We’ve all done it, had a great idea, bought a domain name and then done nothing. Well maybe all of us haven’t done it but I bet I have about 50 domain names that are sitting doing nothing because I still haven’t taken my idea any further. Red wine is usually guilty of giving me ideas I never follow through with 
So this got me thinking, just how many projects have you started and never finished? Here’s some I can think of that I’m guilty of.
Blog Posts.
I have quite a few partially written blog posts sitting on my hard drive and in the drafts section of WordPress, I have even more title ideas sitting on my iPhone. Maybe it’s time I spent a full day getting up to date with my blog posts.
MindMaps.
Have you ever started a MindMap and never got round to finishing it? I know I have, I have so many ideas that I usually spend some time putting my ideas into a MindMap, however sometimes the ideas stay there, perhaps it’s time I had a look at them all and see if I can get some ideas from them.
Projects With Other Marketers.
I have tons of joint projects going on with other marketers, the trouble is a lot of these projects are going nowhere. We can spend a couple of hours on Skype drawing up a detailed plan, or even have multiple Skype or face to face meetings then that’s as far as it goes. I really need to take stock of the projects I have planned with other marketers and get more products released.
Sales Pages.
While I don’t have too many unfinished pages I do have a few sales pages that could do with a spruce up. Maybe some new graphics here, a video added there, some new testimonials added, etc.
Ideas That Are Still Just Ideas.
As stated at the beginning of this post, this is my (and I guess most peoples) biggest problem, I have so many ideas that I don’t do anything with them. Again, this is something I need to look at and see how many ideas I have had that I have done nothing with.
Unfinished Products.
This is a big issue, I’ll buy a domain, order graphics, make a start and then that’s as far as it goes. I have done this so many times that it’s not funny.
Outdated Products.
I have quite a few products that could do with an update. Maybe new graphics, training videos, updated material, etc. All it would take is half a day to update a site in most cases and I could then re-launch my product. This is something I am going to address ASAP.
To Do Lists.
I have an app on my iPhone that reminds me when I need to start working on a project, the amount of times I have just marked the reminder to be done at a later date is unreal. Again, this is something I need to address.
On a positive note, once I really get going with a product idea nothing stops me and I never get sidetracked, maybe this is how I can keep churning out new products constantly. Some of the best advice I can give you if you can relate to any of the info in this blog post is to always be working on your next product and make sure you don’t work on too much stuff at once, as this is how stuff doesn’t get done.
So there you have it. My faults laid bare for all to see, maybe you can relate to this, maybe not, I’d love to know what are you guilty of not finishing, and why do you think we procrastinate so much?
Or is it just me
44 Comments
Sue Worthington
March 7, 2013John you have read my mind and had a peek on my hard drive – how did you do that?
I have started to create products and thought that they weren’t good enough or that no-one would ever buy them, so they sit there gathering virtual dust.
I have bought graphics for now abandoned ideas.
And don’t even mention the mindmaps.
Think it’s time for a spring clean!
Sue
John
March 8, 2013I was going to Procrastinate Today but Now I think I’ll wait until tomorrow! I’m 78 y/o, in bad health so I don’t have time to become a 90 day millionaire – I’m asking for Your help!
I need a ligitimate ‘Wholesale DropShipper’! I like to Sell on eBay and that’s about my limit since I’m confined to my home – on oxygen 24/7. CAN YOU RECOMMED A DROPSHIPPER ?
Carl Picot
March 7, 2013Hey John
I feel that enthusiasm and drive are really important factors in attaining success in this business, however, it is so easy to get stuck and shelve a project once you have hit a roadblock.
I have difficulty completing projects fast sometimes and very often have several running at the same time in various stages of completion.
I feel that focus is the key and knowing what to prioritise.
However if the willpower is there then 90% of the job is done… tidying up the scraps is another thing
One day there will be no ‘unfinished business’ LOL
thanks for a great post
regards
Carl
Eamon
March 7, 2013Hi John.
Definitely guilty of most of the above, funny I had a domain sitting for over a year and was only reminded about it when NameCheap sent a reminder.
