Knitting... with pencils?

It may seem a bit odd to begin a post about how *not* to finish with a finished back of a cardigan (Lucy Lu, for those of you keeping track). However, I'm not talking about "finishing" in the sense of completing a piece--I'm talking about finishing in the traditional knitting sense, where the completed pieces are connected to one another and the finishing touches (extra stitches for the neck, crochet edging, etc.) are put on.

I seem to have an issue with this. In the last month, I have completed all the pieces for two different projects: a sleeveless cable tank ('tara's tank' from The Yarn Girls' Guide to Beyond the Basics) and a short sleeve, striped shirt ('the case of the mysterious tee' from The Yarn Girls' Guide to Beyond the Basics). However, neither of them have actually been FINISHED. Tara's tank is sewn together, but I just can't seem to get myself to do the crochet around the sleeves and be done. And the Mysterious Tee is mysteriously still lying in pieces on my floor, even though I actually really want to wear it!

So what's up with this? This is not the first time I've had this problem; the best way I can explain it is that instead of a "normal" attitude of feeling a sense of completion when I cross the finish line, I feel a sense of completion when I get within sight of the finish line. It's as if I say, "Okay, I know I can make it now." But I don't actually make it!

I really need to find some way to deal with this, because it is driving me crazy in pretty much every corner of my life. For example, the job search: I have a nice resume, I know where I want to submit it... so why don't I just apply?

Does anyone else have this problem, with knitting or otherwise? Or is that just me? Oh well. In the spirit of the post, here's a picture of the partially finished left front of Lucy: