You won’t believe how much lighter I felt after I kicked myself out of my unfinished projects.
Ever felt like, on paper, everything’s fine, yet something keeps pulling you back? Like too many loose threads stretched around you—none painful alone, but together they create constant tension…
It didn’t hit me overnight that I needed to do something about it. Instead, a slow, sneaky feeling grew inside me that I was carrying too much just because I once started something or felt I "should" keep going.
To add to that, at the end of last year, I spent over 6 weeks bedridden. This wasn’t the kind of slow down you choose after a hectic period. Yet, as the days passed and all I had to do was heal and stare at the ceiling, I started taking stock.
I didn’t dive into big life revelations, just practical questions: What am I doing unnecessarily? What drives me? And most importantly: what am I carrying that’s no longer mine?
It quickly became clear that my life wasn’t missing new plans, but the closure of old, no longer working ones. Those I’d forgotten on paper but that kept buzzing in my mind.
By the start of the year, I had one serious commitment left: simplify.
I didn’t want to keep up the sprawling system I’d built as a solo entrepreneur over the years. I wasn’t thinking about optimizing or doing anything better—I just wanted fewer things in my focus.
The moment I listed the projects, collaborations, and side tasks I no longer wanted to return to, I felt something shift inside me—a quiet encouragement.
And when I started removing those "I’ll get to it someday" commitments from my calendar and workdays, relief was undeniable. I didn’t suddenly have more free time, but my days felt lighter, and the pressure visibly lifted.
What we do just out of habit
For a long time, I took on many things because friends asked for favors, because I thought "it might come in handy someday", or simply because I couldn’t say no. I don’t regret any of it—this mindset built relationships, brought experience, recommendations, and job opportunities.
But slowly, as I neared forty, my questions (and answers) changed. I’m no longer interested in what might "pay off someday," but what it gives me now—or takes away.
That’s when I decided to kick myself out of projects that were just running in the background out of habit.
Our brain doesn’t forget, it just procrastinates
The real problem wasn’t the tasks I actively worked on, but those I hadn’t touched yet still hovered in the background. Half-finished collaborations, ideas never launched, promises of "we’ll get back to it someday." These didn’t always steal my active hours but constantly occupied space in my mind.
When I read up on this, I realized our brain struggles with open loops. What’s unfinished keeps popping up, as if reminding us, "You’ve got work to do."
It’s no wonder an unfinished email or half-done conversation weighs heavier than ten closed matters combined.
Tension doesn’t come from having many tasks, but from having too many unresolved ones.
When I consciously closed these loops—sometimes by saying it out loud, sometimes quietly letting go—I didn’t instantly become more productive or successful. But I made space in my mind, and I didn’t realize how much I needed that until I took the first steps.
Surprisingly, I even felt physically lighter, as if I’d shed more than just mental weight.
I learned that life isn’t always about adding more; sometimes it’s about letting go. I’d applied this well in other areas, but work tasks somehow escaped my organizing efforts—until now!
Kicking ourselves out of certain projects isn’t failure
I don’t see closing projects that didn’t work or didn’t go as planned as a step back. Instead, I see it as learning and gaining clarity about what I need now.
Closure doesn’t shrink life; it opens space for what truly matters—or simply ensures our minds aren’t buzzing nonstop.
