Jenn McKinlay: If you've followed this blog for any amount of time, you have probably learned a few things about me. I like dessert for breakfast (#badbreakfastchoices), I refer to my children as Hooligans, my Hub is a musician, etc. and so forth. Well, here's another factoid that I want to share.
I am a ninety-percenter.
It makes sense when I realize I was raised to be incredibly self-sufficient by today's standards. I can chop firewood, mow the lawn, bake bread, iron clothes, maintain a garden, tile a bathroom floor, paint the interior or exterior of my house (with a paint sprayer but still), and so on.
My parents did not gender discriminate over chores. Everyone learned to do everything because cooking and cleaning wasn't just for girls and yard work and automotive care wasn't just for boys. I raised the Hooligans the same way. You're welcome future Hooligan spouses. But here's something I learned about my self recently when I was putting in our new pet friendly floors. I only finish any project to about ninety percent and then I move on to the next project without ever finishing the first one. Ack!
How did I discover this? Well, as I was gazing up at the kitchen cupboards that I started to refinish with frames and paneling in 2017, I realized I never finished the cupboard doors over the refrigerator. They are painted but plain - no paneling, no framing. Do I still have the supplies? Yup. Do I have the motivation? Nope.
Then I was installing the threshold from the new floor in the hallway to one of the Hooligan's old bedrooms and realized I never put in the baseboards over the "new" flooring the Hooligans installed during their fall break in 2014. Oops! Also, we painted the room in 2016 and I found that we left one narrow wall by the closet green while the new color was blue. In my defense it was behind a short bookcase, but yeah...still green.
Then I thought about my books and I realized that my first draft is usually about ninety percent finished when I turn it in and I have come to rely upon my fabulous editor to tell me how to revise/rewrite the book until it is one hundred percent complete. Don't get me wrong, I write the last chapters in the first draft so it's all there, it's just that there's about ten percent of the manuscript that needs to be fixed up -- rather like that pesky kitchen cupboard -- and I need a nudge to get it done.
Being a former librarian, naturally, I had to do some research. There is a condition called Completion Anxiety which seemed possible but I read the symptoms and knew that wasn't it. There's also Procrastination but that's not it either as I'm a great starter. I don't put things off, I just don't finish them. In talking to my doc, we agreed that I have an adult case of ADD attention deficit disorder. When I read through the literature, I thought -- That's it!
One of my goals for 2024 is to commit to projects from start to finish and double back and finish the ones I've left incomplete. I already dug a hat out of the project bin that I started in 2018 and put aside when --you guessed it -- there was about 10% left to go. I am happy to say, that it has been completed.
There's a flicker of motivation burning in my soul that gets brighter with each task I complete, so I have hope. I think if I can get myself up to ninety-seven percent, I'll call it a win!
So, how about you, Reds and Readers? Are you a finisher? Do you finish every task you set for yourself? Or do you get close to the finish line and take a nap like me?
To be perfectly honest, it's a bad case of procrastination that gets me every time. I am REALLY good at putting things off . . . once I actually get going, somehow everything tends to get done . . . .
ReplyDeleteStarting is usually the high point for me and then it slides downhill...sideways.
DeleteI'm a procrastinator, so it takes me forever to get started on something. I'll get distracted by anything and everything. But once I get going, I want to finish. And the closer I get to the finish line, the more I'm going to be motivated to finish what I started.
ReplyDeleteSort of like when you pick up speed at the end of a long run. I get that.
DeleteI tend to finish projects I start. Don't have enough room to let things linger.
ReplyDeleteSpatial motivation, I like it!
DeleteI usually wait until the last minute to do things and have to search for where I put the forms I am supposed to fill out or read the book I committed to review. But it gets done.
ReplyDeleteI do like a last minute sprint. LOL.
DeleteI am a finisher. I enjoy the satisfaction of getting the job/project/book as entirely done as I get get it. Also, my editor would not be happy if I sent him a 90% book! I love finishing a quilt, tweaking a blog post, putting the garden to bed.
