If weāre just talking about blog posts, Iāve got 304 drafts right now.
Thatās insane.
Youād assume Iām talking about articles that might just be half done, but no, Iāve got full articles just sitting there, waiting to be edited, and I wish it was just blog posts, but it isnāt.
When it comes to not finishing things, I might as well be that one guy at a party whoās cracked his 5th can of beer while 1 to 4 are just in random places all over the house.
And Iām being very real with you right now. I can, with absolute confidence, tell you that I have over 1000+ unfinished ādrafts,ā not including the blogs.
And I use double quotes because my definition is broad.
Articles, sure, but a lot more half-finished things like websites, business plans, apps, music, jobs, applications, videos, and even more abstract "unfinished businessā like relationships, conversations, ideas, and ass-hair-wax-sessions - the list goes on.
And between the half-done courses, 290-degree loops, and arguments not resolved - we need to decide what stays unfinished and what doesnāt.
And if youāre thinking ājust finish everythingā¦ā that shit is just not doable.
So we tell ourselves a white lie.
š¤·š¼āāļø āIāll get back to this one day.ā
The phrase only ever applies to the lucky things that you really like doing.
Maybe āgetting back to something one dayā is like Natural Selection for ideas? The ones that stick around are the strong ones, right? Maybe.
Or maybe the ideas that get hit by a pure ray of cosmic 4-leaf-clover-light are the ones that get finished? Well again, we have no clue.
All we know is that we canāt complete everything.
So how do we deal with this cucky life fact? How do we come to terms with the fact that a lot of crap will never see the light of day?
Well, to be honest, I donāt think I have.
Hell, you havenāt gotten an email from me in almost a month, because there are about 7 drafts that havenāt made the cut.
Time and energy are finite resources and we just have to trust that whatever creative endeavor weāre taking part in, weāll see it through if it really matters.
But see, Iām a fan of control, even if itās a tiny amount - so I need to meddle with luck, cosmic beams, and natural-ish selection.
šŖ Fuck the universe.
Hereās my dash to decide my creative fate.
A theory, if you will.
50% drafts are fine - where itās half done, and weāre āover it.ā
75% drafts are fine, too - where weāre practically there, and yet we stop.
But we all need to have a number between 80% and 99% that signifies a very human truth: Itās not that itās not important; itās that the last <20% is fucking hard.
We need to know that if weāre practically there, the reason we stopped is not that weāre āover itā or āwant to try something else.ā Itās that itās simply too difficult.
And you know what, Iāll cop it, itās a bullshit excuse, and everyone, especially me, has used it.
Itās not a bad idea or cosmic rays that are smiting things when youāre 90% there; itās your human brain being exhausted.
š Going from 0 to 1 is exciting, easy, and makes you feel amazing - you just created something, babyyyyy.
š„ Going from 99 to 100 is hard; youāre only creating 1/100th of a thing, itās not exciting anymore, and the negative thoughts start coming in.
So set your number; mineās 85%.
And if you get to that number, that 85% draft, you either hit publish/upload/submit - or you put in the extra 15% before you do.
Weāre always going to have a zillion drafts, and the important ones arenāt always going to be obvious.
Your favorite book was likely almost not published because the author is human, too - they dealt with this same bullshit.
But having a number lets you have a fail-safe. It lets you make the non-obvious more noticeable. Itās a rule that saves ideas worth saving.
So at least we can sleep at night knowing that we materialized the ideas that mattered, we had the uncomfortable conversations, and we took our shot even if we werenāt 100% ready.
We might not have full control, but we sure as shit have enough to be dangerous.
šŖš¼ Go kick ass.
š Link Dump
š§³ Reminder, if you love writing about travel or need a place to publish on Medium, Iām accepting drafts (lol) for my travel publication.
š Amazing podcast episode from Tim Ferriss with a primatologist talking about Bonobos, Chimps, Sexual Selection, and a lot more.
š” Insightful Reddit thread RE: Putinās disinformation campaign, Elon Muskās Starlink, and similarities with WW2 mass manipulation.