I thought…right, enough with the lazing around and started into the graphics the other day, mind you that’s all that’s started, but your post is a good incentive for me to push forward and bring it to completion!
Eamon
Michael Gorman
March 7, 2013I am reading this at 11:42PM my end, and your post is just refreshing in its honesty John. I think if you are creative, and have half a brain you generate a lot of ideas, you become interested in lots of different things, and really you need to be a Zen master to juggle it all-perhaps this is the key, developing steel self discipline. We western folks are used to getting what we want, when we want it, and lack the skills of focus and delaying gratification. i know that i become agitated when i commence a project, and I start thinking that I am missing out on THE idea, the golden fleece-so i become dissatisfied with what i am working on, and get agitated again! We are pioneers, working in this still very new medium of Internet Marketing. Zen training has the answer, learning to shut out distractions and focus on the present. Or something like that. Great post, made me think a lot!
Roger Weavers
March 7, 2013Hi John,
You must of taken a peek at my hard drive as well! Not only is it full of half done projects and ideas for new projects, it is full of todo lists to update old projects.
The problem I have is working out which are the good ones and which ones I should delete from my hard drive altogether.
I think we all get excited about starting new projects and then when it gets down to the nitty gritty we get bored and divert our attentions to something new.
I try and allocate time for project work every week but then some urgent work comes up and the project work gets pushed back. Perhaps I should tell my clients “don’t call me on a Wednesday because I’m working on my own websites”
What I need is a system to help me work through projects. Your OMM really helped me focus so perhaps I should write a one month plan for each project. There we go, another project for my hard drive.
Cheers
Roger
Erwin
March 7, 2013Hi everyone,
it is true John what you are saying. I’ve got personaly a few products I’ve bought but even didn’t look at it. What a waste of money.
But we have to learn how to manage our time wisely.
I think everybody has had this before. So lets plan our week ahead and this can help at least to motive us.
All the best and see you on top.
Erwin
Galina St George
March 7, 2013Hi John,
This resonates with me so much. I multitask and juggle things all the time, even when I think that I focus on one target. I start one thing, then move onto the next, then go back to the one which I have started and did not finish. Sometimes I don’t get back to it at all, and it gets forgotten.
I think it has become a pattern of behavious which stems from trying to achieve too many goals, and thinking that working on all of them simultaneously is going to get me faster to where I want to be. Except that it does completely the opposite by slowing me down…
At the moment I am busy building a list, and trying to keep the eye on that single goal. However, I still manage to start a lot of things around that single goal, and a few of them are still unfinished.
So I guess focusing and mercilessly saying “no” to anything that is distracting me from my goal, even if it is something relevant but is not immediately connected with the outcome would to improve my preformance and help me get to that goal so much faster. I have learned to recognise this, and consciously make an effort not to get distracted.
Thank you for brigning it up!
Best wishes,
Galina
Nikki Stephens
March 7, 2013Hi John,
Yes, I’m guilty of that as well! I’ve bought a few domains that are sitting there with nothing on them, and have half-planned out products, and then I find myself wondering “but will anyone ever buy it?” and then the doubts set in and I end up doing nothing.
Then I see someeone else come out with something similar that seems to sell well, so of course I should just get on with my products & get them out there!
It’s good to know that even experienced marketers fall prey to this sometimes 😉
Thanks for sharing,
Nikki
Chris & Lisa
March 7, 2013Hi John,
It’s refreshing to know that it’s not just us that go through all this
It gives us hope!
We counted up our domains just the other day…. 37… how many are we actually using? …about 6. Some we have ordered graphics for as well and done the mindmap of the project but that’s pretty shocking and unless they’re earning their keep, that’s almost $400 a year out the window and you hardly notice it because it’s only $10 here, $10 there but it’s all mounting up.
Now that really focused our minds!
Chris
Bradley Anderson
March 8, 2013Guilty, guilty and guilty, as well. 😀 And each of these represent a LOT of wasted time, as well, which can never be regained. Good post, John.