ReplyDeleteBut I live with a 90%-er, and for twenty years he's been the handy-project man around here (although I've done my share of tiling, painting, and building in the past). When he paints the inside of someone else's house, he of course finishes and cleans up. In our house? Quarter-rounds that were never secured in place. A threshold, ditto, that wanders a bit. The top trim on the kitchen cabinets that still lives in the basement. I think the explanation of adult ADD fits Hugh perfectly.
Glad you finished that hat - it's lovely!
I have a stack of quarter-rounds sitting on my back patio - LOLOLOL!
DeleteLet's see... We built our house in 1982-83. The interior doors remain unfinished to this day. There is trim around the ceiling in places and not others. Yeah, I think we qualify. I'm saying "we" because this is as much on my husband as it is on me.
ReplyDeleteAnd he wonders why I don't want us to DIY my kitchen.
You're clearly my people, Annette.
DeleteLove the hat, Jenn. But how often did you miss not having it in AZ? And what good are over the refrigerator cabinets anyway? They don’t match, they are hard to reach, and when really did you last use one? Let them fade into the wall. Claim the green/blue wall contrast as an artist touch. Thank goodness your editor inspires you to get the last 10% of the book done! And thank you that your blogs bring me cheer so many mornings! Elisabeth
ReplyDeleteThank you, Elisabeth! The hat gets the most use when I travel back east to visit the fam and maybe it will inspire me to keep finishing all the things.
DeleteInteresting, Jenn. Very interesting. I am going to be thinking about this all day.
ReplyDeleteI am clearing out the apartment of a hoarder. There is no particular rhyme or reason to why things are stuffed where they are or why certain things were stockpiled the way they were. All I can say is, "One complex at a time, please."
So, I will continue to think of you as 100% amazing, and your stories as thoroughly terrific. You rock!
Oh, my, Judy. I laughed at "one complex at a time". I genuinely know exactly how you feel! And thanks for the kindness - much appreciated!
DeleteYes, I am a 90 percenter ... there are so many things around that I have not finished. But I do finish a lot of them and I do anguish about the undone, and put it on lists week after week.
ReplyDeleteAh, yes, the rotating to do list. I have one, too!
DeleteLove the hat! The colors and pattern are awesome. I live with a 90%er. The 90% completed is phenomenal (a true artisan) and I’ve come to believe (and accept) there’s more to it than project fatigue. I believe true creatives see the world differently. He however, lives with a 💯 planner and completer, including the need to sometimes rearrange furniture while the household sleeps, because, well, it just needs to be done. Somehow it all works and has for 47 yrs. Just be you - great post.
ReplyDeleteOh, I love this. Hub is not handy at all so when I have a hammer in hand and that look in my eye, he runs. Smart dude.
DeleteIt's so great that you have DIY skills! If you ever get bored, I have a lot of projects because I am pretty hopeless at that stuff. I think you are amazing!
ReplyDeleteHmmmm I'm bad at starting.. and at finishing. I do think I have some completion anxiety. Luckily life makes me finish many of my projects and I feel great when I get something done (not listening to you, voice that says it could have been better or even perfect!)
I totally get that. I think a lot of people suffer from perfectionism and it's annoying when you know where the mistakes are.
DeleteAnother procrastinator but finisher here! Once I start something I don’t even want to take breaks for sustenance and get annoyed with others who do.
ReplyDeleteI can just imagine prospective buyers walking through your house thinking, “What the heck?” about the unfinished items. But then, selling a home is always a huge motivator to do things we’ve put off doing for years.
I am glad you have an editor who steers you to the finish line with your books!
Maybe I need to sell...hmm. That would get me motivated!
DeleteJen, what a great post! I am also a 90%er. I too am handy. I can milk a cow, deliver stuck lambs and calves, run a tractor, use a table saw, panel a room, paint the house, bake bread, and make cheese. I also do a lot of building projects. When I look around, I see that I get them to the place where they're workable and then go on to the next. I've always told myself that was because I was buried in project work and I'm the only handy person in the household. (My husband is Domestically Impaired and doesn't know how to use a screwdriver.)
