Why Is It So Hard to Finish Things?

Learn about the strategies needed to stick to a long-term project and discover who working with others can help you get things done.

Marie-Pier Rochon

Mar 13, 2025

Why Is It So Hard to Finish Things?

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Why Is It So Hard to Finish Things?

The common struggles of relying on a Notion template

Lack of external validation

Finding motivation on your own is hard

Perfection paralysis

Procrastination is easy when you’re alone

The common link between these problems: People!

This is all simply called “Body Doubling”

So how does body doubling help stick with a Notion template

Ready to give body doubling with Notion a try?

Why Is It So Hard to Finish Things?

We've all been there. Starting a new project with unrestricted enthusiasm only to watch our productivity and motivation slowly fade into the void.

where has it gone?

Whether it's personal goals, work projects, creative endeavours, or the worst of all, home renovations 😱, finishing what we start can feel like climbing Mount Everest.

Learning to use a Notion template is no different.

Tell me, does this story sound familiar?

Day 1: You download that shiny new template. You watch the demo video. You spend a few hours tinkering with it so that it works for you.

Day 2: You’re super excited because that template your got will be put into action today. For sure. You open it up, follow the motion. It works. You’re pretty happy you got the template.

Day 3: Almost like day 2, with just a little bit less energy.

Day 4: It’s the afternoon and you realise that you forgot to start your day with that Notion template you promised yourself you’d use. You open up Notion, catch up on what you missed.

Day 5: You don:t even touch your new Notion template.

Day 10: You realise it’s been too long since you used the template. So you think it must be a bad template. You delete it, and get ready to use a new one.

Let me stop the story here.

If you’re guilty of this, there are a few things you should know:

I’ve done this too, you’re not alone.

It’s not the template’s fault. Or yours.

You didn’t have enough support to make it through to completion.

The common struggles of relying on a Notion template

A lot of people start using Notion because they’re looking for a system that’ll hold them accountable. The problem with this is that Notion is just a system. It’s a software.

Even if you have a bunch of checkboxes and charts and fancy formulas that spit out encouraging messages like 💃🏻 Well done today! it’s just not the same as having true accountability that comes from other humans.

The reason a good system fails is because it lacks one or more of these four core elements that support long-term commitments: external accountability, motivation from working with other people, perfection paralysis and procrastination.

Let’s dive into each of these elements and see how you can flip things around to finally use that Notion template how it’s meant to be used.

Lack of external validation

You need some source of external accountability to keep going for a long-term project. Something like a real deadline, someone who you’ll report to regularly, a real consequence of not taking action.

Without external validation, it’s too easy to have this dream, goal or even just idea of a project you want to take on sitting somewhere in Notion and never seeing the.

What can you do about this? Tell someone about your goal. Sign a contract and post it in a place where you’ll see it every day. Or if you’re game, use a tool like Stickk which gives you external accountability.

Finding motivation on your own is hard

Did you know that when working with other, you can be more productive even weeks later? A study conducted by Priyanka B. Carr and Gregory M. Walton, published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology showed that people work better when in teams, but the impact doesn't just stop at the session when people were working alongside others.

The study demonstrated that after the initial experiment, participants “chose to do more related tasks in an unconnected setting 1–2 weeks later. The results suggest that cues of working together can inspire intrinsic motivation.” In other words, working with others doesn’t only make yoiu productive on the spot. It helps you find long-term motivation needed for bigger projects.

What can you do about this? Find a friend you can work alongside every week or two and you’ll not only get things done during that session, but you’ll boost your motivation for up to two weeks after that.

Perfection paralysis

When working alone, another culprit for lack of completion is getting stuck in perfectionism paralysis. You want everything to be just right. So much so, that you may even find it hard to start anything if it’s not done perfectly.

Is this you?

That’s another thing people who buy templates but struggle to use them do. They think “but I’m no Notion master, so I’m not sure I’ll do it right. I need to go learn more about this before I try using it.”

All you really need to fight this is to get started. And while that sounds scary, knowing where to find help for when things get tricky is usually the best cure to perfectionism paralysis.

What can you do about this? Just get started and dig into the template. And if you’re stuck, most template creators leave their emails in case you have question. Get in touch. Ask them your questions and figure it out as you go. The Notion subreddit is also a great place to ask questions and find answers.

Procrastination is easy when you’re alone

Maybe I’ll write this paragraph later…

do i really have to? — do i really have to?

All jokes aside, procrastination is a complex beast. There are many reasons people do it. There are many reasons why it’s not the best strategy for long-term or big projects.

When we procrastinate alone, it's easy to keep pushing things off without consequences. But having someone else present, even if they're working on their own tasks, creates a social pressure and accountability that can help overcome procrastination. The simple act of showing up to work alongside someone else also give your the structure, the time and place you might nee to finally tackle the tasks we've been avoiding.

What can you do about this? That time you’ve got in your calendar to working on a project that’s important to you? Turn one of those times a regular meeting with someone. Invite a friend along to your local library top work together. Catch up with someone on Zoom and tell each other what you’ll do for the next hour, then catch up when the time is done.

The common link between these problems: People!

As you might have noticed by now, all four of these issues can be fixed by working with other people. And you don’t even need to be working on the same thing. Here’s how you can beat all four of these problems by having a single work session at a cafe (or a library, or an office, or even via Zoom) with someone else:

You tell your someone about a deadline you’ve got - even one you made up yourself. Take it one step further by asking them to keep track of your progress by asking for updates regularly. That’s external validation taken care of.

Knowing you’ll have to report back in a few days or weeks, you’ll get the boost you need to stay motivated for another week or two. That’s intrinsic motivation dialled up.

When finding yourself unsure about something during your work session, ask your someone. If this is a pattern that’s been going on for a while, you might even want to have questions ready to ask before your meetup. Bye, bye perfectionism.

By having a set meeting time, you’ve already given procrastination the middler finger. Now all you have to do is be there and do the thing you said you’d do.

This is all simply called “Body Doubling”

Body doubling is the practice of working alongside someone (even virtually) while each person focuses on their own tasks. It’s a very popular technique with neurodiverse people who need more support to get things done. Or kids and teens who are still developing their executive functioning skills. Remember how those study groups worked so much better than doing it on your own?

So how does body doubling help stick with a Notion template

Let's apply these body doubling principles to sticking with a Notion template:

Schedule regular template check-ins: Set up weekly virtual sessions with another Notion user where you both review and update your templates together. I have these every Friday morning with other Notion Mastery alumni.

Create template accountability: Share your template goals with someone and ask them to check in on your progress regularly. This could be as simple as sending a screenshot of your completed daily tasks. Or if you dare, a direct link to your template so they can check on you progress anytime.

Join template learning sessions: Instead of trying to perfect your template setup alone, join others who are learning to use similar templates. This helps overcome the perfectionism barrier while building motivation.

Make template updates social: Turn your weekly template maintenance into a social activity. Meet with a friend (virtually or in person) for an hour where you both clean up and update your workspaces.

Remember, the goal isn't to have the perfect template setup that you use religiously with no missed days EVER. The goal is to use the template consistently and often enough that it supports your initial goal. By adding a social element to your Notion practice, you're much more likely to stick with it long-term.

Think of it this way: A template is like a gym membership. Having the membership alone won't get you fit - but having a workout buddy who meets you there regularly dramatically increases your chances of showing up and doing the work.

Ready to give body doubling with Notion a try?

In a couple of weeks, I’m hosting a live workshop From Brain Dump to Magic Priorities. We’ll use my template Magic Priorities (or you can build rom scratch) and go through the steps together. Interested? You can sign-up here.

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Marie-Pier Rochon

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