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Start Finishing: How to Go from Idea to Done
Awards for Start Finishing :
• Publishers Weekly Fall 2019 Top 10 Business and Economics Books
• Book Authority Best New Book in (the categories of) Time Management, Success, Productivity, and Goal Setting
• Kirkus Reviews Top Indie Book
• Montaigne Medal Finalist
• Independent Publisher Book Award 2020: Silver Award for Business/Careers/Sales
• Eric Hoffer Book Award 2020: Grand Prize
Productivity Meets Purpose―Discover a Powerful Nine-Step Method to Start Finishing the Work That Matters Most
How much of your time and attention lately has been focused on things that truly matter to you?
Most people's honest answer not enough.
Everyone is buried by busywork, responsibility, distraction, and fatigue.
The joy-producing, difference-making ideas are waiting for when the time is right, when the current project is over, when they have a little more money, when the kids are grown, or when they get a more understanding boss. They are waiting for someday .
The trouble is someday never comes on its own.
Start Finishing presents a nine-step method for converting an idea into a project by addressing the challenges you'll face and getting the project on a reality-based schedule.
This critically acclaimed book will teach you how
• Practice the five keys that lead to self-mastery
• Build your success pack of supporters, guides, peers, and beneficiaries
• Keep working through the thrashing that comes with any project that matters to you
• Chunk, link, and sequence your ideas down to doable parts
• Use the Five Project Rule to prioritize your daily schedule and be at peace with the work you choose not to do
• Fly through drag points―how to deal with head trash, no-win scenarios, and other people’s priorities
• Heatmap your schedule so you do the right work at the right time
• Overcome cascades, logjams, and tarpits―the three ways projects routinely get stuck
• Finish strong―celebrate, review, and ride the momentum to your next goal
You are not incapable, wired to struggle, or fated to be unable to get your act together. With a few key steps, you can change the way you show up, how you plan, and how you respond when things get tough.
You can Start Finishing the work that matters most to you.
Includes original contributions from Seth Godin, Susan Piver, Jonathan Fields, James Clear, and many other teachers.
• Publishers Weekly Fall 2019 Top 10 Business and Economics Books
• Book Authority Best New Book in (the categories of) Time Management, Success, Productivity, and Goal Setting
• Kirkus Reviews Top Indie Book
• Montaigne Medal Finalist
• Independent Publisher Book Award 2020: Silver Award for Business/Careers/Sales
• Eric Hoffer Book Award 2020: Grand Prize
Productivity Meets Purpose―Discover a Powerful Nine-Step Method to Start Finishing the Work That Matters Most
How much of your time and attention lately has been focused on things that truly matter to you?
Most people's honest answer not enough.
Everyone is buried by busywork, responsibility, distraction, and fatigue.
The joy-producing, difference-making ideas are waiting for when the time is right, when the current project is over, when they have a little more money, when the kids are grown, or when they get a more understanding boss. They are waiting for someday .
The trouble is someday never comes on its own.
Start Finishing presents a nine-step method for converting an idea into a project by addressing the challenges you'll face and getting the project on a reality-based schedule.
This critically acclaimed book will teach you how
• Practice the five keys that lead to self-mastery
• Build your success pack of supporters, guides, peers, and beneficiaries
• Keep working through the thrashing that comes with any project that matters to you
• Chunk, link, and sequence your ideas down to doable parts
• Use the Five Project Rule to prioritize your daily schedule and be at peace with the work you choose not to do
• Fly through drag points―how to deal with head trash, no-win scenarios, and other people’s priorities
• Heatmap your schedule so you do the right work at the right time
• Overcome cascades, logjams, and tarpits―the three ways projects routinely get stuck
• Finish strong―celebrate, review, and ride the momentum to your next goal
You are not incapable, wired to struggle, or fated to be unable to get your act together. With a few key steps, you can change the way you show up, how you plan, and how you respond when things get tough.
You can Start Finishing the work that matters most to you.
Includes original contributions from Seth Godin, Susan Piver, Jonathan Fields, James Clear, and many other teachers.
272 pages, Hardcover
Published September 24, 2019
1131 people are currently reading
5902 people want to read
About the author
Charlie Gilkey
29 books112 followersCharlie Gilkey helps people start finishing the stuff that matters. He's the founder of Productive Flourishing, author of the forthcoming Start Finishing and The Small Business Lifecycle, and host of the Productive Flourishing podcast. Prior to starting Productive Flourishing, Charlie was a Joint Force Military Logistics Coordinator while simultaneously pursuing a PhD in Philosophy. He lives with his wife, Angela, in Portland, Oregon.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 151 reviews
October 24, 2019
Like with all self-help books, I found some of this useful, but most of it too hard to implement. Here's what I liked from it:
1. Procrastination happens to everyone. It doesn't make you defective. It's often an emotional response to something. The author calls it "thrashing," and it's just part of the process.
