what drives people to start more and more projects but never finishing them.
 

I am not sure if this was what Webb was asking?

I come across so many people that complain about how their husbands never complete projects around their home but they start tearing out or into something else. Why do "we" do that? Do wives do that? I can't seem to think of us complaining about wives doing such things?

I took off 4 months to gut and finish building my first floor. Master bedroom, Master bath, baby's room and some foundation work. I know if I did not take the time off, I will never get to it. I always finish everything I start around the house or car (I haven't work on my car in a long, long time because I do not enjoy doing it anymore). No little project around the house. I rather wait, and tear apart the whole thing and start fresh.

I could just paste my reply to that thread:

Mental Illness

ps: I gots it too :)

...in my case it's self inflicted so I have no one else to blame...

Almost all my friends have some type of open end projects going on in and and around their houses. I will go nuts, because my OCD will eat me up alive. I do have a few things I need to get started on before my wife kick my ass out the door.

AADD

I'm pretty bad, but I've fixed it by not starting any new projects lately.

I looked at buying a house a couple years ago but it was in such bad shape because the husband started so many projects and didn't get half way through before starting the next. It was really sad.

My wife is like that, she would have the next household project halfway torn out before I even started finishing the next one. I'm a check the box type that needs to see stuff completed, so I guess we balance each other out.

Let me tell you about the travel trailer I bought about 2.5 years ago. (:rolleyes: on me!)

Actually, my reason is legitimate. My boss retired in April, so his daughter and I bought the business, and it's been gangbusters ever since. My downtime has evaporated down to just Sundays now.

My wife is worse than I am. She loves to garden, and is diligent about weeding, and pruning, but leaves the weeds and branches in piles next to the flower beds. For weeks. I usually get tired of seeing them, and haul them down to the brushpile.

She's been painting the kitchen, and laundry room for about 5 years now.

I could continue...

I have a few long-term projects, but they all have signs of progress.

My wife routinely starts projects but won't finish them. In her case, it's loss of interest.

It seems like when I start something that will take some time to complete, other things start popping up around the place that demand my immediate attention. I get farther & farther away from the original project. After a while I have to remind/make myself to get back on projects I haven't finished & complete them.

I think one of the main reasons for projectitis (itis means inflammation) is that the main project spawns sub-projects (yet the processor does not contain multiple cores).

e.g. you are making something but then realize you need to make a tool to make that something - now if you could clone yourself, you'd continue working on some other part of the main project and just send the clone off to make that needed tool...

Because (for some) the fun part is tearing into something and getting started. Not the monotony of finishing off every little detail.

if i finish everything, my wife will just give me something else to do. now my honey do list is always full.

Bingo!

I get the distraction urge pretty badly as well. I'm always finding something more interesting to do! :(

another problem is projectus interruptus