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793: How to Finish What You Start, with Chris Bailey
Brief
Chris Bailey joined host Dave Stachowiak on Coaching for Leaders (Episode 793, published 2026-07-27) to explain why starting projects is usually easier than finishing them and to offer research-based, practical tactics for closing that gap. Bailey opened with a compact model—intention = desire minus aversion—and traced how desire often surges at the beginning of a goal and tapers into aversion as tasks become boring, frustrating, unpleasant, distant, unstructured, or meaningless. He tied those triggers to neuroscience: procrastination is largely emotional, and activating the brain’s logical centers (for example, by listing every item you’re avoiding and the cost of delay) helps overcome the emotional push to procrastinate. Bailey reinforced his points with research citations (Tim Pychyl on procrastination as “giving in to feel good,” Shalom Schwartz’s 12 universal values) and personal examples, including a pacing spreadsheet he used while writing books—even noting a period he was a month ahead despite breaking his leg in Ireland, because the target-pace chart reduced anxiety and negative self-talk.
The conversation focused on tactical interventions leaders and individuals can adopt immediately. Bailey recommended gamification and pairing unpleasant tasks with rewards, involving other people to increase meaning, setting explicit milestone paces (e.g., linear weekly targets for cumulative goals), and reframing performance goals as learning goals to absorb frustration and sustain motivation. Dave contributed practical examples—his family’s $1,000 summer-trip savings board using $25 tiles—and the pair agreed on leadership takeaways: managers set behavioral norms (fewer emails after hours) and should consider whether team assignments are framed as learning or performance tasks. Both agreed the actions are often identical; the difference is the frame and the downstream effect on aversion and persistence. Bailey closed by saying he’s changed his mind about the value of values—he now sees Schwartz’s 12-value framework as a useful lens for understanding motivations—and the episode ends with Dave recommending related shows (James Clear, BJ Fogg, Liane Davey) for listeners wanting to go deeper.
Why it matters
Chris Bailey (author of Intentional: How to Finish What You Start) frames intention strength as a simple formula: desire minus aversion — desire typically peaks at project start and often drops toward the end, reducing follow-through (Bailey).
Key details
- Bailey identifies six specific triggers that make tasks aversive and promote procrastination: boring, frustrating, unpleasant, far away, unstructured, and meaningless — use this checklist to diagnose why you avoid a task (Bailey).
- Research-backed tactics Bailey recommends: activate the brain's logical centers by listing procrastinated items and the costs of delay; reframe performance goals as learning goals; and use accountability/pacing spreadsheets to set a target pace (e.g., 1,000 words/week for a 52,000-word book) (Bailey).
- Concrete behavioral hacks discussed: gamify chores (bribes, visual trackers), pair unpleasant tasks with pleasurable rewards (music, food), involve others to increase meaning, and use small printed charts or tiles — Dave Stachowiak shared a family example saving $1,000 with $25 tiles to gamify budgeting.
- Neuroscience and behavior references: Tim Pychyl’s definition of procrastination as “giving in to feel good,” Schwartz’s theory of 12 universal human values (which Bailey said he now trusts), and Parkinson’s Law (work expands to fill available time) all inform Bailey’s advice.
- Leadership implications: Dave and Bailey agreed managers shape norms (e.g., send fewer after-hours emails to reduce team overwork); framing assignments as learning vs. performance goals lowers frustration and can improve sustained motivation and team well-being (Bailey, Stachowiak).