Chronic, Serial Project-Starting

I have a confession: I am a serial project-starter.

Just a few examples:

• I have four novels and one screenplay in progress, and countless shorter stories begun and left to languish unfinished.
• I’ve started Project 365 at least three times.
• I’m on my second “101 things in 1001 days” list.
• I have in my craft room supplies for: knitting, cross-stitching, sewing, jewelry-making, and scrapbooking; I have touched none of them in months.
• I have an Xbox 360, Wii, and Playstation 2, and I have never finished a game on any of them.
• I started this blog in 2009, posted regularly for a couple of months, and then stopped altogether. I’ve tried a few times to get back into it, unsuccessfully. This is just my latest attempt to get it started back up.

So… What’s up with that?

Quite simply, I love the thrill of a new endeavor. I love the novelty of doing something different. What could be better? I’m expanding my horizons! I jump into a new thing enthusiastically. Part of the fun is thinking about it, planning, daydreaming. A new project, whatever it is, generates grand plans and dreams. I could create beautiful jewelry/purses/dresses! I could sell them on etsy! I can become a famous author and quit my day job! I could… you get the idea, right?

That’s not all of it, thankfully; if it was just the fantasy, why start at all? No, as much or more than that, it’s the joy of learning a new skill. You start to see things differently. When I began sewing, I found myself investigating the seams of my clothes — oh, that’s how that goes together!. You find out details of things you never even wondered about before, like the hardness of different metals or how they get different colors of aluminum or copper. Writing or playing video games, you get wrapped into a new story, with characters and adventures that are shiny and unknown and exciting. It’s all such a thrill!

Inevitably, though, my interest in a project or hobby eventually wanes. The novelty wears off. I get discouraged, or distracted by another new thing, or overwhelmed by all of my options. (Should I write tonight or sew or work on that bracelet? Maybe I’ll just watch TV.) Whatever the particular reasons, I set things aside, always promising myself I’ll go back to them.

Knowing my history, what should I do when a new project catches my eye? I struggle with that. If I’m just going to give it up in a few months, is it worth getting into? Shouldn’t I go back to one of the things I’ve set aside rather than getting into something new? After all, I’ve already spent time and money on those. I don’t want that to go to waste. Those things weigh on me; I feel a niggling guilt, the shadow of things left undone. And yet, I crave the new…

The way I see it, I have three choices:

1) Continue the way I have, picking up and setting aside projects and hobbies as they catch and lose my fancy, continuing to feel guilty about the things left undone.

2) Stop picking up new things and try to go back to finish past projects. Resisting the lure of the New is hard, though, and the old doesn’t hold my attention; will I get anything done at all, or just feel even more guilty?

3) Let go of the past. Continue picking things up new things, but when I set something aside, let it go. Be grateful for the time spent, the joy felt, and the new skills and knowledge obtained. Give myself permission to be done, even if I’m not finished. That’s not to say I could never go back to those things — when I want to. But I wouldn’t feel pressure to force myself back to things that aren’t calling to me.

What do you think? Should I try to change my mindset towards my serial project-starting? Or should I put more effort into going back to finish those past projects?

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