A Series of Unfinished Projects
Did you finish that thing yet? You know, that thing. That thing you started a while back, well… Maybe a long while back at this point. You remember, right? Did you ever finish it? Oh, no?
Yeah… Me neither.
An assignment from one of the classes I taught on painting from imagination. The prompt was to paint yourself as an unconventional superhero!
As full-time, part-time, or undercover creatives our brains are always moving and thinking about the next thing. This isn’t because we don’t care about the previous or current thing or that it’s unimportant.
In part, I think it’s just excitement about what comes next—an inability to put the new idea on hold, even for a little while. The rush of a new idea is just so enticing you have to dive into it right then and there while you have the initial FIRE about it.
A jelly gouache Candyland painting. I want to add more elements to give a fuller feeling of a magical Candyland backdrop.
I also think there are times when we place unrealistic expectations on ourselves or set impossible deadlines to complete a project. When we fail to deliver at the time we pre-determined, the disappointment and shame of that perceived failure lead us to drop that project altogether and put all our efforts into making sure the next project is the best it can be in the time we want it to be. But then you don’t reach that deadline either. The cycle just keeps going and going until you have a sort of morgue of unfinished projects and less confidence in your abilities.
Another assignment from the painting class I taught. The prompt for this one was to paint your mind monster. As you can see, I have yet to paint in the monster!
This is yet another thing I beat myself up about in my creative practice. I’m great at generating ideas, starting to develop them, and diving into the process. But a lot of the time I lack the follow-through to bring something to completion. Or at least it feels that way.
I have an embarrassing number of unfinished paintings, ceramic projects, drafts of zines, scripts, and an entire half-painted patio set taking up an obscene amount of space in my little apartment.
I also taught a comic book class (I hope you know I’m using the word taught very loosely) where I didn’t finish my comic book!
When I accidentally catch a glimpse of these half-baked projects out of the corner of my eye, I quickly avert my gaze and try my darndest to choke down the feeling of disappointment in myself. When I’m reminded of these projects my mind starts to go down a negative thought rabbit hole about how I never finish anything.
The fact is, though, that’s simply not true. For every unfinished project I have collecting dust in my studio, I can think of or look around and see three other projects that I HAVE finished. No matter how big or small the project, it’s finished and that is an accomplishment.
I CAN and DO finish things. Not every time, but it has happened in the past which means it can happen again.
Not finishing something doesn’t have to mean you’re lazy, or that the idea is bad or impossible. You may just need to slow down, regroup, and make a new plan that is more realistic.
Which brings me to a little idea…
Rather than telling myself “I’ll get to it when I get to it…” about my unfinished projects, I want to make a concerted effort to complete at least some of them on a more regular basis. And I wanna do so in a way that feels more fun and less like a chore.
I’m creating a challenge for myself that I’m calling Finished in February (unless I come up with a catchier title by then). For this challenge, I will be using the entire month of February to complete three projects. A small project, a medium-sized project, and a large project.
The rules for the challenge are simple:
Be realistic and choose your three projects wisely. Don’t set yourself up for failure by picking three equally difficult projects to complete. The small project should be able to REALISTICALLY be finished within a week or less, the medium project two weeks, and the large project within a month.
Do NOT start any new projects during this challenge. All project work must be put toward the three projects you’ve decided to finish.
Have fun! Don’t put too much focus on the end-of-month deadline. Throw yourself into the process and remember why you started those projects in the first place.
Be kind to yourself. Take breaks when needed and don’t burn yourself out. If you don’t end up completing all three projects by the end of the month that is okay! Reflecting on the month and knowing that you tried is all that matters. There’s always next year!
If you would like to join me in the Finished in February Challenge, PLEASE DO! The more peers to cheer each other on, the better. This challenge isn’t just for traditional creatives. Maybe you have unfinished house projects, work goals, or self-work you’ve been putting on the back burner. Any kind of task or project you want to embark on finishing is welcome!
Be sure to fill out my website subscriber form at the bottom of the page, if you aren’t already on my email list, to stay in the loop about the challenge details as we move closer to February 2024!
Until then, be easy on yourself. You’re doing what you can and that’s great, I promise.