2. If you're not getting everything done, it just means you have competing priorities, so you need to work on a plan to organize your time. But not everything you thought of as a priority necessarily is. Some things are "other people's priorities," and those can be dropped.
3. Envision doing your best and most creative work FIRST and then figure out how to do everything else. Don't treat your creative work like a hobby you'll get around to when you have time.
4. When planning a daily schedule, use verbs. For example, instead of "insurance company," write down "call insurance company."
5. Do the unpleasant but necessary tasks when they come up. Putting them off only makes them harder to get to.
Well, that's all for now. Thanks to this book, I'm writing again. And because I'm writing fiction, my reviews have become a lower priority.
1. Procrastination happens to everyone. It doesn't make you defective. It's often an emotional response to something. The author calls it "thrashing," and it's just part of the process.
2. If you're not getting everything done, it just means you have competing priorities, so you need to work on a plan to organize your time. But not everything you thought of as a priority necessarily is. Some things are "other people's priorities," and those can be dropped.
3. Envision doing your best and most creative work FIRST and then figure out how to do everything else. Don't treat your creative work like a hobby you'll get around to when you have time.
4. When planning a daily schedule, use verbs. For example, instead of "insurance company," write down "call insurance company."
5. Do the unpleasant but necessary tasks when they come up. Putting them off only makes them harder to get to.
Well, that's all for now. Thanks to this book, I'm writing again. And because I'm writing fiction, my reviews have become a lower priority.
July 24, 2019
Charlie Gilkey's book, Start Finishing, is the most important one I've read this year for the nonprofit work I do. There are lots of time management tools in the marketplace, but this book gave me models to think through to banish my big creative blocks. My mental blocks hem me in with walls of unfinished projects. Now I'm taking steps to bust through the blocks and bring down the walls with the tools and approaches Charlie taught me with his book.
I'm inspired by Charlie's words to do my best work, finish more projects, and quit selling out my full potential.
One big idea from the book I've already started using is the Project Pyramid. By laying out the chunks of my projects using a multi-tiered time perspective and momentum planning that Charlie describes in the book, I had a *Eureka!* moment. Small wonder my projects get into logjams so often. Charlie taught me how to handle constraints, assemble my success pack, layout project roadmaps, figure out my timelines and block out my daily calendar with an eye for the perspective of the levels of the Project Pyramid. And that includes recovery time!
I like the way the book is engineered for recall. It's easy to skim the contents--the titles and subtitles, all the call-out pieces, and chapter summaries--and get a grasp of all the deeper content quickly. Charlie is a storyteller. The pages are at once funny and approachable but dead-on serious about how the methods change everything.
Another feature I love about the book is the highlighted commentary from other best-selling authors with their own suggestions to drive the engine to finish projects. People like Seth Godin and James Clear, who I've followed for a long time; other authors who I will be reading now, too. The suggestions for further reading appeals to the maven in me that wants to learn everything.
I've been sharing ideas from the book with all my colleagues. I heartily recommend Charlie Gilkey's "Start Finishing".
I'm inspired by Charlie's words to do my best work, finish more projects, and quit selling out my full potential.
One big idea from the book I've already started using is the Project Pyramid. By laying out the chunks of my projects using a multi-tiered time perspective and momentum planning that Charlie describes in the book, I had a *Eureka!* moment. Small wonder my projects get into logjams so often. Charlie taught me how to handle constraints, assemble my success pack, layout project roadmaps, figure out my timelines and block out my daily calendar with an eye for the perspective of the levels of the Project Pyramid. And that includes recovery time!
I like the way the book is engineered for recall. It's easy to skim the contents--the titles and subtitles, all the call-out pieces, and chapter summaries--and get a grasp of all the deeper content quickly. Charlie is a storyteller. The pages are at once funny and approachable but dead-on serious about how the methods change everything.
Another feature I love about the book is the highlighted commentary from other best-selling authors with their own suggestions to drive the engine to finish projects. People like Seth Godin and James Clear, who I've followed for a long time; other authors who I will be reading now, too. The suggestions for further reading appeals to the maven in me that wants to learn everything.
I've been sharing ideas from the book with all my colleagues. I heartily recommend Charlie Gilkey's "Start Finishing".
December 30, 2019
I bought the book because I like Charlie Gilkey's Momentum Planner resources, which he gives away for free online. I want to support makers whose work I use and enjoy. Given this, I'm happy with the book and I think it's a great help for project planning. I'm not sure I would recommend it for anyone who is already interested in productivity as it's pretty much the same info you will have read a thousand times. Key takeaway: Focus Blocks/Big Rocks.
