In project scheduling, the phrase “start-to-finish” should be avoided.  Many of you who schedule know what I mean, but for the rest, all you need to know is that you should avoid it.
 
Last Sunday, I found myself repeating the phrase “start-to-finish” as a mantra, although with a very different meaning.  Along with three other couples, we own some property in the North Georgia mountains. I was up there yesterday on a beautiful Sunday afternoon to do some maintenance on a trail we have on the property. 
 
I made the trail several years ago.  It starts on the side of a road and meanders uphill into a forest of pines and hardwoods to a spot near a ridge where we hope to build a cabin one day.  Everything about the trail is heaven to your senses: the mix of shadows and bright spots where the sun breaks through the tree canopy; the sounds of a not-too-distant creek; it even smells great.
 
Once or twice a year, my wife and I work on maintaining the trail. We clear fallen branches, trim back branches blocking the path, pull weeds, and rake the leaves off the trail to the side.  And on Sunday, the raking was 99% of the work.  (Not everyone agrees with raking a trail, but it’s my preferred maintenance method because it helps prevent erosion and makes it much easier to follow the bends and curves, especially at night when it’s dark.)
 
I set off at the top, rake in hand, and worked diligently, taking a couple of breaks for water and catching my breath.  It was hard work, and after about 40 minutes and 25 yards from the end, I hit my wall.  My shoulders, back, and wrists were not happy with me.  Out of breath and sore, I stared at the road at the end, trying to muster the will and inspiration to finish. 
 
I remembered some sage wisdom I’d learned in a program I took on emotional intelligence.  When you’re avoiding something, a helpful practice is agreeing with yourself to do whatever it is for five minutes, just to get started on what you’ve been avoiding.  Many times, the starting is the issue.  Five minutes in, you can decide to stop if you want, but usually, you’ll find that the thing you were avoiding wasn’t as bad as you were imagining, and before you know it, you’re done.
 
And I realized I needed to “start to finish.”  I would never finish the trail unless I started working on the rest of it.  And so I did, and the five minutes I promised myself was all that I needed to finish the job. 

With some projects, the last 20% feels like 80% of the job.  Momentum carries you through things with a little more ease.  But momentum requires what is sometimes the toughest step — getting started. 
 
And so, unlike with project scheduling, start-to-finish is not something to be avoided but embraced.