ReplyDeleteReading your story, though, which has so many similarities to mine, I now wonder. Why did I hang sheetrock throughout the whole basement and stop before finishing the small pieces around the outside door? Why did I lay brick facing behind the wood cookstove but never put up the trim to hide the edges? (In both cases, I too have all the materials.) And these are only two examples among many. I'm sure I was called off to deal with some other emergency but... it's now been years. Hmm. You've got me thinking! Thanks! (Selden)
Selden, you're incredible!!! I would love to be able to make cheese. I think project interruptess gets both of us and then it's hard to double back but I'm trying!
DeleteJen, I'm more excited than I should be about your 90% theory! Usually, I'm closer to 100% but now I see the value in "doing the best we can." Having re-written Chapter 8 half a dozen times, I'm giving myself permission to move on with editing the rest of my book.
ReplyDeleteExactly! Keep on going, Becky Sue!
DeleteJENN: Hooray on finishing the hat! I am not much of a DIYer, but I am a finisher of most tasks.
ReplyDeleteAn excellent trait to have, Grace.
DeleteOh, I am definitely a finisher. Things left with just 10% undone would drive me batty. And I live with a finisher, so it's a good match.
ReplyDeleteMy SIL says the same. I need a finisher in my life in addition to my editor!
DeleteFinisher here. Of course, that doesn't mean things get finished right away. Like the quilt I started the quilting on--it will get finished. Maybe this summer when there are long hours of daylight. Never mind that I started it two years ago now.
ReplyDeleteYes, if we take out time constraints, I am sure I will get everything done eventually!
Delete90%, eh? This is starting to sound familiar. In the past I left a lot more projects unfinished than I do now. Maybe it's my advanced age, but there's more of a sense of urgency about completing projects as there used to be. Our old house, for instance. When we added on and doubled the size of the kitchen I never did paint the baseboards, until the dishwasher overflowed during a party and damaged the newish floor. Once it was replaced--eight years after it was installed--I finally got around to that job.
ReplyDeleteI'm not as handy as Jenn and Selden (ladies, you put us all to shame!), but have always taken care of almost all the maintenance stuff in our house, and I'm in charge of what I call turning sows' ears into silk purses. Meaning, recovering/refinishing/repainting furniture, repurposing antiques, making a lamp out of an old tripod, altering clothing so it fits better, etc. I just threw out some old, old pajama pants with baggy seats and stretched out elastic, knowing it wasn't worth fixing them. It felt good to reclaim the space that pile of stuck energy took up!
That hat is adorable on you, Jenn!
It's so true! These projects do take up space in your home as well as your head. I've never thought of it that way before but they do!
DeleteJenn: I love your knitted hat!! How did you learn to knit such a complicated one?
ReplyDeleteI typically call a contractor or handyman to get things done - that is the only way it will be finished and done right. I typically am a procrastinator and probably have some undiagnosed ADD too.
I think you should be congratulated for your accomplishments!!
Thank you so much. The instructions made the hat very easy so i can't really take credit for how cool it is. :) It was a kit I bought in a yarn shop in Nova Scotia. Can't wait to get back and buy another - LOL!
DeleteI used to love to paint, and I envy you the ability to use a paint sprayer. I fear I am too impatient to just spray it on lightly, and tend to apply it more like a terrible job of pancake make-up. The rest I can do, but I have neglected to learn how to use a chainsaw, or work a snowblower – that is why you have a husband. Should I need a new one the ad will read “must be able to chain-saw and work a snowblower, otherwise do not apply. Any other idiosyncrasies I can eventually fix”
ReplyDeleteAs for current husband – I fear he too is a 90%. Every house we have lived in (5 to date) was built by us – to 90%. Then things trickled off until we were about to sell it. The known fact was if you saw closet doors going on or flooring in the kitchen being installed – we were moving.
