Losing site of the goal: People don't stick to the plan they laid out to reach their goal. Sometimes they get distracted by some new opportunity, and put aside what they originally wanted to accomplish.

This whole business of setting and reaching goals is important enough to open up several lines of research, with results that might help IT directors bring both their work and home projects to completion quicker and more predictably. Consider some of the more salient findings.

Research in procrastination shows that people easily turn their attention away when they are doing something they feel forced to do or when they aren't comfortable with the expected outcome and what it means to their self image. If you don't have a choice in the matter, you tend to work like a slave, which is neither efficient, nor the right attitude for bringing the project to completion.

People who are afraid of what project outcome means to their self image also seek to avoid working towards the objective, and are easily distracted. Think of all the people who have trouble finishing a thesis, a presentation, or a book. Going on stage is always a scary prospect.

According to Dr. Carol Dweck of Stanford University, if you set out to do something with the attitude that the results will prove you have talent, you're likely to put off working on that project, and you won't work as well. You'll probably interpret all minor setbacks on your way to achieving your outcome as indicators that you don't have the talent you wish to display.