How Unfinished Projects Soak Up Your Energy and What to Do About It

Your unfinished projects, whether personal or in your business, can be a resource or energy drain on you.  It can act like a bottomless black hole of drain if you are not aware of its effects. A storage unit can do the same thing.  Here are tips on how to decide which to keep, which to release, and which to delegate to stop losing your precious energy and resources unnecessarily.   Free live training on how to fill your calendar as a healer so you can support yourself and your family, go to: https://www.highpaidhealers.com   

Your unfinished projects can be a black hole of your energy

and you're not even aware of it.  It includes your unfinished business projects, your unfinished home projects, sewing project, any kind of project that's been hanging around for a really long time.

I’m covering two things. First of all, how your past and present unfinished projects can really pull your energy out of you and, second, some thoughts about how to take care of those.   How to choose which ones to keep and  which ones to give up. 

Imagine an iceberg: you only see a little tiny bit above the surface.   That's your unfinished project.  What's below the water is well over 90% to 95% because of the buoyancy of ice in saltwater.

That’ is the power the unfinished project: below the surface is what is still there and what is pulling on all of your energy.   Each project is there in your subconscious, whatever is there unfinished, whether it's organizing your pictures, whether it is finishing an old knitting or sewing project, you know the kind: the ones that have been sitting in your closet for a really long time.   

Let's say you have a business idea,

or even you have a whole pile of business ideas and started them and they're halfway done. I had some some science research projects and I had them half done. 

So I had to make up my mind, am I going to chuck them? Or am I going to keep them and make a plan on how to finish them. 

Here's some questions to help you decide what to do. 

The first is are you going to finish the old project in the next six months? If no, then give it away. Give it to somebody else right 

Second, if the project is not yet on the docket, and I'll describe some of the things that I did, if your project is not yet on the docket, but is in alignment with your future, then that's something you need to keep on your list.

Last, is the project something that needs to be done already, but something is holding you back. Maybe it's a little boring. Maybe it's kind of difficult, like some people will delay their taxes for some reason. And I just heard from somebody who hasn't done her last three years of taxes because she just can't fase the pile of receipts and bills. This is something that you can give to an assistant or somebody who does this as a specialty to do. Hire somebody to complete it, if it is mundane, especially that's important, like your taxes.

These are clues as to whether you could keep them or not. 

Here’s what I did with some of my old projects and these are some thoughts on releasing your old projects.

One thing that is a really huge energy suck is a storage unit.

Storage units are a really huge business in this country. Everybody seems to have storage units. There are storage units around every corner pretty much and a great number of people have storage units. 

Now some people live in apartments:  they need a storage unit because they do their projects or hobbies there. However, a lot of people have the storage unit because their house can’t hold all their stuff. If you think about it, the amount that you're paying for a storage unit like around here, they're about $150 for a 10 by 10 per month

Over the course of a year it'll be $1,800. And over the course of 10 years, it's $18,000. So what could you buy with that $18,000?  

If instead of paying for the storage unit, you sold everything in your storage unit. And if there’s something you can't bear to part with, find a place in your home for it. 

The storage unit to me is an unfinished project.

And one thing that I did is I went from a 4400 square foot house to an 1100 square foot house. Now of course, my two children took part of the furniture out of those 4400 square feet. But I still was left with a small house so I had to decide what to do with my things. And I wasn't sure whether I would stay in that small house or not. So I stored things up in the attic and it became kind of my black hole. So now that I've moved into a 2000 square foot house, I've decided that if I can't use any of it they have to go.

There were also things in this house already since I inherited the house. I had to decide whether to keep or let go of many things.  Some I just put them out on the street then put a listing, with pictures of the furniture, in Craigslist and Freecycle for someone to come and get them.  I let them go and let somebody else enjoy them. 

And the people that came and picked them up were thrilled because they were still in good condition and would look nice in a home.  I just didn't have room  or have use for them. There was no point in hanging on to them. That's a bit like an unfinished project: I'm going to use this piece of furniture someday and I have to hang on to it because my mom and dad had it for many years and they enjoyed it. But it wasn't my cup of tea.

 Releasing unfinished projects you love

One of the other things that I release was I had this gorgeous royal blue raw silk suit. It wasn't a full suit. It was something that I was sewing: I bought this material way back in the mid 1980s when I took a trip to Canada into Calgary.  The silk was gorgeous. It was a deep blue royal and it looked really good on me. The suit was exactly the cut color and shape that would compliment me but it never got finished because I had kids. Then I moved to Germany and my life got really busy. 

