Are you wondering how to complete a personal project that’s been sitting on the back burner for a long, long, time?

Are you in search of practical tips that will help you complete your project, once and for all?

Personal projects provide great satisfaction and reward in our lives.

Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for personal projects to be pushed aside in favor of work, school, and family responsibilities.

Perhaps you’ve been meaning to preserve your wedding dress for the past year.

Maybe you want to make a scrapbook of your trip itinerary to Rome.

Perhaps you’re looking to lose those last 20 pounds.

The good news is that now is a great time to pick up where you left off on your personal project.

Say goodbye to those unfulfilled wishes.

Say farewell to all those seemingly ephemeral hopes and dreams.

You are going to finish your personal project! And we’re going to make sure it finally gets done.

In this blog post, you’ll find tips to help you you buckle down and complete that personal project completed, once, and for all.

Use these tips any time you feel stuck or unmotivated or are wondering how to complete a project that’s personal in nature.

How to Complete a Personal Project

Set a time-sensitive, feeling-based deadline.

Personal projects can be difficult to complete because all your motivation and determination must come directly from you, and you alone.

However unlike work or school, there’s no external pressure urging you to finish your work. There’s no supervisor, client, or customer waiting for something to be completed.

As such, it only makes sense you’ll need every single bit of inspiration at your disposal. A good way to do this is to motivate yourself with a time-sensitive, feeling-based deadline.

A time-sensitive deadline or goal is a deadline with a specific end date. For example, if you’re interested in converting your old carousel slides into digital files, a time-sensitive deadline might look like, “By April 30th of next year, I will convert my old slides into digital files.”

What’s a feeling-based deadline? A feeling-based deadline is one that  specifically describes how you will feel when you reach your deadline.

Clearly, it has a bit more passion, gusto, and oomph to it than a time-sensitive one.

Using the example above, you might say something like, “By April 30th of next year, I will convert my old slides into digital files, because I want to proudly show off my slides in a PowerPoint presentation at the family reunion in June. I also want to clean out the corner space in my den where the slides are stored. I want to feel happy, proud, and accomplished!”

Put yourself first.

You may duck out of personal projects or commitments because you may think they aren’t important. Here’s a wake-up call for you: your personal projects are very important!

Your personal projects are a direct reflection of what you want to accomplish in your life. They are a true reflection of how you want to spend your time and your energy.

Don’t let your personal project float around in the haze of “what-ifs” or “I should.” Your dreams do matter and are wholly deserving of becoming true!

Go ahead and make the commitment to yourself, your dreams, and goals.

Write your goal due date on your calendar, and schedule in regular times to work on your project, be it a little bit of time each day or week.

View time in a finite manner.

You may want to consider using a visual or physical tool to help countdown the day to your personal project due date.

This tool will give your project an added bit of urgency and excitement.

For example, you could mark days on a wall calendar, set a digital countdown clock on your computer, or transfer a certain amount of marbles from a clear jar to another to track the passage of time.

Additionally, whatever method you choose, make sure you give yourself a physical way to track the days, weeks, and months.

You’ll be even more motivated to continue when you sit at your desk, stand at your workbench, or head to the gym.

Start today.

Finally, do not wait for perfect conditions to begin your project.

Perfect conditions don’t exist; they’re just a mirage.

Therefore, take a deep breath and get started!

Okay, where should you begin? Take five minutes to review your project status…and then take action.

So, do some research, write a first draft, brainstorm ideas in a notebook, or revise materials.

Whatever you do, make sure you are taking one step forward towards finishing your project.

As they say, a year from now, you’d wish you started today.