Finishing a pending task: freeing the space it occupies

The drawer that has needed tidying since March, the email left half-written, the form to send back, the promised repair, the "almost finished" project: pending tasks have a quiet but real effect. They take up space in your head, remind you of their existence at the wrong moment, and feed a small background guilt. This quest invites you to finish one today.

What it looks like in your day

Take inventory. Take five minutes to note all the things started and never finished: not to overwhelm yourself, but to see. You will probably be surprised by how many there are.

Choose just one task. The right candidate: a task you can finish in under an hour, that weighs on you, and whose completion will relieve you. Avoid choosing the biggest or the most complicated.

Decide on a time slot. Set a specific time: "Tonight, from 7 to 7:45." Without a slot, a task stays pending.

Do it to the end. Without getting lost in perfection: the aim is for it to be finished, not perfect. If it is bigger than expected, at least do the step that lets you close it.

Savor the ending. Tick it off, put it away, send it. Thank God for the strength received. Notice what it does for you.

Give up dead tasks. Some tasks no longer have a reason to exist. Cross them off your list, freely, rather than dragging them along.

One tip: start with the smallest step, even five minutes. Often, the hardest part is getting started.

If you are in a hurry, choose the shortest task on your list. If you are shy, this challenge is entirely personal. If you are the type who starts everything, this is a chance to train yourself to finish.

What the Bible says

The book of Ecclesiastes gives an instruction of simplicity:

“Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.”

"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might": don't postpone, don't do it by halves. The book of Proverbs describes the difference between the sluggard and the diligent:

“The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.”

The sluggard desires and has nothing, because he doesn't go all the way. Jesus, for his part, speaks of those who begin without being able to finish:

“For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.”

A man who wants to build a tower must first count whether he has enough to finish it, or people will mock him. That doesn't invite you never to begin, but to begin realistically, then to finish.

Pitfalls to avoid

Aiming for perfection. Many tasks stay pending because we want to do them perfectly. A task finished at 90% is worth more than a perfect task never completed.

Judging yourself severely. Having pending tasks doesn't make you a bad person. It is the condition of most of us.

Choosing a task that is too heavy. If you tackle the biggest one, you risk giving up. Start small.

Scattering yourself. Just one task today. The others will wait.

Forgetting to invite God. Ask him for the strength to begin, the patience to continue, the joy of finishing.

Today, choose one pending task. Set a time slot and finish it.