One way to make sure (some) projects get finished is to not use semantic versioning, 1.0.0, 27.8.3, and so on, since integers can be incremented longer than the average lifespan, and instead use something like alpha-versioning which starts at 0.0.0-0 and ends at 1.0.0-0, that is, reaching 1.0 is actually the death of the project, its tombstone saying non perfectus sed perfectibilis non amplius (Latin for gravitas: not perfect, but perfectible no more).

At the other end, having goals which extend well beyond the average lifespan is what could be considered as the root of wisdom.