This afternoon I got a report to review. I'd seen an earlier draft, and it had been reviewed by several other people. I thought about giving it a cursory look, but decided instead to read it more closely.
Page after page, I found one or more problems - typos, grammatical problems, style inconsistencies, and a couple of more substantive issues.
It's hard work to stick to. After a while I tire and start to lose concentration. That's time to get up, take a little walk to clear the mind, and then return to the task. I thought about leaving it to finish tomorrow, but chose instead to keep coming back to it until it was finished. Now, rather than a partly finished review competing for my attention tomorrow, I have a finished review I can discuss with the author.
It's easier to find space between things when I stick with a project until it's done. It can be a challenge to fend off the distractions, and choose to turn back to the task when tempted to leave it unfinished, but it's well worth the effort.
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