We have been here for 20 years. Yup 90%. However, there is only 1 closet without a door, and the kitchen has ceramic tile – I bought it before the cupboards, so it went in. I have not repainted since the original went on – I quite like the colours, and so will keep it or come back in style. As for the living room floor – lovely white chipboard. I spoke with the youngest, and he told me that we were right in chic. Houses for his generation are now painted or polyed for economic times. I knew I would be in style someday – let me call Architecture Digest!
Margo, you crack me up! Here's to waiting out the current trends!
DeleteEvery old is new again and if it's original it's vintage. Well done, Margo!
DeleteGorgeous hat, Jenn! I love it and so glad you finished it. I never do a good job working with different colors of yarn, but I can do all sorts of fabulous stitched. I completely get the thing about not totally finishing a project - thank goodness you do finish the books! I think in my case, I get too excited to start another project. That's one reason why I cannot resist buying yarn, way more yarn than I could ever use!
ReplyDeleteLet's not even discuss the stash - OMG. I am MAKING myself address that before I buy more yard. *sob*
DeleteThis is so thought-provoking! (Plus, I like the blue and green walls. I think those are finished ) I think I’m pretty much of a finisher, though the more I think about it, the more I’m not sure. My 90% process is absolutely the same as yours for a manuscript, though – – it’s completely finished, beginning to end, but I know my editor will tell me the percent of things that will make it orders of magnitude better. I have to admit, I do like the feeling of finishing something. Maybe it comes from seeing my stories on TV, possibly. Because those cannot be left undone.
ReplyDeleteI am still thinking about this! Xxxx in other words, I am 90% finished thinking about this….
LOL!!! You crack me up, Hank.
DeleteI'm in the sister club of "Good enough". I finish but never aim for perfection. Unless it's a medical matter, getting something done to sufficient quality -- but done -- is my goal. There's usually time to revise, improve or re-do...
ReplyDeleteIt is true. You can always revise.
DeleteHa ha Hank, I'm 90% thinking about this too. Jenn, are you sure you aren't bored with the project when you quit? I clicked on your ADD link and really liked their suggestions for not feeling overwhelmed by pressures!
ReplyDeleteI think I do see the new idea/project/obsession as "Oh, shiny!" and want to flitter over and begin that without finishing. I'm working on it. I found the link helpful, too!
DeleteI think ADD could account for the not finishing. Those with the disorder do not get the rush of dopamine on completion that other people get. Instead the brain says that there are more tasks waiting to be done.
ReplyDeleteExactly! And I prefer starting things...so....
DeleteLove your knitted hat, Jenn! I am afraid that I do have Completion Anxiety. I think it stems back to when I was a child in school. Whenever I finished a project in class, there was Nothing to do and I was bored! Perhaps I fell into the habit of thinking that IF I finish something, then I will be bored?
ReplyDeleteLearned how to iron as a teenager. Baking bread is fun and that is something I always finish. Regarding my writing, I am GREAT at Starting with writing my Characters with Story Ideas. I do not know what percent I am at, though my Novel in Progress is still ongoing. I managed to complete 50,000 words for my National Novel Writing Month. They were full of story ideas, settings, and character developments with backstories.
Love that you grew up with NO Gender Discrimination.
Diana
The boggy middle is where I always slow down. Keep going, Diana!!!
DeleteJenn, thank you! Dialogue is my weak area. I need to work on that. Years ago, a writing teacher suggested that I write to the Oprah show to ask for a transcript so that I would get an idea of how people talk. I am not sure about that, though. Since I am writing a historical fiction, then I would need to use the language of the 1920s, right?
DeleteDiana
I am in awe... 90% sounds pretty darned good to me. And I wish I could start *half* of the things you don't finish, Jenn. I once started to crochet a bedspread and it ended up being a purse. Weirdly, novels are easier for me to finish than short stories.
ReplyDeleteI just burst out laughing. I love that you had the wherewithal to turn a bedspread into a purse. Brilliant!
DeleteJenn, anyone who can do as many things as you can with such competence has my permission to be a 90%-er and not feel the least bit guilty about it. You just need to hire a handy-person/private secretary to follow you around and complete the last 10% of everything you do! As for me, I'd say when it comes to cleaning the house, I'm very happy to do a good-enough job; I'm not a cleaning perfectionist. I'm also content to be just good enough when I cook, play tennis, or do any kind of physical exercise. When it comes to writing, however, I try to be a perfectionist, although I don't achieve it! And I try to be more than a good enough friend---friendships are too important to be sloppy about. I bet all of us--you, too, Jenn--are more than 90% friends.
ReplyDeleteGreat words…”more than 90% friends”. Thank you. Elisabeth
DeleteOh, I love that, Kim. Yes, in relationships I am ALL in, although the Hooligans would probably prefer it if I dialed it back to 25% LOL.
DeleteJenn, love the hat! I am so impressed that you finished it! As for the 90%, I'm going to be thinking about this all day. I think I'm more of a procrastinator. Once I really get started on things I tend to finish them, and beat them to death in the process. I'm super nit-picky. Also not much of a DIYer. Partly hereditary--the joke in my family was that my dad couldn't change a lightbulb--and partly spoiled because my husband can fix just about anything and LIKES doing it. Go figure.
ReplyDeleteI can see that need to finish things in you, Debs. Like your hubs, I enjoy fixing things, too. It's just when the project becomes so much bigger than it was in my head when i started that I tend to falter.
DeleteJenn I read JRW posts every day and have for a number of years. I wonder if the JRW would like some feedback. If so read on! I think it is important to have other writers present their new books, but when I read your post this morning I realized how few times we get a JWR to post about their lives, families, interests, travels, etc. AND how much it seems to be enjoyed by all of us. Not that it isn't done it is and done so well. But it is only done maybe once a week.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing that feedback. I think we all fear boring our readership with our real lives (not nearly as thrilling as our books) but if you're all in, so are we! I'll be sure to mention it to the group!
DeleteI make lists. Somehow it makes me feel as if I have accomplished something; I draw a line through whatever task is accomplished. But then I make a list for the existing list breaking the "need to do" projects into even smaller bits; i.e.,the weekly list has a daily list attached to it. I guess you could say I'm at the 100% level at making the never-ending lists but a complete failure at completing them.
ReplyDeleteEver put completed tasks on the to do list just so you can scratch them off? Yeah, that's me.
DeleteWhat a great idea, Jenn! I should try that; it may just move the procrastination needle in the right direction...
DeleteJenn, I think I'm a 50 to 60 percenter... I'm working on getting up to 70% to 80%!
ReplyDeleteReplying to myself because there's one place I always got to, say, 95% - needlepoint projects. I loved doing the stitching, but as soon as it came time to shape the work and turn it into a pillow cover... eh. That's boring!
DeleteRemember when you could have the stretching and blocking done by an expert at a needlework shop? Those were the days.
DeleteI have not blocked my hat yet - LOL - maybe, someday. I'm hoping just wearing it will shape it. I feel you, Julia!
DeleteJulia, I was good at finishing homework that was due at school. Same with research papers. However it is a different story when doing it for myself, though...
DeleteDiana
I think I am more of a procrastinator, but perhaps I take things to the 90% completion mark. I have started wondering if I have Adult Onset ADD because I get easily distracted. I start a conversation with someone and am suddenly interrupting myself to mention/point out something wholly unrelated to the topic. (“Squirrel!”) My husband has started saying, “Focus” to get me to finish my initial thought.
ReplyDeleteAs far as completing projects around the house, we both are 90%ers. We bought our house at the end of 1986. July 4th holiday of 1987 we hung wallpaper and painted the master bedroom. We never, to this day, took down the old wallpaper in the master bathroom or painted it to match the bedroom walls. Now we’re contemplating remodeling the whole house but will definitely hire professionals from whom we will expect 100%! — Pat S
That's the way to get it done, Pat. I would hire people but two kids in college does not make that budget friendly at this juncture. Maybe, someday.
