# How to build a habit of finishing things?

**URL:** <https://forum.beeminder.com/t/how-to-build-a-habit-of-finishing-things/4816>\
**Category:** Akrasia\
**Created:** [January 23, 2019, 7:41am UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/how-to-build-a-habit-of-finishing-things/4816 "2019-01-23T07:41:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 21

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**Author:** ![oulfis](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.beeminder.com/oulfis/32/229_2.png) [@oulfis](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/oulfis)\
**Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 11:14pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/how-to-build-a-habit-of-finishing-things/4816/21 "2019-02-11T23:14:15Z")

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One input that briefly had some success for me was “running through a pre-work checklist”, which was meant to make me record in a google form exactly what I was going to do and why… but staying on task is only one reason I track outputs; the other is to have an accurate picture of whether my inputs are _working_. What if the pre-work checklist isn’t keeping you focused on completion? How would you know?

I also tend to find tracking outputs really invigorating, because it helps me get creative about all the ways that I _can_ influence the output as directly as possible. If I just track inputs I get too complacent and can overlook obvious wins.

So for my ongoing “dissertation output metrics” quest, I have made another goal (whittle-down of a Trello to-do list). I am now using all of the following goals to push myself to write my dissertation:

1. [https://www.beeminder.com/oulfis/real-work](https://www.beeminder.com/oulfis/real-work) - input, general: tracks Toggl entries tagged with “Real Work”
2. [https://www.beeminder.com/oulfis/writing](https://www.beeminder.com/oulfis/writing) - input, general: tracks RescueTime usage of writing software
3. [https://www.beeminder.com/oulfis/terry](https://www.beeminder.com/oulfis/terry) - input, diss: tracks staying in contact with one of my committee members
4. [https://www.beeminder.com/oulfis/the-diss](https://www.beeminder.com/oulfis/the-diss) - **???** , diss: tracks commits to my dissertation GitHub repo
5. [https://www.beeminder.com/oulfis/write-the-diss](https://www.beeminder.com/oulfis/write-the-diss) - **???** , diss: tracks the current wordcount of my diss draft
6. [https://www.beeminder.com/oulfis/rough-diss-chapters](https://www.beeminder.com/oulfis/rough-diss-chapters) - output, diss: tracks the submission of complete chapter drafts to my committee
7. [https://www.beeminder.com/oulfis/finish-diss-intro](https://www.beeminder.com/oulfis/finish-diss-intro) - output, ch 1: tracks completion of a Trello to-do list

I also have the following goals meant to increase the general quality of the diss:

1. [https://www.beeminder.com/oulfis/read-papers](https://www.beeminder.com/oulfis/read-papers) - input, breadth: tracks exposure to new research in my field
2. [https://www.beeminder.com/oulfis/check-anki](https://www.beeminder.com/oulfis/check-anki) - input, depth: encourages memorization of key dates and facts in my period
3. [https://www.beeminder.com/oulfis/cambridge-histories](https://www.beeminder.com/oulfis/cambridge-histories) - input, depth: tracks progress reading a dense history of my period

Part of what this conversation has made me realise is that both “commits to a GitHub repo” and “total word count” _feel_ like they are outputs, but actually it’s possible to increase those numbers forever without getting closer to the _true_ output of “finished chapters”.

With word count in particular, deleting words is often crucial to finishing, and adding words can get a draft _farther_ from done: it’s necessary to track, but it _can’t_ stand in as the sole metric of “completion.”

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