Glenn Shepherd
March 8, 2013Hi John,
It’s definitely not just you! I’m not sure that procrastination is always the main culprit, more like not sticking with one thing at a time. I’ve bought so many WSOs, courses, etc it’s beyond the joke. Each time I’ve started but then something else has come along that seems fantastic and I’ve left what I was doing and switched to the latest thing. It’s not that any of the products are bad, rather that I’ve just not focused on one thing and stuck with it.
Since I’ve been focusing on just one thing and resisting the temptation to buy into the latest ‘game-changing’ WSO I’ve accomplished much more and had a much clearer head
Val
March 8, 2013Hey John, you hit the nail tight on the head.
I have so many interests that I get information overload and get stuck in a mental bog. Guess “one thing at a time .. one day at a time” is the way to go.
Val
James Robson
March 8, 2013Guilty as charged John! I suppose the problem is that ideas, even good ones, are quite easy to come up with and it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of that idea and rush into it all guns blazing before encountering the usual chores and mundane stuff which tend to kill off that initial buzz. Whilst I’ve managed to cut back massively in this area, I can still do better, although I am enjoying the focus I’ve had over the past 4 months by only focusing on one ‘main’ project at a time.
Cheers,
James
Donald
March 8, 2013Hi John,
Three words. “Guilty as Charged”. I can relate to that. I think most comments cover me…lol. However, has made me think, mindset will have to change.
Anyway, I wouldn’t never have thought that you John would have stuff left on your hard drive waiting to get sorted….lol.
I think that post will get most folk thinking, I will definately change my ways.
Regards
Donald
Donald
March 8, 2013I need to post more on my blog, it seems to be one a month at present.
Donald
Xavier
March 8, 2013John, I’ve bought more than 5 of your products since 2011 and this year one of my NY resolutions was to complete at least 2 of them. Problem is – I also have a dozen other projects I am so sure will help me ‘strike gold’, and I keep switching between each.
Knowing that even an old-timer like you has similar issues makes me happy
– and encourages me to think that I can also execute at least a couple of my plans!
Thanks for the share, you’ve been one of my inspirations!
Vance Sova
March 8, 2013Hey John,
You are not alone in doing those things. All the comments above clearly show that and I’m sure you knew it before you posed your questions anyway. Part of the problem, aside from procrastination, is that we don’t want to miss out on anything. If an idea comes we don’t want to lose it and so we act. Buying a domain is classical example of how it can start. It’s easy to buy a domain. We don’t want to wait too long because somebody else might get it. But continuing to stick with the idea when competing ones arrive is not easy.
I could go on about this but I think everybody is in the same boat on this and knows how it goes.
I think that you, John, are still doing much better than most of us because you finish quite a few projects. If you finished everything that you started you’d have to be a zillionaire.
I suggest that you write a post about how you manage to finish as much stuff as you do.
Cheers,
Vance.
Guy DeMartino
March 8, 2013Uh Oh John!
We been drinking the same wine? I just last night reviewed my list of things to do from 6 months ago. Looks like you got a copy of it.
I just started today on revamping my list and started on the web site designs i need. This was just what I needed to give me more incentive.
Thanks,
Guy
Laurie Mills
March 8, 2013Hi John,
It must feel terrible to be the only one on the Internet that has this little problem, lol!!!!!
Just how silly one can be by not finishing at least one project.
I have been mucking around for nearly ten years and have only just got a blog up within the last two or three weeks. That I think virtually borders on insanity, lol!!!
Procrastination, I wish I didn’t know what it means.
louise topping
March 8, 2013It’s kind of a relief to know that you procrastinate as well….It’s not just me. I wish I were more organized ! And it’s white wine, not red…
Louise
Clive Hitchcock
March 8, 2013Hi John
One never thinks of respected marketers, such as yourself making the same mistakes as us, not so well known marketers and I salute you in being honest about it.
I think this something that everybody is guilty of, except most would never own up to it!
Good for you.
Thanks
Clive
dan
March 8, 2013yeah,guilty perhaps with most of the above but most of all is saving to aquire some software to complete my projects!
great posts guy’s!
dan
Mark Salmon
March 8, 2013Hi John,
After our consultation, I just had to click through on your email about this post to see if you were talking about me! I’m not publishing enough of my work because I don’t think it’s good enough and then looking at other peoples stuff thinking I can do better than that or I know more than they do.
