The start and stop. The optimism quickly met with reality. The ease of purchasing versus following through. A mess of “I’ll get to it later.” These are the projects we begin, or think we’ll begin, that result in more stuff, weight of disappointment, mental clutter, untidyness, and a general feeling of overwhelm.

Don’t start a project that you’re not ready to finish.

Beginning new projects is exciting. Even beginning un-exciting projects can be a bit exciting with the thought that the dang drawer will finally get reattached or the living room will finally have curtains. We exert energy on the new rather than the things that will most improve our lives because patience can be boring. Minimalism asks us to be honest with ourselves. Not that we can’t dream big or use our imaginations, but when we only execute the easy part of a project or hobby, it becomes a problem.

I’ve seen many clients buy a bunch of project supplies that never are used. That’s because purchasing stuff is seen as step one of a multi-step process. Checking something off the list feels good, and it’s too easy. Even setting up supplies where the project will be executed feels satisfying. Once we feel a bit satisfied and don’t really feel like proceeding, we have little impetus to continue the project. So it languishes, causing disappointment or stress. Or maybe it blends into the background. These projects-to-be are more hidden. They contribute to our sheer volume of stuff and may even be forgotten. 

Sometimes the project is learning-based like picking up a new language, or taking swimming lessons. But these have associated objects that may face the same fate.

A recent coaching client found herself lost in a sea of partially finished projects. How could she complete these while also downsizing and organizing? What productivity strategies would help her complete them? The answer was none- yet. In a sense, she’d skipped a step. The most important project, and the one that would be the elevated platform for any other project, hadn’t been tackled yet. Strategies for project management are executed most efficiently once a baseline system is set. Downsizing and organizing her home was the real project.

Languishing projects are often overlooked obstacles to a simple lifestyle. They initially satisfy our thirst for more while we lack the wherewithal to complete them. More and new are exciting when they’re in our fantasies. Minimalism requires us to bring our fantasies into our reality, or recognize when they should remain in our imaginations for now.

Take a look around your home. Write a list of all the projects that have supplies but little or no progress: home improvement projects, hobbies, learning pursuits. Have a conversation with yourself about whether these are priorities. For those that aren’t priorities, remove the associated items from your home. For the ones that are priorities, but have stalled because a critical path task must first be addressed, put those next steps on your to do list. Then, schedule time to complete the other projects, even if it’s a month or two from now. 

These strategies will clear out the old so you can bring in the new. That’s how less equals more.