ALWAYS FINISH WHAT YOU HAVE STARTED - Chanukya's way

[Guest guest]

ALWAYS FINISH WHAT YOU HAVE STARTED - Radhakrishnan Pillai

 

There's this friend of mine who seems destined to end each and every project of

his with nothing but success. I once asked him to share his secret.

 

He said, " Before taking on any new project, I always complete the previous work

undertaken. That ensures that I single-mindedly, and successfully, finish every

project I take up! "

 

These words immediately reminded me of a verse by Chanakya:

 

`Activity is that which brings about the accomplishment of works undertaken'

(6.2.2)

 

Very few people are good at completing work they already have. Indeed, almost

all of us keep on taking new projects, accept new orders and even pick up new

books to read without asking ourselves, " Shouldn't I first complete the existing

one? "

 

No wonder we land up with various problems like stress, atrocious

time-management and a pathetic work-life balance. Why don't we first complete

the work we already have at hand?

 

Chanakya says that this happens because we are not `active'. We have to `act' to

complete all existing work. There's simply no alternative to this.

 

And you only need a few steps:

 

1) LIST ALL PENDING WORK

 

If you want to see why your life is in a mess, try this simple exercise: List

the number of activities that you have started but not completed or finished

till date.

 

It could be finishing a report, calling up and thanking the organisers of an

event, or simply completing that book you picked up. If you're honest, you will

be shocked at the size of your list!

 

2) PLAN IT, AND DO IT

 

Now, list the time required for completing each unfinished work. For example, it

may take a half hour to finish that report. Or about 5-10 minutes to call and

thank the organisers of that party. Or the book that you started reading and

left mid-way may take about three hours more to finish.

 

Keep sometime, say about one hour daily, to complete these unfinished tasks.

Very important: Actually `DO IT', and don't just think about doing it.

 

3) MAKE IT A HABIT

 

This exercise may look difficult initially. After all, we all do get into the

dirty habit of procrastinating. But if we really discipline ourselves by

completing all unfinished tasks, we will grow in self-confidence and even yearn

for bigger challenges.

 

The chairman of a multinational firm once revealed to me that he spends his

Saturdays just to complete any work that may have been left unfinished. This

shows how important is to be a good finisher rather than just being a good

starter.