The Art of Finishing

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Finishing vs. Not Finishing

  • Many see finishing as a distinct, learnable skill; shipping even small “v1.0”s brings fans, feedback, and self-trust.
  • Others argue side projects don’t need to be finished: the goal can be fun, learning, or exploration. Not finishing can be fine if you’re honest about that.
  • Several note that software is never truly “done”; what gets finished are versions or personal involvement, not the abstract project itself.

Personal vs. Work Projects

  • Strong distinction: work projects should prioritize completion and reliability; that’s where “last 20%” skills matter.
  • Side projects can be pure play, skill-building, or creative release, and imposing work-like pressure can kill enjoyment.
  • Some people deliberately require their personal projects to be open source or commercial to force a standard of finish.

Defining Goals, Scope, and “Done”

  • A recurring theme: define the goal and how you’ll know it’s done before starting.
  • Keeping scopes tiny (e.g., Chrome extensions, scripts, micro-MVPs) greatly increases completion rates.
  • Excessive ambition and feature creep are cited as major reasons projects stall.

Motivation, Systems, and Psychology

  • Posters debate “journey vs goal” vs habits/systems. For some, systems and vague journeys are demotivating; they need a clear end benefit.
  • Others lean on structured systems (GTD, “Five Tiny Tasks” / “Ten Tiny Tasks”) to break work into trivial, low-friction steps and build momentum.
  • Mental energy is framed as “high gear” (planning, hard problems) vs “low gear” (routine tasks); keeping a queue of easy tasks helps avoid paralysis.
  • Neurodivergent executive function issues and guilt about procrastination are acknowledged; some recommend therapy or reframing expectations.

Nature of Software and Tooling

  • Software is seen as unusually prone to endless tinkering: low change cost, shifting dependencies, and high expectations compared to physical crafts.
  • Reducing dependencies and accidental complexity is recommended to make it easier to resume and finish.

Value of Play, Exploration, and Letting Go

  • Many defend tinkering, “draft” projects, and abandoned experiments as analogous to an artist’s sketches.
  • Letting go of useless or joyless projects is described as a positive skill; finishing everything is neither necessary nor always healthy.