r/getdisciplined • u/Short-Impress-3458 • 16h ago
🤔 NeedAdvice Is this common: "99% syndrome"
I apologise for the wall of text If it's too long the title pretty much says it all
Hi I have described this as a 99% syndrome in my life.
I start projects. Hundreds. Great ones. little ones. Life changing ones. Projects of all shapes and sizes.
And I get in to a flow state. Getting always so close to finishing them. Really within the last few metres of the race.
For example I have some great coding stuff, video editing stuff, stuff that would transform my work life, transform my home life whatever it may be all at the brink of execution.
But for whatever reason... Self doubt, needing perfection, or even no reason at all sometimes.. I go from full throttle to nothing right at the end. It's like hit an invisible wall.
So motivated. I can feel the end within a fingers breadth away and then WHAM I fall to the ground with nothing.
What could be causing this within me?
It's not like I'm burnt out. But my mind , my body will just never let me return to it. Like I'm a character in a game and I haven't unlocked that level yet so I just can't open the final door.
And what could be a potential fix for this? I was thinking a business partner or an accountability partner type of thing I also watched a great video where the philosophy lecturer discussed something he did with a group of his peers- they'd start an online chat session and announce what they were working on recently and something planned for the next hour. Then all work in silence with the camera watching them. And at the end of the hour they'd have to each say how far they got. Essentially publicly shaming themselves if they didn't achieve any of their work ...resulting in everyone achieving something at least small to avoid embarrassment. And basically each session they'd be announcing the progress of the thing over the week so there was some obligation to achieve your own goals big or small. Sounds amazing to me I even tried starting this with my friends I created a program to automate the whole thing via email but nobody really wants to achieve anything weirdly... Happy just waking up, working and going to sleep again.. I can't seem to find my crowd for it
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u/shoalhavenheads 16h ago
This sounds like perfectionism. You're full of great ideas, and the sprint from 0% to 99% is a joyride, but 99% to 100% feels like infinity. That's because perfection isn't possible, so you will always be stuck at 99%, and burn out, and then start something new to feel that rush again.
You should start a project by identifying what 99% looks like, and figure out the milestones you need to hit in order to be "done." And one you hit those goals, you're done, even if it's not perfect.
I think learning project management fundamentals will help you a lot. I know it's dry AF, but it's helpful to understand how businesses operate. No developer working for a corporation is proud of their work - there's always thousands of tickets waiting to be addressed. As I write this, my Reddit app has a visual bug where I can't see what I'm typing. But releasing SOMETHING is better than never releasing anything.
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u/WaterDigDog 14h ago edited 10h ago
I 99% agree, which is good enough!
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u/nathanb131 14h ago
This typo is actually a profound statement.
As in perfectionism might be viewed as a persuit of being god (perfect) which is a foolhardy quest for a mortal human.
"99% is God enough" is a reminder that 100% is impossible and isn't up to us to achieve.
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u/WaterDigDog 9h ago
Glad you got something out of my mistake.
My perspective is opposite: God makes up for our imperfections, His perfect is that good.
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u/rkarl7777 14h ago
Maybe plan your projects so that failing "within a fingers breadth away" is still a win. Want to lose 50 lbs, but you only end up losing 30? That's still a win. Want to make a million dollars, but you only make a 1/2 million? That's still pretty sweet. Stop having all-or-nothing goals. All progress is good.