I think you’re basically right, although there’s also a large and important signaling component: it’s in fact good to signal willingness to complete projects if you want people to work on projects with you.
Also, as I understand it, this was exactly C. S. Lewis’ attitude towards faith. I don’t have a convenient pull quote though.
After I took the time to actually think about planning and motivation, I realized that there were a ton of glaringly obvious things I was missing. What you said, but also this thing:
If you’re halfway done with a project and most of its value is in the finished product, then it’s worth twice as much to finish it than to start a brand new, equivalent project.
I can’t believe I never considered this while hopping from half-finished thing to half-finished thing. This observation might be a sufficient antidote to the “dropping things halfway” bug that I don’t even need Sunk Cost Faith.
In addition to just the value of having the finished project, there’s also the value of learning about how to do the various stages of the project. I can imagine projects where most of the learning happens in finishing, e.g. putting on a stage play.
I think you’re basically right, although there’s also a large and important signaling component: it’s in fact good to signal willingness to complete projects if you want people to work on projects with you.
Also, as I understand it, this was exactly C. S. Lewis’ attitude towards faith. I don’t have a convenient pull quote though.
After I took the time to actually think about planning and motivation, I realized that there were a ton of glaringly obvious things I was missing. What you said, but also this thing:
If you’re halfway done with a project and most of its value is in the finished product, then it’s worth twice as much to finish it than to start a brand new, equivalent project.
I can’t believe I never considered this while hopping from half-finished thing to half-finished thing. This observation might be a sufficient antidote to the “dropping things halfway” bug that I don’t even need Sunk Cost Faith.
In addition to just the value of having the finished project, there’s also the value of learning about how to do the various stages of the project. I can imagine projects where most of the learning happens in finishing, e.g. putting on a stage play.