Most of what I make sits at 80%. This year, an experiment.
fig. 1 · software
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Most of what I make sits at 80%. The hard part isn’t starting; the hard part isn’t
even the middle. The hard part is the small, undignified final shove.
This year I’m running a small experiment: ship the unfinished thing. Learn what
‘done’ actually feels like, even when it feels embarrassing.
What I mean by finished
Finished isn’t perfect. Finished is out of my hands. The difference matters more
than it sounds.
A blog post is finished when it’s published.
A side project is finished when someone else can use it.
A letter is finished when it’s mailed.
Anything still living on my hard drive is not finished. It is a draft of an
intention, which is a very different thing.
The small shove
I am learning that the last 20% is mostly willingness, not work. The work is
already there. What’s missing is the act of letting go.
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