DeleteI'm definitely a procrastinator and a "victim" of adult ADD. So, that's my excuse. I have the spray paint cans of Rustoleum I bought to redo some metal outdoor furniture and other metal items. Still sitting there, unsprayed. I have a cross stitch kit and a needlepoint kit I bought a few months back, thinking it would be nice to get into that again. The needlepoint canvas made it on to a frame but that's all so far. I'm not fond of our beige kitchen cabinet doors. I came up with the genius idea of painting the dark gold grooves on the door fronts with a gray blue color to sort of go with the floor. Even picked out a color and got one of those small sample jars of paint. Still sitting there. I have gotten some of our house projects done, but calling my favorite contractor, Jorge, always involves me stalling for a while. Yeesh.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that there is a required amount of stalling before a project can get done. I bought the flooring for our kitchen (700 sq feet) and it sat under a tarp on the back patio for two months and then one day I woke up, looked at the Hub and said, "Today's the day!"
DeleteI will do no project before its time.
DeleteThese days with what has happened to our family, I'm about a 10%, hoping to work my way up to 25%. Of course, right now, I'm dealing with cataract surgery tomorrow, my birthday this weekend, and a second biopsy on a mole spot next week. We also have the court thing, which was canceled last week after we had all driven up to Lexington and is rescheduled for March 12th. I need to sneak a second cataract surgery in there somewhere, too. I'm needing to get things done that have to do with our trip to Paris the first of May. Plus, I'm trying to order clothes we need for the trip. Hey, wait a minute. Maybe my percent should go up, since that's a project, too.
ReplyDelete“You’ve got this”, Kathy. With so many of us giving you hugs, having faith you…100%. Elisabeth
DeleteGood luck on your cataract surgery, Kathy. You will be thrilled, I am sure! Sending you lots of love!
DeleteKathy, you are amazing. I got tired just reading about all that is on your to do list and that's without the emotional component which is significant. I am so glad you have Paris ahead of you. We all adore you and are here for you. XOXO
DeleteKathy, those are all projects! Wishing you a fabulous fabulous trip!
DeleteI am not overstating it when I say I love you women and your encouragement, giving me credit for being stronger than I am. I've always said that I can get the things done that have to be done, but if it's not necessary, I'm a bit of a slacker. Again, ladies, than you for your support.
DeleteI believe you have a lot of company, me among them. Depending on the project, I don't even make it to 90%. I have a counted cross stitch sweatshirt I started, got maybe 20% done, then finished another 50% or so while my husband was in surgery. (It was an eight hour surgery and I really needed something to keep me sane.). That was in 1991, and there it sits. It is a beautiful piece, but it is now too small for me. I am a 90% 'er in many projects. Usually it is a matter of something else coming up that must be taken care of right away, and I never get back to my project. Our work on our house has turned out the same. We bought a 1998 Victorian farm house that needed a lot of TLC. The lath and plaster was in such poor shape, it all needed to be ripped out, which meant all the woodwork needed to be taken out. We lived in the house while we gutted it and redid one room at a time. Insulation, all new wiring (it was supposed to have been rewired, but all they did was run new wiring from the box and join it to the old wiring), plumbing, sheetrock, refinish & replace all the woodwork, and landscape the grounds. The addition the previous owners put on a year prior needed to be redone. It was such a mess, we needed to expand the addition to make it work and look right. After several years of this, the house looked pretty good, but there were a few things, like small pieces of baseboard that didn't get replaced and a few doorways and doors that aren''t quite finished. We just burned out working on it. It has been 30 years and now the paint needs to be redone and it is time to redo a few other things. That will hopefully result in our finishing up those last bits from before. We just need to stop working on other projects and get to work on it.
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly what happens! SOmething always interrupts the current project and it's hard to get back to it.
Delete