Do you have S.O.S.?
No, I’m not talking about the morse code distress signal. Although, if you have S.O.S. you may be in distress.
S.O.S. stands for Shiny Object Syndrome. Some of the symptoms include getting easily distracted, lots of unfinished projects, and lack of a cohesive strategy. If left unchecked, S.O.S. can lead to frustration, disappointing results, and an overall lack of productivity.
I’m not talking about simple distractions like social media or other apps on your phone. Those distractions can certainly have some of the same symptoms and outcomes. But in some ways S.O.S. is a bigger problem.
It’s so easy to start a project and focus on it for a while, only to start another project before the first one is complete. Pretty soon you have 5 or 6 unfinished projects piled up and nothing to show for it.
My wife would tell you my hobbies through the years have been a little S.O.S. In the 23 years we’ve been married, I have been passionate about the following hobbies: video production, rock climbing, geocaching, guitar/music, podcasting (my first podcast in 2009), kayaking, backpacking, LEGO, and running.
Some hobbies lasted longer than others. And there was some that overlapped with other hobbies. But for the most part during the season I was into these hobbies, I was ALL-IN!
For each of these hobbies I dove into studying them in great depth, bought all the gadgets and gear necessary for the hobby, and gravitated towards others who were into that activity. I even planned travel and vacation time around these activities.
It’s one thing to have Shiny Object Syndrome for your personal life, it’s another thing to have it show up in your professional or purpose-driven goals.
Jumping from project to project in your professional life or side business can present challenges. It often highlights a lack of clarity about your vision or weaknesses in your strategy and planning.
There are a couple different psychological factors that drive S.O.S. One is fear of failure, and our mind tells us if we never finish a project, we don’t have to face poor results. Another is a form of boredom where our brain craves dopamine from something new. The last factor is perfectionism, and we don’t want to face the current roadblock or challenge.
As with any bad habit, admitting you have a problem is one of the most important things you can do to correct your behavior. Once you’ve decided you want to make a change, here are some practical tips for avoiding the scattered approach of S.O.S.:
- Commit to fewer projects at a time. That means saying no to things that aren’t aligned with your vision.
- Set milestones for your goals. Break up big goals into more manageable pieces so you can see progress and celebrate wins.
- Have a plan for your week. Use my Sunday Strategy worksheet to assign individual projects to specific days of the week.
- Adopt a “Done is better than perfect” mindset. Become comfortable with calling a project complete even if it has a few imperfections.
- Have an external accountability partner you can touch base with. Allow them to tell you if you’re getting too fragmented.
- Create a process to curate new ideas. Record new ideas immediately and review them periodically to see if they still make sense.
Don’t waste any more time jumping from project to project or from strategy to strategy. Commit to finishing one project before moving on to the next and you will see great results from doing so.