is very important because it helps you feel that you are doing well just by working.
View life as a series of lessons that you can use for future betterment.
"What can i learn from this?"
Become comfortable with discomfort. Everything you want to do will have elements of discomfort. Thus, becoming used to this feeling allows you to tackle what you want without fear.
Your future self wants goals that pay out at some future date after work performed in the present. The present self wants rewards that pay out now, which in turn often hurt your chances to get your future self its long-term rewards.
Start with the easiest tasks first.
Productive paranoia is being paranoid about what may go wrong, by always planning for the
worst and trying to avoid the worst. As a result, fear motivates you and will keep you from
procrastination.
Procrastination comes from boredom, complacency, and safety, so stripping those feelings away can leave you paranoid and eager to avoid bad consequences.
Distractions sneakily eat away at our self-discipline. This process can go on in the
background so that we don’t even realize that our discipline is lapsing until it’s too late and all of our past efforts have been wasted.
Avoid multitasking whenever it's possible.
Do all the similar tasks together, one after the other, and then move on to the next batch of similar or related activities.
Any time you face a hard choice, you should have no less than 40% and no more than 70% of the
information you need to make that decision.
False hope is about controlling your expectations (not too high not too low).
Instead of overthinking, place an emphasis on action. Most actions are reversible. you’ll have gain no further information if you stay in the same place without moving.
Worrying causes you to suffer twice—once during the worrying and again if the dreaded event actually occurs. And if it doesn’t occur, you’ve just suffered for no reason at all.
Failure is useful only when we’re aware of the cause. When we see the cause, we can see how to fix it and how to avoid repeated failure in the future.
If you see no obstacles in your path, you need to brainstorm more to account for potential pitfalls.
Gather all of the information and materials you need all at once and before you get started. This allows you to work interruption-free and gather momentum.
December 31, 2023
Rating: 7.5
Read in a day, nothing crazy. Basically what all productivity/self-help books talk about except this is more condensed.
Not challenging or new by any means but a good refresher if you want to make some important tweaks to your life/habits in 2024.
Read in a day, nothing crazy. Basically what all productivity/self-help books talk about except this is more condensed.
Not challenging or new by any means but a good refresher if you want to make some important tweaks to your life/habits in 2024.
March 1, 2024
sorry….. i couldn’t finish read this book….
June 4, 2019
For such a short book it is jam packed with good actionable suggestions to help with follow through.
Main takeaways for me were to bundle pleasant things with dull or uncomfortable things that I have to learn or get done.
Also to limit social media and distractions by keeping them far away. For example working in the basement is relatively distraction free.
Also having a clean desk enhances focus.
Making a productive system with a calendar, delegating and automating are some other things i found resonated with me.
Though there is lots more in there.
Main takeaways for me were to bundle pleasant things with dull or uncomfortable things that I have to learn or get done.
Also to limit social media and distractions by keeping them far away. For example working in the basement is relatively distraction free.
Also having a clean desk enhances focus.
Making a productive system with a calendar, delegating and automating are some other things i found resonated with me.
Though there is lots more in there.
April 11, 2021
I started the book not because I'm lazy and have some major problems with following through, but because I wanted to make the process of finalizing my project more efficient by consciously applying the advices in the book. There were both things that I already knew and some new ideas I haven't thought of. So, there is, for sure, a learning effect at the end. The thing I like the most about the structure of the book is the summary after each chapter which helps you recall the information at later point.
January 25, 2020
This book lists a lot of reasons why people waste time, procrastinate and never follow-up. I find it interesting and informative.
It also includes good advice to overcome these pitfalls and start being productive.
The book is concise ; moreover, there is a summary of the eight chapters at the end of the book, which is useful in case one needs a reminder a few months after reading it.
It also includes good advice to overcome these pitfalls and start being productive.
The book is concise ; moreover, there is a summary of the eight chapters at the end of the book, which is useful in case one needs a reminder a few months after reading it.
February 9, 2020
The book is short and concise. The tasks and tips given are straight forward and simple. The author does not beat around the bush before stating the idea and the reason behind the same. Every chapter follows the same pattern and that really helps the reader understand what is it that author whats the reader to understand.
April 17, 2018
Easy to read explanation of barriers to productivity. Worthwhile points and practices.
Concise expression in business terms of steps to achieve a desired outcome. Explains terminology well. Includes summaries in each chapter and at the end of the book.
Concise expression in business terms of steps to achieve a desired outcome. Explains terminology well. Includes summaries in each chapter and at the end of the book.
March 2, 2019
This book is quite different from other self-help books.Instead of repeating well-known facts it presents various techniques about finishing what we start and productivity in general.
Another good point is that the author is a psychologist and the claims in the book are scientific and practical.
Another good point is that the author is a psychologist and the claims in the book are scientific and practical.
June 10, 2025
“No matter how hard things get, it is your efforts that give you the results that you desire”
It is a perfect book that tells you to do your work and it gives you the tools to follow through on your actions.
It is a perfect book that tells you to do your work and it gives you the tools to follow through on your actions.
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