Effort is underrated.

In June of last year, I wrote a blog post on Starters vs. Closers which generated some buzz around the office.

If the descriptions of the two types of people didn't motivate you to "raise your game" to get tasks accomplished, consider another great reason.

Your reputation.

We all know people who work hard, but never seem to get their tasks completed. Over my lifetime I've seen quite a few. From a manager's perspective, they present a real challenge - not because they aren't willing to work hard - but because people are judged by their accomplishments.

And accomplishments are completed tasks/projects.

Effort is underrated.

And sometimes not rated at all. Especially when it comes to merit review time.

Moving a task forward from 50% complete to 55% complete is not an accomplishment. Moving 20 tasks forward by a percent or two is not an accomplishment. Have the largest "to do" list may give you a sense of being needed, but it works against you at merit review or bonus time.

Because no one has the desire (or the attention span) to listen to stories about how projects inch forward.

Make it easy for your Manager to recommend merit increases based on your track record of accomplishments, instead of based on your effort. (Note: trying something bold and failing is an accomplishment, because you've learned a lesson in what doesn't work. To fail, you must have completed the project - it's the outcome that didn't meet expectations - not your execution.)

If I could offer a few pieces of advice, they would be:

1. Trim your to do list to 3 or 4 of the most critical tasks.
2. Only add to the critical task list, when you knock one off.
3. Seek to "turn" your projects frequently.
4. Focus on accomplishments. Your reputation (and probably compensation) is counting on it.

My wife learned this lesson when creating her "honey do" list. Keep it brief and achievable. Then make up a new list for next weekend.

She's smart enough to know that a "honey do" list of more than 3 items, would probably never get started, let alone accomplished.

She's a smart woman.