As you observe how people show up in Half-Finished to Done, LIVE, you’ll notice that there are 5 distinct stages that people pass through.
How people think, feel, and act varies by which stage someone is in.
Note that people come in at different stages, and often skip a stage or two, if they’re intentional and focused.
With each stage, adoption of the tools increases and reactivity decreases.
Knowing these 5 stages will reassure you; normalize this process; and give you a clear sense of what you can expect next.
It will also give you an opportunity to study the stages ahead of you and ask yourself how you might arrive there more calmly and efficiently.
An important note
When people don’t re-enroll in Half-Finished to Done, LIVE, it’s usually if they’re in Stage 1 or Stage 3.
In Stage 1, the predominant belief is that this isn’t working (so you need to find another process that does work).
In Stage 3, the belief is that it already worked (so you don’t need to continue).
If you’re in either of these stages, please reach out; I’d love to talk you through how I see it.
Here are the 5 stages of project finishing:
STAGE ONE:
You’re hyper-focused on your perceived fails and challenges; not your wins. (Even when I point out your wins, you can’t accept them.)
You mentally disengage from the program; you consider dropping out.
You have a backlog of projects or tasks that actively weighs you down daily.
You don’t make a project plan or you overblow the scope of your project plan by a lot, in a rush to get it done.
You genuinely believe that you need a finished project in order to feel okay about yourself; you don’t deserve to feel good until then.
You miss homework assignments or skip calls, and don’t respond to my homework feedback.
You spend a significant amount of time feeling or expressing resistance to the process.
You’re trying to operate well above 100% mental and emotional capacity, so you’re always exhausted.
You have intense resistance to the idea of feelings, or are very confused about what you’re feeling at any given time.
You spend a lot of time blaming yourself, other people (family, clients, boss, employees), me, and the process for your lack of results.
STAGE TWO:
You have a broad, recurring thought that consistently derails you: “I don’t have time,” “I’m a procrastinator,” “I’m a perfectionist,” etc.
You adopt some of the tools; you either resist or feel overwhelmed by the rest.
You give some level of responsibility to the material and process to get you results; vs being in total non-judgmental self-responsibility.
You do have a project plan; you still second-guess and question it often.
You’re doing most of your homework, you’re getting in-completes here and there.
You listen deeply, and sometimes still struggle to apply the coaching that I give others to yourself.
Your brain automatically goes to your fails first, but you’re starting to look at your wins more and more.
You have a recurring thought of “I’m not getting this” but you’re building your awareness of where that thought leads.
You have a basic understanding of what you’re feeling at any given moment.
You have a strong “why” but you question it often.
There’s a disconnect between what you say you’re committed to vs what your results show.
STAGE THREE:
You’re adopting more of the tools, and are starting to believe that it’s okay to take them one at a time if you need to.
You’re getting stronger at self-evaluations; you’re able to see what needs to change.
You’re actively resolving your backlogs.
You’re beginning to drop anything that puts you above 100% capacity.
You’re starting to set and uphold boundaries.
You’re starting to let it sink in that you can choose how you feel about yourself and your work, regardless of what you have or haven’t done.
You’re doing your homework and actively engaging with my feedback.
You’re getting more efficient at bouncing back when things go off course.
You’re looking at the recurring patterns that take you off track and proactively spending time and energy to prioritize and resolve them.
Pinpointing and naming your feelings, and understanding where they lead you, is becoming more natural.
You’re showing up more than ever—but not always from feelings that you love. (You’re still white-knuckling some.)
STAGE FOUR:
You’re able to take any coaching from others, and apply it to yourself and your situation.
You’re learning how to take on more than one project at a time, while not going above 100% capacity.
You have grown your 100% capacity beyond what it was before (your ability to focus, the value you’re able to produce in each deep work session, the amount of challenging work you take on, etc.)—while remaining grounded and calm.
Your self-evaluations are rock-solid and you’re able to give yourself valuable insights with each one.
You find yourself naturally applying these skill sets (knowing your result; reverse-engineering; proactively finding obstacles and strategies, doing self-inquiry) easily and automatically to all areas of your life.
Your predominant thought is “This works” when thinking about the process.
You’re actively looking for ways to outsmart the process, now that you’ve nailed it.
You understand your feelings, you process through your negative ones more effectively, and you generate productive ones more easily. (Joy, pride, commitment, and inspired are more and more common for you.)
Your first instinct when you get off track is to head to the troubleshooting process and work through it.
STAGE FIVE:
You actively celebrate your wins.
You operate evenly at 100% capacity, ebbing and flowing based on your desires.
You’re comfortably managing more than one project at a time.
Your default is now to hold yourself in high regard, even when you fail or experience negative emotions.
Your focus is now on increasing the value that you produce while working, using the 4x Value Concept.
You self-rate as an 8 or above on all three of the skill sets: Deep work, Monday Hour One, project planning.
You decide what projects to take on based on what would be the most fun, interesting, or rewarding to take on.
You truly believe that you can make any decision work for you.
You seek out big challenges that scare you.
You love working—even when it’s hard.
P.S. If you are solidly in Stage 4 or 5, I would LOVE to do a case study with you. Please shoot me an email!
Ready to re-enroll in Half-Finished to Done, LIVE, the program for those who want to master a sustainable, fun, repeatable project process and start enjoying life as a project finisher?
