My friend jokes that I’m always working on something at any given moment. It’s true, and has been the case in some way for as long as I can recall.[1]
As I said earlier, I’m now learning the importance of choosing things to work on with a long-term focus. In doing so, it’s become especially important to not simply consider ROI by way of output alone, but whether I am keen to work on these things day after day without any promised reward.[2]
It’s certainly reasonable for the satisfaction and fulfillment behind working on things to be heavily associated with completion and output.
However, it’s potentially more inherently rewarding to focus on navigating the micro-highs and -lows in getting from A to Z than on outcomes alone.
[1] This goes as far back as student government initiatives at secondary school or starting one society or the other at sixth form.
[2] In other words, internal, intrinsic and likely unseen returns.