What it means to finish something

I have a graveyard of half-built things. I think most developers do.

Side projects that got to 80% and stopped. Apps that were almost ready to launch. Tools that solved a real problem but never got the README. They sit in folders with names like v2, new-approach, final-final.

For a long time I thought this was a discipline problem. Start less, finish more. But I'm not sure anymore.

Some things are worth finishing. Some things teach you what you needed to learn at 60% and then it's okay to stop. The problem isn't the stopping — it's the shame around it. The feeling that an unshipped thing is a failed thing.

Finishing is overrated as a virtue. What matters is whether you were honest with yourself about what you were building and why. Did you start it to learn? Did you learn? Then it's finished, in the way that matters.

Did you start it to ship? Then ship it, even if it's not perfect. Especially if it's not perfect.

The graveyard is fine. Just don't lie to yourself about which kind of project you're building.