Perfectionism is leaving me broke! Refocus, complete on projects and then ‘publish and be damned’.
Wayne (Joe) Evans
March 8, 2013Hey John
Put some spice in for you today. This quote really draws out the right sarcasm…
“I’m a big believer in putting things off, In fact, I even put off procrastinating”.
Ella Varner
As Nike says ‘Just Do it!’
Llwyddiant!
Joe
Kelly
March 8, 2013Hey man, are you talking about me! Oh no you can’t be, I have a Black Berry lol.
This blog really sounds like me. Time to dig up the ideas and apply the “action” button.
Kelly
igor Griffiths
March 8, 2013Well hello John
The balance is most definitely on the side of pending projects, all too often I start a new strategy only to be diverted by the promise of an easier method.
Eddie
March 8, 2013My notes and ideas are all over the place. I just wish to have more time to implement. Working part time on this is pretty crazy. I guess I’ll turn green soon from my laptop reflexion
Paul Steinberg
March 8, 2013John,
You are talking to me. I get frustrated by how many things there are to do in my personal life and business life. Especially going thru a difficult past year personally. I’m starting to get back on track by being more positive about what I am doing.
Thanks for the thoughts John and all. It puts things in perspective and will let me focus a little more on my work.
I will get it done.
Paul
sam
March 8, 2013John, you don’t realize just how refreshing it is to hear that I’m not alone in my plight of ‘unfinished’ products and programs. I may not have as many as others but do feel guilty as most at the mere fact of getting out of bed at night to go scribble something down for fear of forgetting completely before morning an idea I’m just sure will ‘kick-start’ me into stardom eventually.
Thanks for this post and your confession. It motivates me to keep plugging and chasing dreams…
Boruch
March 9, 2013Hi John,
No you are not alone, and neither are the 10’s of people who commented above.
Amongst that which I’m guilty of not following up with are the countless products which I’ve gotten from you and yours. But that bothers me less because through trying, perhaps not enough, I’ve grown to realize which parts of the sales chain I utterly detest and would rather outsource.
Rather the my main guilt that I keep knocking my head on the screen about is not keeping in contact with you and letting you know where I’m holding, and keeping a connection. Each of the 10’s of times that I actually opened up a blank email to write to you, I said to myself that “no, in order to write responsibly I would have to give a whole history of what I have been doing over the past year or two, and for that I have no time now.” So you never hear from me at all which is the worst kind of communication. Unless it is true what they wrote about you above that you can read minds.
Still, as domain renewals come up I am wise enough to cancel them if I see that it’s going to be a contradiction to my current focus, and other such projects to put into the trash bin.
I wish you well whether you remember me or not, and even though fate has dictated that I not be worthy to break into your inner circle meanwhile, I count you as one of my serious mentors, and I am full of continued appreciation.
Best of luck in all of your endeavors, and wish me well for mine,
Boruch
Craig Pullman
March 11, 2013Hi John,
when I started reading your blog post I felt as if you were talking directly to me! I related to just about every piece of the post. I think its time I got off my backside and finished some of those projects. Thanks for the inspiration to keep going John.
Regards,
Craig
magdalena
March 11, 2013Reading your post.. wow now I dont feel as guilty when I do procrastonate than I do catch up and carry on like there is no tomorrow. I still do feel guilty as time is wasted cant be brought back.
I start a freshh tommorrow…
Carl Topping
March 12, 2013Hey John,
It’s crazy I remember when I started my first product on niche websites and ended up creating and selling 3 different ones, so actually need to finish my first one and get it launched at some point lol. Also I am focusing alot on list building at the minute but need to finish my monthly membership site of, and as for products I have bought and not even looked at, I am defo guilty of that one and now think what a waste of money I could of used that to get graphics for my own products or to buy traffic to build my list. Oh well we live and learn
All the best,
Carl
Gareth Kentish
March 12, 2013John,
Absolutely sense. Time is such a precious commodity and it is so easy to let it slip away without achieving anything.
