That half-painted feature wall. The bathroom tiles you bought eight months ago. The shelf that's been "almost done" since before winter.

If you have unfinished DIY projects, you're in overwhelming company. Research from Apartment Therapy found that 74% of homeowners have at least one incomplete project at home. And according to Homes & Gardens, 89% of people experience what researchers call "mid-project regret syndrome" — that sinking feeling when you realise you've bitten off more than you can chew.

The projects pile up. Each one a reminder of something you started and didn't finish. Each one quietly draining mental energy.

Here's the thing: the problem usually isn't laziness. It's overwhelm. And overwhelm can be fixed with the right approach.

Why 74% of us have half-finished projects

Before we fix the problem, let's understand it.

The planning fallacy

Our brains are terrible at estimating how long things take. When we imagine tiling a bathroom, we picture the satisfying moments — spreading adhesive, pressing tiles into place, stepping back to admire our work.

We don't picture cutting around the toilet, discovering the walls aren't square, running out of spacers, or the three trips to Bunnings because we underestimated how much grout we needed.

This is called the planning fallacy, and it affects almost everyone. We consistently underestimate time, cost, and complexity.

The perfectionism trap

Many projects stall not because they're too hard, but because we're afraid of doing them wrong.

That feature wall stays half-painted because choosing the exact right shade feels paralysing. The deck remains unfinished because every tutorial shows a different technique and you're not sure which is "correct."

Perfectionism masquerades as quality standards. In reality, it's often just fear.

The energy gap

DIY requires a specific kind of energy. You need enough physical capacity to do the work, enough mental space to problem-solve, and enough motivation to keep going when it gets tedious.

Work is exhausting. Family is demanding. By the weekend, the couch looks more appealing than the power tools. The project waits another week. Then another month.

The snowball effect

One unfinished project makes it easier to abandon the next one. You've already got that half-painted wall — what's one more incomplete thing?

Before long, you're surrounded by reminders of projects you started and didn't finish. Each one makes the next one harder to start.

The "one task a day" approach

Forget marathon renovation weekends. For most people, they don't work. You burn out, lose motivation, and end up not touching the project for another month.

Instead, try minimum viable progress: one task, one day.

The task can be small. Really small:

Buy the grout
Measure the window
Sand one door
Research tile options for 20 minutes
Call for one quote

One task. Every day. Or every second day. Whatever cadence you can actually maintain.

This works because:

It's sustainable. You can do one small thing even on tired days
It maintains momentum. Regular small actions beat occasional big ones
It compounds. Seven small tasks in a week adds up faster than you think
It builds identity. You become "someone who works on projects" rather than "someone who starts and stops"

The bathroom that feels impossible as a single project becomes entirely achievable as 50 small tasks spread over a few months.

Breaking big projects into visible milestones

A project only feels overwhelming when it's one giant blob in your mind. The solution is breaking it into chunks that feel achievable.

But here's the key: the milestones need to be visible. Not just on a list somewhere — actually visible whenever you think about the project.

How to create good milestones

Make them specific. Not "do the bathroom" but "remove old vanity, cap pipes, prep walls."

Make them completable. Each milestone should have a clear "done" state. You should know definitively when it's finished.

Make them sequential. The order matters. What genuinely needs to happen before what?

Make them week-sized (roughly). Too small and you're overwhelmed by the list. Too big and each one feels impossible.

For a bathroom renovation, milestones might be:

Strip out old fixtures and fittings
Complete waterproofing
Tile floor and shower walls
Install new vanity and toilet
Install fixtures and finish

Five milestones. Each one achievable in a focused week or two. Each one a legitimate point of progress you can celebrate.

The power of visual progress

Here's something most productivity systems ignore: your brain needs visual feedback.

Checking a box feels good. But seeing a progress ring fill up? That's dopamine. That's your brain going "we're getting somewhere."

This isn't about gamification or gimmicks. It's about working with how human motivation actually functions.

When you can see progress:

You're more likely to continue
You get a sense of accomplishment before the project is "done"
Setbacks feel smaller because you can see what you've already achieved
The finish line feels real, not abstract

Spreadsheets showing "67% complete" don't hit the same way. Your brain wants visual representation.

If you're tracking on paper, draw a progress bar and fill it in manually. If you're using an app, choose one that shows progress visually. The visual cue matters more than you might think.

Creating accountability without the shame

Some people recommend telling everyone about your project to create accountability. "Public commitment" and all that.

The problem: if you're already struggling with unfinished projects, public accountability can turn into public shame. Now you're avoiding people who might ask about the deck you haven't touched in four months.

Here's a gentler approach:

Accountable to yourself

Set a recurring time for project work. Not "when I have time" but "Saturday mornings after coffee." Put it in your calendar. Treat it like an appointment.

Accountable to the project

Use a tracking system that shows you what's done and what's left. Looking at your progress regularly creates its own accountability.

Accountable to one person

Instead of announcing to everyone, tell one supportive person. Someone who'll ask "how's the bathroom going?" without judgement. A partner. A close friend. Someone who understands that setbacks happen.

Skip the shame. Progress happens faster without it.

When to call in reinforcements

Sometimes the reason a project isn't finishing is because it genuinely needs help you don't have.

Here are signs it's time to bring someone else in:

You're stuck on something that requires expertise. Electrical work, plumbing, load-bearing walls. Some things genuinely need a professional.

You've been stuck on the same step for over a month. If something is blocking progress and you can't get past it, fresh eyes help.

The project is affecting your wellbeing. Living in a construction zone is stressful. If it's dragging on your mental health, paying to finish faster might be worth it.

Your time is worth more than the savings. DIY saves money. But if you're a high earner spending weekends on work you don't enjoy, the maths might not work out.

Calling for help isn't failure. It's making a strategic decision to get the project done.

How to budget for reinforcements

If you think you might need help, budget for it upfront. Even if you don't use it.

Add a "professional help" line to your budget — maybe 10-15% of the total. If you finish everything yourself, great. If you need to call in a tiler for the tricky bits, you've got money allocated.

This removes the mental barrier of "I can't afford to hire help." The money is already set aside. You're just deciding whether to use it.

A system that supports finishing

Most project tools are designed for teams and professionals. They have features you'll never use and complexity you don't need.

What you actually need is simpler:

Somewhere to list what needs doing
A way to track what's done
Visual progress so you feel momentum
Easy capture so you actually use it

Task n Tally was built for exactly this. It's designed for individuals managing one or two projects — not agencies running dozens.

You can:

Break your project into tasks
Drag them into order
Tick them off as you go
See your progress fill up as a visual ring
Keep your budget and tasks in the same place

No learning curve. No features you don't need. Just a simple way to track what you're doing and feel good when you make progress.

If you've got unfinished projects and spreadsheets aren't cutting it, try the free tier. One project, no credit card.

Start your project →

Quick wins: Start finishing this week

If you're reading this with an unfinished project in mind, here's how to restart:

Today: Write down every remaining task for your stalled project. All of them, no matter how small.

Tomorrow: Pick the single smallest task. Do it. Just that one thing.

This week: Do one task per day. Set a recurring reminder if you need to.

Next week: Look at your progress. Notice how those small tasks added up.

You don't need motivation. You don't need a free weekend. You just need one small task, done consistently.

The project isn't going to finish itself. But it also doesn't need to be overwhelming.

One task at a time. That's how things get done.

How to Actually Finish Your DIY Projects (A Guide for the Chronically Overwhelmed)