Partially Done

On transcripts professors had the option of deferring a grade in favor of designating a course Incomplete when a make-up exam or paper had not been completed.  That almost never happened.  Yet it frequently happens as I juggle my semi-annual initiatives with my ongoing daily or weekly chores.  My newest writing project for the New England Journal Fiction Contest took multiple stages and revisions, now ready for editing and mandatory word reduction but won't be complete until submitted within deadline.  Making my home's lower level suitable to invite guests also comes in stages.  Intermediate steps are vital to the outcome though disruptive.  Laundry gets done by type of clothing, never really fully done but often close.  Most of the things I pursue, from reading the  Quran to learning my next Torah reading require increments of effort, eventually completed where there are firm endpoints, never really completed when, like fishing or exercise the end target lacks definition.

On my daily task list I try to designate those items that are finite, even when part of a larger purpose.  I know when my blood pressure has been taken or when the herb pots have received their day's attention.  Other projects are designated as completable, they will not return to the list once checked off.  Things like getting the car inspected or making travel reservations, those one and done items.  They may not be the most important in any day but the satisfaction of completion without return enhances their priority.  I could use more of those but the big projects that prove most gratifying nearly always come in additive stages.