However, wow, does this book have nice production qualities. The paper feels good, the binding is solid, I like the typefaces, and I appreciate the Key Points in green boxes. Plus I LOVE the wide margins with lots and lots of space for me to write my own notes. Even though I have other books with the same content this is going on my faves shelf as a keeper.
3.5 stars
However, wow, does this book have nice production qualities. The paper feels good, the binding is solid, I like the typefaces, and I appreciate the Key Points in green boxes. Plus I LOVE the wide margins with lots and lots of space for me to write my own notes. Even though I have other books with the same content this is going on my faves shelf as a keeper.
3.5 stars
July 17, 2019
My intention for this book was to "read it through once to get the gist of it, and then go back through and implement a chapter at a time..."
But the concepts are so intuitive and useful, I couldn't not implement some of them immediately.
Charlie mixes tried-and-true concepts of productivity and scheduling and project management with his own unique perspectives on the art of finishing what you start, and his own methods and tools for making it happen.
Finished! (and starting again!)
But the concepts are so intuitive and useful, I couldn't not implement some of them immediately.
Charlie mixes tried-and-true concepts of productivity and scheduling and project management with his own unique perspectives on the art of finishing what you start, and his own methods and tools for making it happen.
Finished! (and starting again!)
February 14, 2022
I am great at starting projects and running after the next shiny new thing. I bought this book to learn how to finish. I'd heard the author speak in an engaging way on several podcasts and liked the mix of practical advice and spiritual life-goal musings.
There were some really good take-aways here, and, in conjunction with Joanna Penn's Productivity For Authors: Find Time to Write, Organize your Author Life, and Decide what Really Matters, I have already put in place a plan and have been following it for three days.
The key take-aways for me:
- The best plan is the plan that keeps on changing. No plan is writ in stone. Keep readjusting it; you'll be fine.
- No one is able to focus on five main projects at a time. And it's probably best to choose only three.
- It's important to start by setting aside a session for planning. One session = 2 hours. Also plan in admin sessions and recharge sessions (watching TV, reading, seeing friends, going on holiday).
- Plan in terms of different time segments (see below).
- Know the 'why' of your 'best work' (Joanna Penn calls this your 'genius zone').
- Recruit a support team (Gilkey calls this the 'support pack'). Get them to keep you accountable.
The book is 250 pages long. It is not succinct and at times reads like a college text book. There are many terms and acronyms to learn (specialist jargon, mostly coined by the author), and there is no glossary or index to remind the reader of the meaning of CAT time, OPP, GATES, cascades and tarpits, batching and stacking, air sandwiches, frogs or momentum planning. I also never did understand into what timescale the five-project-rule actually falls: five per year? And then how does this break down to five per week?
To me, it was useful to translate the jargon into my own words and frames of reference. The 'project pyramid' (p.101) shows a compelling green diagram, with a big triangle labelled 'YEARLY GOAL' from which issue little jellyfish legs with 'QUARTERS', then 'MONTHS', then 'WEEKS' dangling from them, and all of this resting on a bottom plinth labelled 'BLOCKS & TASKS'. (A block = a 2-hour session; a task = a 15-minute admin to-do.) I translated all of this into bullet journal speak: I have my monthly spreads, planners and trackers, my weeklies, and my dailies. The monthlies add up to a year, and I also added a three-year-plan and a fortnightly plan. Two weeks to me is a good planning-ahead segment. I can keep two weeks in my head, and can then distribute 2-hour sessions across the two weeks into my daily lay-outs.
What Gilkey is useful for is keeping in mind real life. Instead of saying, 'I have two weeks to do this', it's important to check first what else is on: other appointments, other deadlines, a trip, a visit to the doctor, moving the body. Then fit the sessions around these other things in doable way. That will give you a realistic deadline for any specific sub-task within a project.
Many how-to books ask 'what is the most creative time of day for you?' Gilkey, too, asks this. This I find tricky to answer. I'm very good between 17:00 and 19:00 (but that time is not always feasible; also, if you miss it, you don't have the rest of the day to catch up).
The prose is at times what in German is 'umständlich': round-about, un-straight-forward, over-explaining things.
In sum, I found loads of interesting gems in among the thicket of jargon and overwriting.
Format: Hardback in a non-standard more-square-than-rectangular format that will not fit into a narrow-sized bookshelf. The colour scheme is an attractive grass green. There are many pale-green highlighted text boxes and inserts (which is what makes it look like a college textbook or a busy website) which interrupted the flow of reading for me. The paper is white and smooth and quite thick; the book lies nicely flat when opened.
