ALWAYS FINISH WHAT YOU HAVE STARTED by CHANAKYA

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ALWAYS FINISH WHAT YOU HAVE

STARTED

 

WORLD'S FIRST MANAGEMENT GURU - CHANAKYA AND HIS TEACHINGS From KAUTILYA'S ARTHASHASTRA (WRITTEN IN 3RD CENTURY BC) WHICH CAN BE PRACTICALLY APPLIED BY EACH PERSON EVEN IN MODERN DAY SCENARIO.

       Radhakrishnan ‘Chanakya’ Pillai 

There’s this friend of mine who seems destined to end each

and every project of his with nothing but success. I once asked him to share

his secret.He said, “Before taking on any new project, I always

complete the previous work undertaken. That ensures that I single-mindedly, and

successfully, finish every project I take up!”

 These words immediately reminded me of a verse by Chanakya:

 ‘Activity is that which brings

about the accomplishment of works undertaken’ (6.2.2)

 Very few people are good at

completing work they already have. Indeed, almost all of us keep on taking new

projects, accept new orders and even pick up new books to read without asking

ourselves, “Shouldn’t I first complete the existing one?”

 No wonder we land up with various

problems like stress, atrocious time-management and a pathetic work-life

balance. Why don’t we first complete the work we already have at hand? Chanakya says that this happens

because we are not ‘active’. We have to ‘act’ to complete all existing work.

There’s simply no alternative to this.

 And you only need a few steps:

 1)     

LIST ALL PENDING WORK

 If you want to see why your life

is in a mess, try this simple exercise: List the number of activities that you

have started but not completed or finished till date. It could be finishing a report,

calling up and thanking the organisers of an event, or simply completing that

book you picked up. If you’re honest, you will be shocked at the size of your

list!

 2)     

PLAN IT, AND DO IT

 Now, list the time required for

completing each unfinished work. For example, it may take a half hour to finish

that report. Or about 5-10 minutes to call and thank the organisers of that

party. Or the book that you started reading and left mid-way may take about

three hours more to finish. Keep sometime, say about one hour

daily, to complete these unfinished tasks. Very important: Actually ‘DO IT’, and

don’t just think about doing it.

 3)     

MAKE IT A HABIT

This exercise may look difficult

initially. After all, we all do get into the dirty habit of procrastinating.

But if we really discipline ourselves by completing all unfinished tasks, we

will grow in self-confidence and even yearn for bigger challenges. The chairman of a multinational firm once revealed to

me that he spends his Saturdays just to complete any work that may have been

left unfinished. This shows how important is to be a good finisher rather than

just being a good starter.-- Thank you and Have a Fulfilling DayVenkat Koppaka