Hey Reader

If you've watched any of my Change Your Life Challenge vlogs, then you may have heard about my B-roll library project 😅

The long-story-short is that I really want an organised library of my previously recorded video clips. I could use these in future videos whenever I want to showcase an example or highlight a point without having to re-record things.

Great in theory, but when it comes to doing the work? Ugh 🙄

All I really need to do is:

1. Go through the clips and delete the ones I don't need/want
2. Trim the remaining clips to just the footage I care about
3. Name and export the trimmed clips
4. Sort them into the B-roll library folders

That's only like 4 things!

Buuut I have roughly 18,500 pieces of footage to go through 🫠

Technically speaking, the tasks aren't all that hard. They're just boring and time consuming.

Definitely not a winning combination for Rebel Brain™️

That means that my B-roll library project has been ongoing for multiple years now, but it's time that changes!

Mainly because, with the last year of vlog footage, my computer storage is quickly running out 😂

But it's nice to have something to spur us into action, and that's what this week's tip is designed for.

Let's have a look 👀

The issue - The cost of unfinished projects

The costs of unfinished projects are steep.

Sure, we've got the cost of not getting the sweet satisfaction of checking something off our list, but there are some even more worrying ones 😨

One cost comes from the Zeigarnik effect, or the phenomenon of our brain holding onto incomplete tasks more strongly than finished ones.

This means that our brain will constantly ruminate on unfinished projects, usually to the detriment of focusing on our current tasks and projects.

Lost focus isn't the only one though. A separate-but-related cost is the limiting of our self-belief.

When we dwell on all the stuff we haven't done, compared to anything we have accomplished, this can start to reinforce ideas of "I don't finish anything I start" or "I can't trust me to get things done."

Boo! Hiss! 🐍

Another possible cost is to our environment, whether it be physical or digital.

Most unfinished projects come with baggage, also known as the supplies and materials that will be needed to get the thing done.

Notably these come with a space cost, or the room the materials take up. This is the one I'm most struggling with for my unfinished B-roll library project 😝 I don't even have enough space on my computer to open some apps! 🤦‍♀️

But we also have a cost to our mood. Funnily enough, as those materials become physical (or digital) representations of the incomplete, it's not really a huge mood booster when we see them 👀

Of course there are also other costs to consider, for instance ones that are actual monetary costs. Not super great when you leave a project unfinished for so long that you have to repurchase supplies or even re-do your work 😅

But!

With all these costs in mind, how can we actually get these projects done?

The idea - Treat unfinished projects like time bombs

For some of us, the power of a deadline can be very helpful for spurring us into action 😈

A time bomb project uses that idea, but takes it a step further.

For regular projects, if we don't have all that much progress to show when the deadline starts approaching, we can end up pushing that deadline out. Sometimes this happens over and over, up until the point where nothing ever gets finished.

The projects most at risk of this are ones with self-imposed due dates where the only person we're "letting down" for not hitting the deadline is ourself. These are the ones that work best being treated as time bombs.

For a time bomb project, the deadline is when the project explodes 💥

We don't get to push that due date into the future. Instead, anything unfinished gets scrapped.

Depending on the project, this may mean throwing it away entirely, or drawing a line in the sand and calling whatever stage we've gotten up to "finished".

There are a few reasons why this tactic can work well. Treating the project like a time bomb can help with:

• Procrastination: we don't have time to waste on inaction as the hard deadline approaches
• Prioritisation: we want at least partial project success, so getting the most important stuff done first is key
• Setting realistic timelines: with a hard cut-off deadline it's better to be realistic rather than optimistic with the due date

This can even help if our project is still unfinished come the deadline.

If we haven't prioritised it despite knowing that the project was getting scrapped on our due date, maybe this project just isn't meant to be. Let's let it go and free up mental energy for other stuff 💪

The B-roll library project is my time bomb for Quarter 3 💣 The date-of-explosion is September 27th, 2026, so there's no time to waste!

Let's take action

Thinking about an unfinished project you have, consider turning one of them into a time bomb.

The type of project that works best for this is one that:

• You genuinely want to complete
• Matters to you, but maybe not a lot to others
• Doesn't have an external due date or deadline

Once you have your project in mind, set your date of project explosion. Try to give yourself long enough that you'll be able to get it finished, but not so long that you'll procrastinate taking action.

I'd love to hear what project you have in mind though, so hit reply and let me know!

Side question

This newsletter took me a bit longer than expected to write because I had a lot worth sharing, but wanted to keep it brief 😂

If you'd like another newsletter about tactics for how to get our unfinished projects done, or any other topic, just hit the button below and fill in the lil form 🥳

Until next time!

- Jess