The Unblocked Carver

Issue #6: How I'm Escaping the “Creative Island” (And You Can Too)

by Jesse James Boyes

Your Half-Finished Projects Are Stealing Your Energy

The shipping container door squeaks open after months of absence. Dust particles dance in the sunlight streaming through the small windows as I step inside with Dale, my 82-year-old friend and fellow carpenter.

We survey the space… tools hanging on walls, scraps of wood tucked into corners, and dominating the center floor: the half-finished kitchen island that has been waiting for me to finish it for over three years now.

The Hidden Cost of Energy Debt

Unfinished projects don't just clutter your space. They clutter your mind too. The Zeigarnik Effect, a psychological concept, suggests that incomplete tasks stick in your memory more than finished ones, creating a kind of mental tension. This can lead to intrusive thoughts, making it harder to focus on any given task. You end up in "energy debt".

Not quite loud enough to demand immediate attention, but persistent enough that you never quite forget about them, these unfinished projects can become mental gremlins, eating up bandwidth.

This kitchen island has been one such mental gremlin.

So far, only the countertop has been built. It's hefty; a kitchen centre-piece for a big family on a farm. Five inches thick, six feet long, four feet wide. My coworker from when I worked at Windsor Plywood has his own wood shop at home, and he helped me turn several wonky shaped scraps from a timber-framed museum into this huge squared-off block.

The island belongs to the generous man who offered up his shipping container when I was desperately seeking a space to work. A simple Facebook post years ago led to an arrangement that has sheltered my creative work through two breakups, multiple home relocations, and a global pandemic.

Our agreement was informal, and he hasn't asked for much of me in exchange. My side of the bargain was to build this custom kitchen island largely from materials he had on hand, but some things take much longer than you anticipate.

The Wisdom of Experience

Dale has become my ally in this final push toward completion. With his weathered hands and decades of carpentry experience, his confidence in approaching craftsmanship embodies the spirit of Archimedes' powerful insight:

"Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world."

There's a flow to Dale's methods: a kind of effort-efficient action that Taoists would call wu-wei. Working with the grain rather than fighting against it. "You don't have to make it perfect," he told me, recognizing my overwhelm, as we sketched out our completion plan. "You just need to make it done."

Breaking the Chains of Half-Done Projects

It wasn't until recently that I recognized the weight this unfinished project carried in my mind. Uncompleted work doesn't just occupy physical space; it consumes mental bandwidth, like apps running in the background of your phone, draining the battery even when you're not using them.

Unfinished projects take on what psychologists call a "negative valence." You think of them and feel unhappy because they represent stalled momentum, abandoned enthusiasm, or wasted time. They're halfway done because you were excited once, but something diverted your attention. Obstacles blocked you. Now they sit there, silent accusers of your inconsistency.

In Taoist philosophy, there's the concept of "p'u" – the uncarved block that represents potential before differentiation. It's perfect in its simplicity.

But a half-carved block is neither raw potential nor finished creation – it hangs in non-space, keeping Schrödinger's cat company.

The Freedom of Completion

There are unexpected gifts in finishing what you've started: it clears not just physical space but mental and emotional space as well.

With each board we cut, each design plan we solidify, I feel some relief – not just in the workshop but in my mind. The background whisper quiets. I'm regaining my focus, with short-term and long-term goals prioritized in a clear vision.

Closing The Open Loops In Your Life

What unfinished projects linger in your spaces or your consciousness?

Maybe it's something physical. The half-painted room, the unframed artwork, the cluttered drawer of tools and/or who-knows-what. Less tangible tasks are just as significant: the conversation you need to have, the boundary you need to set, the decision you've been postponing.

These open loops drain us in subtle ways. They represent tiny fractures in our integrity, promises to ourselves or others that remain unfulfilled.

When we finish them, we don't just clear physical clutter; we reconcile our relationship with our word, with our commitments, and with ourselves.

Finish It Or Forsake It

This doesn't mean you need to finish everything you've ever started. Some projects deserve abandonment. They no longer align with who you are, what you value, or what you need.

The key is conscious choice: deciding what deserves completion and what deserves release, and what your duties to others are, then acting accordingly. If a project should be scrapped, scrap it fully and move on.

For me, this kitchen island is about honouring generosity received, keeping true to my word,clearing the slate, and creating space for whatever comes next. With Dale's help, I'm not just building a cabinet; I'm reconciling my relationship to my life as a whole.

As you move through your week, I invite you to identify that one lingering task or project.

One "uncarved block" that's been whispering to your hindbrain that, if you brought to completion, would energize your life.

What small step could you take toward completing it? What help might you need to seek? What perfectionism might you need to release?

Sometimes the most creative act isn't starting something new. It's finishing what you've already begun.

Until next time,

Jesse James Boyes

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