Provenance: I heard the author speak on Joanna Penn's podcast The Creative Penn and ordered this online.
Final thought: The proof will lie in the pudding. If I finish my project by Easter, I will bump up the stars of this book! :-)
ETA: And here's the pudding. Or my pudding, at least. It's now almost Easter -- the next year. I can barely remember anything about Gilkey's book except the colour green and lots of tables. I did not finish my project by last Easter -- but to be fair, the corona pandemic intervened. I did, however, revive and finish another project by August and revised it for publication between Jan and March this year. However, that was done entirely without the help of Gilkey. I cobbled together my own strategy for finishing, inspired by Joanna Penn's books, courses and podcasts.
There were some really good take-aways here, and, in conjunction with Joanna Penn's Productivity For Authors: Find Time to Write, Organize your Author Life, and Decide what Really Matters, I have already put in place a plan and have been following it for three days.
The key take-aways for me:
- The best plan is the plan that keeps on changing. No plan is writ in stone. Keep readjusting it; you'll be fine.
- No one is able to focus on five main projects at a time. And it's probably best to choose only three.
- It's important to start by setting aside a session for planning. One session = 2 hours. Also plan in admin sessions and recharge sessions (watching TV, reading, seeing friends, going on holiday).
- Plan in terms of different time segments (see below).
- Know the 'why' of your 'best work' (Joanna Penn calls this your 'genius zone').
- Recruit a support team (Gilkey calls this the 'support pack'). Get them to keep you accountable.
The book is 250 pages long. It is not succinct and at times reads like a college text book. There are many terms and acronyms to learn (specialist jargon, mostly coined by the author), and there is no glossary or index to remind the reader of the meaning of CAT time, OPP, GATES, cascades and tarpits, batching and stacking, air sandwiches, frogs or momentum planning. I also never did understand into what timescale the five-project-rule actually falls: five per year? And then how does this break down to five per week?
To me, it was useful to translate the jargon into my own words and frames of reference. The 'project pyramid' (p.101) shows a compelling green diagram, with a big triangle labelled 'YEARLY GOAL' from which issue little jellyfish legs with 'QUARTERS', then 'MONTHS', then 'WEEKS' dangling from them, and all of this resting on a bottom plinth labelled 'BLOCKS & TASKS'. (A block = a 2-hour session; a task = a 15-minute admin to-do.) I translated all of this into bullet journal speak: I have my monthly spreads, planners and trackers, my weeklies, and my dailies. The monthlies add up to a year, and I also added a three-year-plan and a fortnightly plan. Two weeks to me is a good planning-ahead segment. I can keep two weeks in my head, and can then distribute 2-hour sessions across the two weeks into my daily lay-outs.
What Gilkey is useful for is keeping in mind real life. Instead of saying, 'I have two weeks to do this', it's important to check first what else is on: other appointments, other deadlines, a trip, a visit to the doctor, moving the body. Then fit the sessions around these other things in doable way. That will give you a realistic deadline for any specific sub-task within a project.
Many how-to books ask 'what is the most creative time of day for you?' Gilkey, too, asks this. This I find tricky to answer. I'm very good between 17:00 and 19:00 (but that time is not always feasible; also, if you miss it, you don't have the rest of the day to catch up).
The prose is at times what in German is 'umständlich': round-about, un-straight-forward, over-explaining things.
In sum, I found loads of interesting gems in among the thicket of jargon and overwriting.
Format: Hardback in a non-standard more-square-than-rectangular format that will not fit into a narrow-sized bookshelf. The colour scheme is an attractive grass green. There are many pale-green highlighted text boxes and inserts (which is what makes it look like a college textbook or a busy website) which interrupted the flow of reading for me. The paper is white and smooth and quite thick; the book lies nicely flat when opened.
Provenance: I heard the author speak on Joanna Penn's podcast The Creative Penn and ordered this online.
Final thought: The proof will lie in the pudding. If I finish my project by Easter, I will bump up the stars of this book! :-)
ETA: And here's the pudding. Or my pudding, at least. It's now almost Easter -- the next year. I can barely remember anything about Gilkey's book except the colour green and lots of tables. I did not finish my project by last Easter -- but to be fair, the corona pandemic intervened. I did, however, revive and finish another project by August and revised it for publication between Jan and March this year. However, that was done entirely without the help of Gilkey. I cobbled together my own strategy for finishing, inspired by Joanna Penn's books, courses and podcasts.
July 1, 2019
Start Finishing is the culmination of Charlie Gilkey spending years helping creative people implement productivity habits and techniques into their lives. This book does not disappoint.