Then I moved it from Germany back to the US in 1999 and at some point in the US, I decided that I can't keep it any longer.  I’m never going to finish it.  

I then gave it to one of those places that are for shelters for women and children that need projects to do.  I gave it and other projects away to help poor families and people in need. 

Another thing that falls under this category was rolls and rolls of high quality yarn. In Germany, it's cold. In the Winter, I did all this knitting. I’d sit sit with company to watch a movie and kint.  While there, I learned how to knit really well there and I made a couple of sweaters. And I had plans to make one or two more.  But when I moved to the US, I moved first to hot Las Vegas. I said, I'm not going to knit anymore. 

I took all of those beautiful balls of wool and I then gave them to a place for projects again, just like that. It helps children and mothers do projects.  

As soon as I released all of those unfinished projects, I felt like this big burden lifted off my shoulders because I didn't have those things to do anymore.

That was just like with my old research projects from when I was researching vibrations of matter, just like those old research projects.  I either finished them or I let them go. I still have a couple left. 

Once in a while, I ask myself: am I going to finish them or not? And it's very unlikely that I will, but at least it's not occupying a lot of space. It's on a disk drive on a computer. And that's it. It's just not occupying any visible obvious big space here.  

I've let go of all of my joint projects that I had going with people.

Those are things that will never ever get done. For example, dealing with business partners that weren't working out. I was doing the lion's share the work and getting very little return on my time investment. 

It's best to let go and then you'll find you've simplified your life. 

Do one thing at a time and keep doing it until you do it really well. And then when you succeed really well then you can give the job to somebody else, delegate it.  Then that’s the time you can move on and do something new. 

Focusing on the one thing that you're really really good at, without having all those unfinished projects laying around will really lighten your burden. It will clean up your energy and it won't suck that subconscious energy towards those projects. 

To decide the fate of your unfinished projects. 

1.  Is it something that you'll finish 
2. Is it something that is in line with your future like in line with like your business plans and or even personal plans 
3. Last,  is it something that you can let go of or is it something that's absolutely necessary period.

For example, let’s look at old pictures.   You'll keep your pictures, you won't do away with them.  You could also just leave them in a box for people to enjoy or you can give it to a company to scan them all electronically. 

At my age,  most of the pictures that were taken of us before probably 2000, were all done on paper with film. Then after 2000:  I remember getting my first digital camera in 1999-2000 ish and I paid a lot of money for a two megapixel camera that didn't work so well. The post production processing was a lot.  This is when I started taking more and more digital photos. And so I didn't have the big piles of pictures anymore. 

 And the pictures of when my children were growing up, we scanned a lot of them in so they're now also electronic.  We scanned a lot of family photos so they're also electronic.  You realize that is a way to solve the problem of having more to do than you have time for.  

Those old photos need to be scanned because I just found an old picture of my mom when she was 35, done in a passport photo automat.  It’s over 50 years old and the photo quality is degrading.  Scanning it in helps preserve the color and quality. 

If that’s not a passion project, it would be so much better so you could take all your pictures into a company or service who will do all the scanning for you.

I hope you’ve gotten some ideas of how you can release a lot of projects you’ve had on your list, either by hiring someone, keeping it because it is in line with your future or letting it go if you don’t really “need” to complete it or have had it on your list of to dos but it’s never gotten done.  Be honest with yourself and ask yourself is it important that I finish it? 

That blue jacket, for example, went out of style even though it was a classic suit.  I just let it go. 

 I hope that was helpful for you to decide what to keep and what to let go of to free your energy up instead of having it sink into the black hole of all of those projects. 

Standout Quotes for Clearing Your Unfinished Projects:

• "Imagine an iceberg: you only see a little tiny bit above the surface.   That's your unfinished project.  What's below the water is well over 90% to 95% because of the buoyancy of ice in saltwater. That’s the power the unfinished project has on you: below the surface is what is still there and what is pulling on all of your energy."  
• "It's best to let go of unfinished projects that you likely won’t finish to help replenish your creativity, vitality, and energy." 
• "If you have a lot of business ideas: first, do one thing at a time and keep doing it until you do it really well. Then you can move on and delegate it.  Now you’ll have the energy and capacity for something new." 
• "Focusing on the one thing that you're really really good at, without having unfinished projects laying around will really lighten your burden." 
• "When evaluating your unfinished projects, be honest with yourself and ask yourself, “is it important or in alignment with my purpose that I finish it?”