If you don’t see yourself re-watching that show you’ve half-finished, why continue watching it the first time? The same goes for that book you’re reading, that game you’re playing, that meal you’re eating, or that meeting you’re having. Would you continue with them if you knew it would be your last one?

You only have so many shows and books and games and meals and meetings left in you. You only have so many hours left, too. It can feel like morbid math, but those numbers will count down regardless. Skip that next episode. Put down that book. Quit that level. Put that fork down. Leave that meeting. You can opt out of the sunk cost fallacy. It only has as much hold over you as you give it.

Be deliberate in what you do instead. Jumping to the next new thing or retreating to the old and comfortable without thought is no better if it’s just another waste of time. Take a pause, breath, and decide which course will serve you best. Maybe you do need to stick with what you’re doing if seeing it through matters that much. But make sure it matters to both you and your future self.