13. Completion vs. Consistency.

Received wisdom (or the wisdom that I’ve received, at any rate) dictates that in order to complete a task, you have to be consistent. You must set aside a regular time for a task and do a little every day in order to be successful. This year, I’ve discovered that this isn’t necessarily true. There’s nothing wrong with single-mindedly working on a task for hours at a time, a few times a week, when the fancy takes you – in a thoroughly inconsistent manner, so long as I get the task done.

Essentially, in most cases, consistent work isn’t all that important. What matters most is actually finishing the task, and that tends to require persistence, not consistency.

So, from here on out, consistency will generally be reserved for the tasks I don’t really like / struggle with, or for habits I need to develop. Otherwise, I’m focusing on sticking with completing any task I start, because I’m fed up with all of my unfinished projects. And the reason that I usually abandon them in the first place is because I get too caught up in the when and how often – in the insignificant details. So, in short, I’ve started to focus more on the big picture, and not leaving things unfinished.