Are you a completionist?

[buckyboy14]

What I mean by this is, when you start something, do you feel like you HAVE to finish it? I do. I often look up certain things, and I have to look up all facets of them. My mom dubs them my "projects." My current projects are:



Reading the entire Wikipedia entry of each of the U.S. presidents

Reading the biographies of every MLB team's broadcasters, then looking at and reading the scouting reports of that team's Top 20 prospects on MLB.com

Reading the Wikipedia article of every country while playing its national anthem in the background, then reading the article on that country's flag, then looking at a view of that country's largest city on Google Earth

Some that I recently finished:

Look up and read the effect of every Yu-Gi-Oh card on their wikia

Look up and read about every genetic disorder that is present on Wikipedia



So, do other people do these kinds of things? These often take me months to do, and I almost always lose interest, making them torturous. However, I NEED to finish these. Others can't understand this. Please tell me I'm not the only one to do this type of thing.

 

[Arashi222]

Oh yes. I have my obsessions that i must know every little detail about and will not stop until it is finished. I have two huge three ring binders full of everything about the Musical RENT. I have books and three ring binders for all my anime, dolls of mine, I haven't had a chance yet to start my obsession on American Idiot but I will. Its all nice and neat. You are not the only one

 

[eon]

I never seem to complete anything I get stuck on... Mostly because by the time I'm stuck it's apparent there would be no such thing as completing it. Can't fool myself. It just keeps going. Maybe that makes only nonsense. Oh well

At some undetermined point I seem to become satisfied even though I know I didn't complete it or that completing it wasn't worthwhile or useful. I'm bad at projects, probably is why.

 

[King_Oni]

I tend to be, but since I want to complete something in one go and that's been made impossible for most part I'm stuck with interests that are only halfway as deep as they should be. I have a lot of problems of getting into something and once I'm into something I should be able to keep going at it for days/week without end... sleep or eating is a big disturbance for me already to not keep my focus.

On that same level I lost complete interest in college after my first weekendbreak... heading in the 2nd week I had a hard time getting back into it again.

With my current artproject it's somewhat the same... it's going really slowly now since I lack motivation nor a lot of interest to work it. My big problem there was... there's no actual end to it. It's not that it's reading 200 pages and be done with it... it can easily go on for the next 15 years of writing, illustrating and all and I can't keep that going without sleep and food. Also; the fact that I might need a break for things just to "relax"... it's still a hobby, so I don't feel I should stress myself out over it and torment myself for days or weeks, I got into other activities as well on the side. If those activities are marketed to me on a daily basis AND are quite pleasant, it's no wonder I keep going on with that.

Another thing I feel is a problem is that for me to complete something it should be of some use. Reading a lot on wikipedia is of use of educating myself I guess, just like the use of school might be. I can't sit around pick up my guitar and just make some music... I need a purpose on why I need to get active. When I was in a band, that was a reason, although a faulty reason, since "weekly rehearsals/jam sessions" are an artificial motivation, it's still a reason, and other people might depend on it. That often ended in me just doing something which was of bad quality just because I "had to do it".

So yes, in a way I'm a completionist at heart, I just can't keep busy with a lot of stuff since the slightest break from the subject will put me back at the start.

 

[Cerulean]

Arashi I love the three ring binder idea. I have a couple extras at home.. hmm......

 

[Christian T]

I'm certainly a completionist when it comes to films. If I'm ever watching something that's of higher quality than Shrek the Third or High School Musical (which I've had to endure because of my younger siblings) then I feel absolutely compelled to watch it from start to finish, with surround sound, in the dark and in total silence.

I suppose this is justifiable for a more symbolic, artistic film, like Black Swan, but with one that's for entertainment that I've already seen, it is rather irrational, and yet, I still feel that obligation.

Cinema for me has always been very sacred.

 

[King_Oni]

I'm certainly a completionist when it comes to films. If I'm ever watching something that's of higher quality than Shrek the Third or High School Musical (which I've had to endure because of my younger siblings) then I feel absolutely compelled to watch it from start to finish, with surround sound, in the dark and in total silence.

I suppose this is justifiable for a more symbolic, artistic film, like Black Swan, but with one that's for entertainment that I've already seen, it is rather irrational, and yet, I still feel that obligation.

Cinema for me has always been very sacred.

I can somewhat identify with it since I watch a lot of movies as well. However, I don't care for 3d, surround and all that. I don't even have enough room to put up a decent surround set, not to mention I watch all movies at night. With that... and I should confess; I'm not bothered by grabbing a movie somewhere dubious, even if it's a half decent version of someone with a camera in a cinema. I don't believe that special effects should be more prevalent than ****** storytelling. If I can get past that, I might consider buying it, since renting is technically more expensive than buying a movie for me (3 bucks busfare, 4 bucks movie, 3 bucks to return it; 10 bucks... for that money I can buy quite a lot of movies and save money even).

If I like movies I can spend time on sites looking for trivia, checking out the soundtrack, looking for references... and actually, from all movies in my collection, where available, I at least saw the movie with all directors commentary tracks at least once.

 

[earthsteward70]

I know what you mean, Christian, about film. I do that with film but also I am obsessed with watching one TV show from season 1, episode 1 to the end of the show. I've done that with NCIS, Bones, Grey's Anatomy, Ghost Whisperer, etc. Dr. Who is what I'm currently watching. I only wish there was a way to access those old Dr Who incarnations 1-8. The current Dr Who is incarnations 9-11 of the Doctor.

I have a project in my mind that I don't know how to start. Problem is, I know it'll take a lifetime and never truly be complete. I'd like to compile my own materia medica. Tried and true natural remedies that work rather than random info from some library book. Problem is, I'd have to list it two ways, by herb, and by remedy. And the whole thing would obviously take a long time, after all even drugs like anti-depressants take 6 or more weeks to build up in the body. And finding reliable sources of information, etc. The whole thing seems a bit overwhelming at this point and I don't yet have the method of which I am going to go about it, to actually do it.

 

[Christian T]

I know what you mean, Christian, about film. I do that with film but also I am obsessed with watching one TV show from season 1, episode 1 to the end of the show.

Ooh yes, I often feel dirty if I start watching a series late, however I can usually cope. I watched practically all of the I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched episodes by starting in the middle, and working my round in a circular fashion.

I know what you mean, Christian, about film. I do that with film but also I am obsessed with watching one TV show from season 1, episode 1 to the end of the show. I've done that with NCIS, Bones, Grey's Anatomy, Ghost Whisperer, etc. Dr. Who is what I'm currently watching. I only wish there was a way to access those old Dr Who incarnations 1-8. The current Dr Who is incarnations 9-11 of the Doctor.

I have a project in my mind that I don't know how to start. Problem is, I know it'll take a lifetime and never truly be complete. I'd like to compile my own materia medica. Tried and true natural remedies that work rather than random info from some library book. Problem is, I'd have to list it two ways, by herb, and by remedy. And the whole thing would obviously take a long time, after all even drugs like anti-depressants take 6 or more weeks to build up in the body. And finding reliable sources of information, etc. The whole thing seems a bit overwhelming at this point and I don't yet have the method of which I am going to go about it, to actually do it.

Good luck! I've been trying to do a similar thing by making an alphabetised catelogue of all my DVDs that shows their duration, classification and position in the collection in terms of shelves, rows and stacks. Phew!

 

[Bay]

I wish I could be more of a completionist. My ADHD has contributed to a life littered with incomplete projects. One of the things I discovered when I got my diagnosis was that I am in the 97th percentile in terms of ADHD severity, which explains a great deal. It's a wonder I can drive from point A to point B without forgetting where I am going.