I have noticed that creative people tend to struggle with productivity systems. They are either too rigid, or not customized enough for their particular creative work. Charlie understands this and his framework is perfect for modern creative work.
Full disclosure: Charlie is a close personal friend. I've had him on webinars with my artist students multiple times and have an affiliate relationship with his online courses.
I have noticed that creative people tend to struggle with productivity systems. They are either too rigid, or not customized enough for their particular creative work. Charlie understands this and his framework is perfect for modern creative work.
Full disclosure: Charlie is a close personal friend. I've had him on webinars with my artist students multiple times and have an affiliate relationship with his online courses.
February 21, 2020
This book helped me rethink getting my passion projects done. The most useful part for me is how the book helps identify psychological barriers to finishing the work we truly care about, and proposes solutions that work for our brains, schedules, and health. It isn't about pushing through the pain, but working intelligently with ourselves and giving ourselves every advantage in our work. I thought it was a bit heavy on structure, and some of the time-organization suggestions would themselves be time-consuming for someone like myself with kids, full-time work, health issues and other substantial time-sinks. However, the techniques and principles I've read here are helping me see a path to completion of my projects, which has been a lifelong struggle, and I'm think I'm a little better for having read it.
August 2, 2019
I got a roadmap, workbook, insights and a motivational nudge all rolled into one in this book. This is more than a productivity book. Loaded with both strategic and practical techniques, this book will help you navigate the work you want to accomplish and break free of things getting in the way of doing your best work. From "taking out your head trash", to realistic planning to minimize your "dread-to-work" ratio, to building momentum that leads to sustainment, to ensuring you take time to run a victory lap, this book is comprehensive and easy to digest. Read this and begin to feel weight lift away as you take action!
September 17, 2019
The creative sensibility driving Charlie Gilkey’s book Start Finishing: How to Go from Idea to Done is evident from the first. Using a Maya Angelou quote as an epigram for the work signals Gilkey’s personal belief in the transformative power of accomplishment. This condensed and focused work takes an inspiring look at how anyone can take an idea from conception to full realization and the rewards of pursuing our plans to their end. One of the most important components of this book is how Gilkey stresses his advice applies in equal measure to personal and work projects alike; more limited works might focus on its professional value alone. His use of subject headings in each of the book’s ten chapters sorts its contents in a way that’s easy for readers to follow and, as he makes clear early on, allows readers to dip into the book at various points and find something they need.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: https://www.productiveflourishing.com...
Gilkey has an outstanding conversational style as a writer that helps reader digest the book’s wealth of information. He adopts a first person point of view for the book that makes it more intimate for readers and bolsters the conviction behind his ideas. These are time and practice tested concepts that, in some cases, will have you thinking, “Why didn’t I think of that?” That’s part of the book’s charm. Gilkey’s take on start and finishing projects taps into latent knowledge many of us possess and brings it to life with ease and confidence. Another key ingredient in the book’s success is Gilkey’s judicious drawing from outside resources to reinforce his ideas.
A number of the terms contained in the book will resonate after you finish reading. Air sandwich is one that sticks with you. The term directs readers to picture their lives as two slices of bread – personal vision, goals, and mission define the top slice while an individual’s everyday life defines the bottom half. Any gap between the two constitutes an air sandwich. Gilkey claims that any chance of realizing our ambitions and completing projects requires us to establish connective tissue between those disparate halves. Ideas like this help us better realize the roadmap Gilkey lays out for readers. The tone of the book remains consistent throughout and its overarching structure contributes much to the overall success of the work.
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Start-Finishin...
The takeaways included at the end of each chapter are another nice touch as they provide tidy summaries of the information. In the end, however, Start Finishing’s chief distinction for many will be the uplifting and empowering tone Gilkey takes throughout the work. He places our destiny squarely in our own hands and makes a strong case that only through action, rather than blind inertia or luck, can we realize our ambitions and goals. This is a timeless message, it never dates, and in Gilkey’s hands it comes across as indispensible wisdom applicable across a vast spectrum. Start Finishing: How to Go from Idea to Done is a work you can revisit again and again and yield quantifiable results through each time.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: https://www.productiveflourishing.com...
Gilkey has an outstanding conversational style as a writer that helps reader digest the book’s wealth of information. He adopts a first person point of view for the book that makes it more intimate for readers and bolsters the conviction behind his ideas. These are time and practice tested concepts that, in some cases, will have you thinking, “Why didn’t I think of that?” That’s part of the book’s charm. Gilkey’s take on start and finishing projects taps into latent knowledge many of us possess and brings it to life with ease and confidence. Another key ingredient in the book’s success is Gilkey’s judicious drawing from outside resources to reinforce his ideas.
