How to Finish Your Writing Project (That’s Been Delayed Forever)

Today, I’m going to show you how to wrap up a writing project that’s been haunting you for weeks – with 3 proven subconscious hacks.

Most writers find it easy to start a new article or book.

They think this excitement will last forever.

But it won’t.

The novelty effect will wear off.

And you get stuck.

The worst thing you can do now is to start project.

Why?

After the dopamine hit fades, you won’t finish that one either.

Because you don’t have a system to finish things.

You’ll end up with a backlog of unfinished work that will stress you out. (I’ve been there!)

Here is a simple, proven method to become a master at finishing and submitting a project.

**Stop starting new projects.**

**Learn to finish them.**

Simply take pen and paper and fill in these prompts. It takes 3-5 minutes.

Step #1: Pick one project to “practice” finishing

To make “finishing” easy, I recommend you pick a low-hanging fruit, for example:

• an academic article that’s half-finished

• a book chapter that has the intro and a few bullet points

If I could FINISH only 1 project that’s a low-hanging fruit and almost done, it’s __________.

This way, your subconscious feels it’s “almost” done and you’re more likely to start working on it again.

Step #2: Make a super easy list of to-do’s

Here’s my favourite trick. Pretend you’ve got a helper – your own research assistant, ghostwriter or editor.

Someone who will finish this for you.

What tiny, almost too simple action points would you give them? Imagine they need your handholding and tiny steps they can understand and do within minutes.

Examples:

• find the last draft from 2023 and open it

• create chapter headlines for the introduction

• read reviewer’s comments and answer 3 of them one on a separate piece of paper

Here’s your prompt:

Dear helper, I want you to complete the project for me and here are the first 5 action points:

•

…

Later, you will take that list, take over the role of your helper, and work on those tiny steps.

The steps will be easy – you just follow the plan.

This method works wonders, I use it with at least one of my clients each month.

The reason is that you allow yourself to write the most banal, stupid instructions without feeling overwhelmed – this makes it easy for your subconscious to feel they can do it.

Step # 3: Let go of perfectionism

Let go of the idea that your writing project needs to be perfect.

Instead, work with a ‘minimum viable option’ that’s good enough for now.

Otherwise, you’ll never finish it.

Here’s your prompt:

At the very least, my project has to _______ (e.g. be xx words long; have no bullet points; have proper references).

I’ll wait for feedback and will later take more time to improve it. This will probably entail _________ (final proofread; perfect figures; improved flow argument).

Why does this work?

Because you tell your subconscious that there’s a way to finish this without perfectionism paralysis.

Better finished than perfect.

Get help to finish your project before Christmas

If you loved the above subconscious hacks and want to make absolutely sure you finish your writing project before Christmas 2024, join my 90-Day Writing Accelerator.

My program will give you structure, subconscious strategies, and accountability to get it done within 3 months.

Early enrolment with a super early bird discount is open now, exclusively for early bookers (30 % off, limited to 5 places).