Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done

Finish acts as a no B.S. guide to getting things done as it helped me quickly identify the barriers, self-imposed and external, that stand in the way of completing what I’ve started. I highly recommend this book to professionals looking to be more effective when it comes to their productivity and better managing their ability to execute. Finish is particularly applicable to creative creators who are writing, podcasting, shooting video or developing any other format of content as there’s a lot of particular tips for helping simplify your goals to ensure you’re able to reach the finish line and get things published.Here are my three big takeaways from the book and why I recommend giving this a read:1) The pursuit of perfectionism keeps you from reaching your goals. Acuff suggests coming to the realization that your goals won’t be perfect and that you’ve got to develop a tolerance for imperfection. There will be failures along the way as you navigate your tasks, but that doesn’t mean you should stop because of a misstep or two or maybe even three.2) Reduce your goals to ensure you reach the finish line. He suggests cutting your initial goals in half to make them more attainable as we typically fall prey to planning fallacy, the tendency to make plans unrealistically close to best-case scenarios. A researcher at the University of Memphis studied the members enrolled in one of Acuff’s courses and found that “90 percent of the people that cut their goal in half said they had an increased desire to work on their goal; it encouraged them to keep going, and it motivated them to work harder because the goal seemed attainable.” He found that people were more eager to continue forward and finish their projects when their goals became manageable and the pace was adjusted accordingly.3) Identify the made-up rules that hold you back and break them. “Perfectionism is a desperate attempt to live up to impossible standards,” according to Acuff. These impossible standards are secret rules or limiting beliefs we all abide by that direct our work and make it more difficult to complete the tasks we’ve committed to. A common secret rule is that only miserable, difficult goals count says Acuff like running to lose weight because that sounds more taxing than Zumba, which you’d rather be doing in the first place. He recommends replacing any cumbersome rules with new ones that are flexible, reasonable, healthy and truthful.If you’re looking to better understand your behavior when it comes to time management, goal setting and productivity, than I highly recommend reading Finish. It’s light, funny and easy to read with strong takeaways you can immediately act on.

Confession. I'm a struggling perfectionist. Have been most of my life. I've been able to overcome it for the most part when it comes to things I don't really care about all that much. But if there's something that's REALLY important to me...something I REALLY want to accomplish or get done...something that I feel CALLED to do or BORN to do...well, my perfectionism kicks in big time. I start working on it with tons of enthusiasm. I map out the steps and stages. I start thinking about how big of an impact this is going to make for myself, my family, and yes, maybe even the world! Then, I get nailed hard with perfectionism, I splutter to halt. Tell myself I'll get it done soon...as soon as the time is right (perfect)...and then EVERYTHING will work out perfectly. Years later, I look back with regret and wonder what happened.Does this happen with everything I do? No. Does perfectionism hang me out to dry every time? No. Just when it comes to something I really care about. Something I'm really passionate about. Something I know I can and should do because this is in my sweet spot. That's where I falter.That's why this book is exactly what I needed. It has some humor, some good advice, and mostly it's a positive kick in the backside to get stuff done and how to get past my perfectionism.I bought the hardcopy of this book first, started reading it, then knew I'd need it on audio so I could listen to it multiple times. So bought the book a second time, but this time on audio. I've been listening to in the car and while jogging. I can't tell you how many times I've pounded the steering wheel and said, "YES!" to no one in particular because the author hit the nail on the head for me.I think the thing that was most helpful to me, was that John identifies SO MANY different ways that perfectionism rears it's ugly head and tries to stop the work you know you were born to do. I mean, it's not like I'm surprised that I struggle with perfectionism, I've known that for decades. It's that I didn't realize just how many ways perfectionism can sabotage my plans and my big goals.So, if you struggle to get stuff done (especially the important stuff you really care about), get this book. Even if you don't know why you struggle (maybe especially if you don't know why you struggle). This book will help. And if you're a recovering perfectionist like me, you really, really need to read this book to uncover ALL the ways you need to say no to perfectionism and do the things you know you were meant to do in life.

I enjoyed the reading. Even when the tone (by the middle of the book) became too comedic for advices on how to overcome some serious psychological issues. I recommend the reading for people that tried and failed and failed and failed to become more productive.

For those who think that they are organised, but still have some backlog of things not done, this book will motivate you!!

As someone who has too many ideas, long lists and gets overwhelmed by everything that I still haven't done this is another of those books which I've bought which I promise I will definitely start at some point. It's on my to do list...

I have been a fan of Jon's work for a few years now and this book hit the sweet spot! Really encouraging, not blaming in any way but kindly helping figuring out steps to achieve your goals and discern what truly matters to you. A must-read!

Awesome and funny book. Must read.