A number of the terms contained in the book will resonate after you finish reading. Air sandwich is one that sticks with you. The term directs readers to picture their lives as two slices of bread – personal vision, goals, and mission define the top slice while an individual’s everyday life defines the bottom half. Any gap between the two constitutes an air sandwich. Gilkey claims that any chance of realizing our ambitions and completing projects requires us to establish connective tissue between those disparate halves. Ideas like this help us better realize the roadmap Gilkey lays out for readers. The tone of the book remains consistent throughout and its overarching structure contributes much to the overall success of the work.
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Start-Finishin...
The takeaways included at the end of each chapter are another nice touch as they provide tidy summaries of the information. In the end, however, Start Finishing’s chief distinction for many will be the uplifting and empowering tone Gilkey takes throughout the work. He places our destiny squarely in our own hands and makes a strong case that only through action, rather than blind inertia or luck, can we realize our ambitions and goals. This is a timeless message, it never dates, and in Gilkey’s hands it comes across as indispensible wisdom applicable across a vast spectrum. Start Finishing: How to Go from Idea to Done is a work you can revisit again and again and yield quantifiable results through each time.
June 28, 2019
As a small biz owner, I read a lot of biz books. This is the most valuable one I've read in years, and I think it will become a classic. So many books talk about your business life as if it exists in a perfect vacuum, but this one helps you manage the realistic mess that is trying to complete things while living a busy life. I might also add that the skills in the book are not just business oriented - you could use them to plan a wedding, garage sale, or thanksgiving dinner! Gilkey's project planning methodology is workable, and it works. It asks that you consider all the things that might derail you from getting work done so that you can make a realistic plan to follow. It asks you to consider what the important work is, not just the latest fire to put out. It acknowledges that we all work differently, and helps you leverage the best hours of your day. If you always feel like you'll never get stuff done, this is your book.
September 13, 2019
Start Finishing is a great read! As a business owner, I often get "shiny object" syndrome and have trouble finishing the projects that I start. Charlie Gilkey's book was both motivational and informative, with easy to implement ideas such as "10 ways to mitigate distractions" how to build a project road map. Great book for anyone needing help getting those projects done!
Read
October 14, 2019Ironically, I couldn't finish this book before NetGalley deleted it. While there are a million projects I really want to finish and I hoped this book would help me with that, I couldn't get into it and didn't find the parts I did read very helpful. It might have been more helpful farther along, but NG does the whole "this book will self destruct in 50 days" thing so I will probably never know.
June 27, 2021
„The ideas you can never seem to make time for hint at your best work – the work that helps you thrive. By turning these ideas into projects and SMART goals, you can start doing this work. To make time for your projects, divide them into smaller chunks that you can complete in a series of weekly focus blocks. And to gain momentum, work when you have the most focus and energy, tackle unpleasant tasks as soon as possible, and create easy ways to dive back into your work.“ (Blinkist, 2021)
#blinkist
#blinkist
July 8, 2019
Blaringly on point and crucial to the success of any creative entrepreneur, Start Finishing is a practical guide to understanding the psychology of why you've struggled to finish projects and how to teach yourself a new way.
In this book, Charlie takes the reader on a journey that relates to everyone in one way or another, no matter how you operate, what your strengths are, or what your goals and projects are. Including a step-by-step roadmap, Start Finishing helps you find yourself and your way to the finish line.
In this book, Charlie takes the reader on a journey that relates to everyone in one way or another, no matter how you operate, what your strengths are, or what your goals and projects are. Including a step-by-step roadmap, Start Finishing helps you find yourself and your way to the finish line.
August 2, 2019
I consider myself an organized person. I’m good at planning ahead and feel I have a handle on productivity skills. However, Charlie’s book Start Finishing takes this to a whole new level. Whatever you issue is, he gets you on the right track very succinctly. Some examples of this is learning how to make good choices; using time blocking to manage your time more efficiently; helping to prioritize thoughts and ideas; getting to a place where you can take a deep breath and feel like you’ve accomplished something. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to keep moving forward and go from idea to done.
August 24, 2019
The author talks about finishing projects - in our lifetime, we start a lot of projects only to abandon most of them midway, this book wants to inspire you to finish a few of those projects.
Content- What you would expect from a standard productivity book, this includes everything, nothing new but the author has put his own spin on the ideas and a couple of them made sense to me so I am going to include them in my bucket
Writing - Writing is crisp and the organization clear. The book is pretty to look at. Hardcover may be better than Kindle but maybe that's just me.
Overall recommendation - Buy. Can give you a few new ideas about the way you schedule your work.