After having tasted how this Internet Marketing stuff works, I’m determined to avoid the pit-falls of procrastination. Not easy.
Irritatingly, having now read your post John, I’m not going to finish my work day now, but continue – aiming to complete some of the unfinished tasks.
Thanks John,
Kind regards
Gareth
Omar Martin
March 12, 2013I’ve never fallen behind on a product.
John Thornhill
March 12, 2013Jenny Wren
March 13, 2013You can tell by the number of replies that this is a very common situation, even for an internet marketing newbie. I get ideas and even make a start then get a bit discouraged and take a break then a new idea strikes.
I definitely need to do some finishing and tidying up. Thanks for the reminder, lol.
Jenny Wren
Jude Banks
March 14, 2013I used to multitask all the time with online projects.
Multitasking works well for me to get the housework done, but when it comes to online projects, I have noticed that my productivity improves when I focused on one project or task at a time.
The brain works better when it has a single main focus and purpose.
I think starting things and not finishing them is still better than never starting anything at all, but if it is becoming a habit, maybe it is a sign
that we are trying to do too many things at once.
In that case, slowing down will actually increase our productivity, in the long term.
~Jude
Matt Morgan
March 16, 2013Hello John, Hope you are well.
I think we are all guilty of this in some form with our projects as we all have too much to complete.
Once a week people should make a habit of completing lose end they have with their work, and project elements which are on hold.
Multitasking can work for you but it doesn’t work for everyone.
Concentrating on one thing at a time and completing it will be more producte compared to working on many things at once.
Focus and taking action in the right areas will make you move forwards. When you have done something successful and it works you should try to scale it up to another level.
TIPS
———-
-Try to complete one project at a time VS Many things in one go.
-Create a list every week of the tasks you wish to complete in that list, and carry out them tasks. Make sure you complete these tasks so that you don’t leave them unfinished.
-Make time to have some breaks during your working days, to have some space from the computer, which will help your productivity.
-Write a list of ‘unfinished’ projects which you want to complete but haven’t got around to it, and make sure you get round to completing them.
-Keep in touch with your past workers so you can use them again in the future.
-If you find your work partners have slowed down their progress don’t be shy to chase them up, to update you where they are at.
-If you have an outdated product, then you can revamp it up and release it again as a launch.
– Remember launched products can be launched again and again, not just once.
Matt Morgan
John Woods
March 19, 2013Really, Omar? C’mon John…No Comment? Hey…I love Your sense of Humor Guys … I get it and thanks for all you guys do!
More Seriously… Am I the only Thornhill MasterClass Student Who is guilty of the same procrastination?
I have my work cut-out for me because of this procrastination,
I believe in John’s Masterclass Model..and even though I am behind, I am not going to advance or skip weeks lessons until each weeks lesson is completed.
I enjoy the writing of blog posts. I intend to complete the course and hope to gain more insight from other Master-Class Students… Can any of You relate to my experience? Have other students fallen behind by a few weeks?
That reminds me…
Is anybody seeing the pattern that may lead to an information product here? This sounds like a common problem…amongst marketers who need a common solution…Hmmm…just a thought…
Thanks, John Woods
Zora
March 23, 2013Hey John,
Thanks the great post ,it’s great to see that other people have the problems and I not the only one. It’s nice that you’ve shared this with everybody .
I like the advice you give on how to overcome some of these problems. Gives everybody some hope that they can get better organized.
Have a good day!
Regards
Zora
Noelle
April 3, 2013Hi John! It’s funny I came across this post – I’ve been literally re-inventing my online business this month, and this list represents everything I did wrong before too!
It’s refreshing to know that we’re all human here – no matter what level of success we’ve achieved, and that we all have room to learn and grow.
Thank you for sharing!
Susan
April 11, 2013Hi John
I have so many unfinished projects it’s not funny! My problem is distraction so I learned a few ways to manage my time, get through my To Do Lists and actually start to complete what I had began. Including your course!
Susan
Leave A Response