How to finish what you started

My word for 2023 worked out pretty well, although I never got around to sharing it until now:

FRUITION

I was determined that this year I’d bring into the world the tangible result of more than three years of writing. This year, I brought my mindset into alignment with that goal and became an author, with the publication of Nest in June 2023.

While that was the obvious thing to ‘come to fruition’ this year, there were other projects I’d been tinkering at and wanted to complete, as much as anything can be completed. In some ways I’m still tinkering, in others they’ve been very fruitful. I’ve built a strong reputation as an editor, benefitting from a growing network of clients and colleagues. That feels like an arrival, even if there are still goals I’m working towards.

In my mind, if not in reality, time was running out this year – I wanted these things done and in place before we moved back to the UK in the summer. Although that urgency wasn’t an emergency, the ticking clock forced me to get decisions made. This year has affirmed for me more than ever the creative lesson I keep repeating: deadlines – hard, meaningful ones – are full of powerful creative energy.

But there was another potent mindset shift that came from ‘fruition’. Since the big goal of the year was to finish what I’d started, those very words became a mantra for me. Picture me, every time I felt my attention divided, or drawn to the next big idea, bobbing my head and singing to myself ‘Finish what you started, finish what you started…’ (with the same rhythm as the ‘don’t be suspicious’ meme from Parks and Rec, for those to whom that means something.)

I even made a point of telling people when they interrupted me, whether mid-paragraph or during a task like cooking or laundry, ‘I’m going to finish what I started here, then come and help you.’ (Usually so I could find something in the very place they’d assured me several times they’d already looked.) It wasn’t always possible, but it turned out the sense of accomplishment at just one thing completed in a day was a real mental health balm. (One for the monotasking manifesto – when I finish it.)

For 2024, I have a wee jumble of unfinished things and background goals jostling for attention. I’m keeping January completely clear to reflect on what I want to finish – if at all. Perhaps it’ll be a year for starting and growing projects instead. I’m looking forward to Anna Siedel’s Word of the Year workshop (you can join her waitlist here) and lining up some other opportunities to just reflect. I’ll also turn more attention to the nesting of our Aberdeen home that was sidelined for our first few months here, while I focused on finishing other things. With what we have in mind, that project will definitely not be finished in a year!

Otherwise, I’m staying open-minded about where my focus will lie in 2024. I’ll send an email in the first few days of the year reflecting more specifically on what I want to continue, the big ideas I’m toying with, and ways for you to be involved or work with me. (Like, if you need one of those magical deadlines.) You can sign up to receive my emails here.

For now, here’s a reflection for you: sometimes all we can ask of ourselves is Do the Next Right Thing. But when resilience is higher and we have the resources, we can tell ourselves Finish What You Started. Which season are you in, or entering? And if it’s the latter, what do you have waiting that deserves to be finished?

Wishing everyone a peaceful and accomplished start to the year.