As an aside, the author's free planners over at his website are actually really nice and something I will be using for myself. The link is in the book or on his website Productive Flourishing.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley.
Content- What you would expect from a standard productivity book, this includes everything, nothing new but the author has put his own spin on the ideas and a couple of them made sense to me so I am going to include them in my bucket
Writing - Writing is crisp and the organization clear. The book is pretty to look at. Hardcover may be better than Kindle but maybe that's just me.
Overall recommendation - Buy. Can give you a few new ideas about the way you schedule your work.
As an aside, the author's free planners over at his website are actually really nice and something I will be using for myself. The link is in the book or on his website Productive Flourishing.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley.
December 6, 2019
This is the most immediately actionable self help / productivity book I’ve read to date. Charlie’s podcast is one of my favorites so I went in with high expectations that were pleasantly met and, in some ways, exceeded. At first, Charlie’s frequent use of metaphor felt a little corny but as I got into the structure of his advice I realized that all of the cute terms and phrases he uses meant that they actually stuck in my head the next day, and the day after. Very useful if you are incredibly forgetful.
What I liked the most about Charlie’s book is that the advice he gives is more than just an exercise to go along with the book, but something I could immediately start testing out in my work and personal life. One thing I would note is that this isn’t necessarily a book about how to discover what your “best work” is, but more about how to actually do what you already know you love (as the title implies). For discovering what your best work is, I‘d recommend Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans as a companion to Charlie’s book.
What I liked the most about Charlie’s book is that the advice he gives is more than just an exercise to go along with the book, but something I could immediately start testing out in my work and personal life. One thing I would note is that this isn’t necessarily a book about how to discover what your “best work” is, but more about how to actually do what you already know you love (as the title implies). For discovering what your best work is, I‘d recommend Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans as a companion to Charlie’s book.
May 24, 2019
Systematic and well outlined approach to the step by step showcasing on how to go from idea to implementation. The author has touched all the important aspects (having taken this route several times) on how to. The tips are very good and the book's contents are exactly for those who has an idea and needs to shape it properly for bringing the idea to the world n a shape of service or product.
June 1, 2019
Nice helpful ideas and examples of things to do to get your goals and projects done. Goes through different topics to help you explore how to get over / to get your stuff done. Good information along with some contributors.
May 7, 2019
I really enjoyed how quickly I was able to get into this book. We get so sucked into how many things that we get done, that we can't always make sure we are getting the right things done. Would definitely recommend this book.
November 19, 2019
An exceptional book if you have a great idea you've never started, a big project that's not going anywhere, or too many projects altogether. I'm looking forward to doing the exercises from the book. I started listening to some episodes of Charlie's podcast which have been phenomenal, too.
January 10, 2020
I’ve just finished reading this book by Charlie Gilkey. I was sucked in during the beginning of the book, “Start Finishing”, but as it went on it grew very mundane. It became too much to digest with awkward wordings.
Want to read
March 22, 2019"How to Go from Idea to Done"? Hey, that sounds good. I've got an idea. It's worth giving it a try, eh?
Idea. Check.
Done... (I'll keep you informed).
Idea. Check.
Done... (I'll keep you informed).
May 12, 2019
Start Finishing by Charlie Gilkey. Well presented with insightful solutions for creative projects.
Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.
Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.
July 25, 2019
I stopped watching Aquaman — i.e. Jason Mamoa — to read this book because I'm actually enjoying it. The concepts are clearly defined and simple to implement. And, as I said, it's a good read!
September 17, 2020
The skills, strategies, and techniques offered were excellent. I docked it one point for ideology. His beliefs about what makes a life meaningful or the nature of “our best work,” or his explanations of some of the “whys” behind why one should do these things in these ways were often distracting, unscientific, and biased towards very specific world views which I did not share.
But I liked this book well enough that, having listened to it in audiobook form, I have acquired a hard copy, and intend to reread it slowly, working through some of the practices and exercises and actually trying to apply this methodology to the projects in my life.
He does a great job of integrating aspects a lot of the best-respected and most effective productivity techniques I have encountered from other sources and even getting the authors of some of them to write little helpful sidebars in the book. So, it felt resonant with other techniques and processes I have studied, rather than dissonant from them. Yet, it also added content and integrated them in ways that I found, overall, elegant.
In this book, he does a great job of reckoning with some of the obstacles that get in the way of our best work (both internal and external) and normalizing them. He gives a lot of skillful strategies to navigate these and to set yourself up for success.
This book also, more than many others of this nature that I have read, relates to the reality that you have a life outside of work that is meaningful to you and that, in fact, it may be that your life outside of your work is the realm in which you do or wish to do your “best work.” I appreciate the ways he invited you to look at your values to see what work is really calling to you to be done, as we are often avoidant of work we don’t care about but think we *should* do.
