Unfinished business

Andrew Griffiths
26 June 2008

Photo credit: Anthony Geernaert

It’s easy to sweep low-priority tasks under the carpet, to deal with in a later that never arrives. Andrew Griffiths warns that this accumulation of unfinished business could be weighing you down more than you think.

Just about every business owner I meet has a big issue with trying to balance his or her personal and business lives. Like many people, I battled with this one for years, until I got to the point where I decided that enough was enough, and took serious action to make dramatic changes in my life – before my life made dramatic changes to me. It was time to finish my unfinished business.

The process began with making a list of all the things that drained my energy, took my focus off the important things, downright bugged me, or just seemed to take up brain space that could be better used for other things. I ended up with a long list of issues, some of which had been lingering for years: things that were always in the background, neither at the top of my priority list nor quite at the bottom.

My list of unfinished business included people I’d been meaning to contact, tasks that needed to be followed up on, decisions to be made, places I had to go, but dreaded (getting a new driver’s license at the City Morgue, better known as the Roads and Traffic Authority), business ideas to be developed, jobs for clients that I had been procrastinating about, and so forth and so on.

I ended up with about 50 items on my list, all things that had been niggling away at the back of my mind, and decided to dedicate time to getting everything off my unfinished business list – immediately. I wiped my diary, told my team I was out of action with a horrible disease (unfinishedstuffitis), and put aside two full days to clear my list.

For those of you who have seen the television show My Name is Earl, it was a bit like that. My lists were written on butcher’s paper and stuck all over the walls at home. I’ll admit that I got a bit obsessed and just slightly crazy for a few days, but the results were astonishing.

First, I picked up the telephone and made all those difficult calls. I wrote a pile of letters and posted them. Slowly, but surely, I went through all the lagging tasks that needed a yes or no decision, made the decision, and then advised anyone who needed advising about the decision I’d made.

I cleaned out my apartment, even cupboards I hadn’t seen the inside of for five years. I made appointments that I’d put off (and put off…) and saw all the people I needed to see. Finally, after two intense days, I had it all done. Once I’d finished, I felt an extraordinary weight lift off my shoulders and was filled with a profound sense of calm.

I don’t think I had ever before appreciated just how much all this unfinished business was draining my energy and taking my focus off my day-to-day life.

After I’d finished my two-day intensive life clear-out, I had more energy, my brain felt clearer, I was in a better mood and felt a lot more relaxed. I could lay my hands on whatever I needed without resort to rummaging and, most importantly, I had made room in my life for the things that really mattered.

This all happened about three years ago, and I suspect it needs to happen again soon. I’ve accepted that devoting time to clearing up unfinished business is a major and significant step in the process of regaining balance in a crazy world.

For small business owners, who more often than not need to juggle strategy with minute details, and creative thinking with day-to-day filing, it is essential.

I challenge you to give it a go, and promise it will change your life beyond recognition.

Andrew Griffiths is a small business consultant and the author of five bestselling books on starting and building successful small businesses.