The Last 10%
There’s this saying: “The first 90% of the project takes 90% of the time, and the last 10% takes the other 90% of the time.” As I've worked on the final touches of Space Cats, this saying couldn’t be more accurate. Update this to be a little bit crisper. Add the little sound effects. Polish up this bit right here. Now let’s fix our code so it doesn’t look completely like a monkey wrote it. I swear, I’ve spent at least the same amount of time “refining” as I did in building. I know that eventually I just have to publish but it seems that for every task I check off, there’s at least 2 more I’ve added.
I think that one of the best character traits one can have is the ability to be self critical (but only in the sense that it drives you to improve). Frequently, especially in creative fields, we ship things that are “good enough”. And while there is a certain point that this is true, there is always room for refinement. By being persistent and always striving for perfection, that is where greatness is found. As humans, I think we always want to default to whatever is easiest, whatever is “good enough.” We want to hear that we’ve done a “good job” on our “good enough” work. But as Fletcher says in Whiplash (excellent movie, btw), “There are no two words in the English language more harmful than ‘good job’.” Why? Because then we stop. Our egos get that perfect little massage and we think, yeah, that’s right, I am the best. Meanwhile, we are shipping Hello World and we think we are God.
However, we should never let the impossible goal of perfection get in our way of trying. How could we ever improve if we never practice? The best way to get better IS by doing. It is by trying. It is relentlessly pushing and working to get that last 10% done and by publishing/delivering products that are not just “good enough.” But eventually that deadline does come. And you SHOULD publish it. You SHOULD ship it. Why? Because the act of shipping, publishing, doing, that is part of the last 10%.
If you say you’re a writer, but you’re too scared to publish anything, are you really a writer? If you say you’re a YouTuber but you never published a video, are you actually a YouTuber? If you say you’re a game dev but you’re too scared to put your game on Steam because you’re scared of the “internet meanies”, are you really a game dev? We are what we do and who we strive to become.
We should always be trying to be the best in our field. The best in our profession. To publish the best work. Even if we are the only ones doing it. And maybe I’m feeling extra motivational today because I’m writing this while listening to some really exciting music that is really just a vibe, but I wanted to share a little video that lives rent free in my head. Maybe it’ll inspire you too.