Now that I’ve gone through it quickly, I am looking forward to going through it slowly and really applying it to pieces of work that I care about. This book did a great job of motivating me to get started (and to get finished).
But I liked this book well enough that, having listened to it in audiobook form, I have acquired a hard copy, and intend to reread it slowly, working through some of the practices and exercises and actually trying to apply this methodology to the projects in my life.
He does a great job of integrating aspects a lot of the best-respected and most effective productivity techniques I have encountered from other sources and even getting the authors of some of them to write little helpful sidebars in the book. So, it felt resonant with other techniques and processes I have studied, rather than dissonant from them. Yet, it also added content and integrated them in ways that I found, overall, elegant.
In this book, he does a great job of reckoning with some of the obstacles that get in the way of our best work (both internal and external) and normalizing them. He gives a lot of skillful strategies to navigate these and to set yourself up for success.
This book also, more than many others of this nature that I have read, relates to the reality that you have a life outside of work that is meaningful to you and that, in fact, it may be that your life outside of your work is the realm in which you do or wish to do your “best work.” I appreciate the ways he invited you to look at your values to see what work is really calling to you to be done, as we are often avoidant of work we don’t care about but think we *should* do.
Now that I’ve gone through it quickly, I am looking forward to going through it slowly and really applying it to pieces of work that I care about. This book did a great job of motivating me to get started (and to get finished).
June 4, 2021
I think reading this book made it clear that I don't need to study productivity so consistently anymore. The concepts in the book were solid, but largely not new to me. However, I did get some good tips and nuggets of wisdom from it, and for what it is, it's good that Start Finishing covers a lot of information I've already found to be helpful.
My only issue with the book is that I found some of its approaches a bit complicated and hard to grasp. I would recommend getting a copy of the physical/e-book or following along with the supplemental material if you have the audio version. It's definitely one to take in steps as you apply what you're learning instead of trying to absorb everything in a few sittings.
All in all, a good book on getting through projects more effectively and consistently. This is probably the most thorough book on the subject that I've read, but it might be a bit overwhelming for some readers.
My only issue with the book is that I found some of its approaches a bit complicated and hard to grasp. I would recommend getting a copy of the physical/e-book or following along with the supplemental material if you have the audio version. It's definitely one to take in steps as you apply what you're learning instead of trying to absorb everything in a few sittings.
All in all, a good book on getting through projects more effectively and consistently. This is probably the most thorough book on the subject that I've read, but it might be a bit overwhelming for some readers.
February 9, 2020
I’ve consumed a LOT of content about productivity. Blog posts, podcasts, books. A lot of each to try and somehow ‘cure’ or give me the right weapons to fight off my ADHD.
That being said, there were still many ideas I hadn’t come across in this book. Learning about ‘creative constipation’ sooner probably could have saved me a lot of hours reading about the science behind procrastination, for example. There are quite a few nuggets in here that are real game changers as far as my perspective goes.
That being said, it’s pretty hard to trudge through a book about planning. The formatting of this book helps tremendously as there is at least one chapter that bored me to tears.
This book has great ideas and isn’t just a regurgitation of scientific findings about achieving your goals. It goes into the emotional aspect of why you aren’t actively working toward them when you can be. I found this book to have valuable insights.
That being said, there were still many ideas I hadn’t come across in this book. Learning about ‘creative constipation’ sooner probably could have saved me a lot of hours reading about the science behind procrastination, for example. There are quite a few nuggets in here that are real game changers as far as my perspective goes.
That being said, it’s pretty hard to trudge through a book about planning. The formatting of this book helps tremendously as there is at least one chapter that bored me to tears.
This book has great ideas and isn’t just a regurgitation of scientific findings about achieving your goals. It goes into the emotional aspect of why you aren’t actively working toward them when you can be. I found this book to have valuable insights.
September 14, 2019
This book has everything you want to know to live a more relaxed and productive life. It has deep philosophical thinking and down-to-earth practical steps to achieve your goals and make your life meaningful.
It embodies everything Charlie Gilkey has been teaching for many years and it is so nice to have it in a single book. Thank you! Gratitude
It embodies everything Charlie Gilkey has been teaching for many years and it is so nice to have it in a single book. Thank you! Gratitude
October 24, 2019
Super helpful book for all the creatives out there. The focus is on doing your “best work”, that which you love and were born to do. It comes along with practical tips on blocking out your time, checking in on progress and celebrating your small wins... because in the end the enjoyment comes through the process of a project, not simply in its completion.
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