793: How to Finish What You Start, with Chris Bailey

Chris Bailey: Intentional

Chris Bailey is an author and lecturer who explores the science behind living a more productive and intentional life. He has written hundreds of articles on the subject and is the bestselling author of The Productivity Project, Hyperfocus, and How to Calm Your Mind. His newest book is Intentional: How to Finish What You Start (Amazon, Bookshop)*.

Starting is often a lot easier than finishing. Our mindsets and our tactics can make a big difference in how far we really go. In this conversation, Chris and I discuss the best ways to finish what we begin.

Key Points

• Procrastination is triggered by six characteristics of aversion: boring, unpleasant, frustrating, far off in the future, unstructured, and/or meaningless.
• The more we activate the logical centers in our brain, the less aversion we run into.
• Almost everything can be more fun if we put the right structure around it. Gamification, countdown timers, and artificial deadlines can drive our behaviors in substantial ways.
• Make goals about others. Rather than simply “reading 10 pages,” shift to “reading ten pages to be a better mentor.”
• Most of us have a preference for either performance goals or learning goals. Identify which works better for you and for the people you lead.
• Define a target pace and map your progress against it. We often do this with organizational projects, but rarely for our own goals.
• Pair joyful tasks together with the ones that don’t bring joy as a means to keep you moving.

Resources Mentioned

• Intentional: How to Finish What You Start by Chris Bailey (Amazon, Bookshop)*

Interview Notes

Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required).

Related Episodes

• How to Become the Person You Want to Be, with James Clear (episode 376)
• How to Change Your Behavior, with BJ Fogg (episode 507)
• Make Your Task List Work for You, with Liane Davey (episode 785)

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