Red Zone conversions ... in life
What we can learn from football teams about finishing the final 20% of the task
“Don’t let perfection become the enemy of completion.”
Those were the words my cousin Tom texted to me yesterday. I’d just sent him photos of a backyard project that I finished. Overall, I’m proud of how it turned out. Here’s a photo if you’re curious.
But a few things do bother me. The circle around the tree isn’t perfect. The two “lanes” of red lava rock breaking up the black mulch are not close to being similar. The area that goes from red mulch to black mulch to white rock is too narrow.
This is what happens when you’re not a professional landscaper and you’re making decisions on the fly. Still, it’s done, and Tom’s words were just what I needed.
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about completing the final 20% of a task. Let’s call it the “Red Zone” in our personal lives.
A football team reaches the “Red Zone” — or the opponents 20-yard line — and they need to convert. 49ers quarterback Steve Young once said every time they settled for a field goal he felt they were one step closer to losing.
Whether it’s my house, or my office, or this new Substack Newsletter I started over the weekend, I’m thinking about the never-ending list of tasks I want to complete. How many of them have I only completed 80% of the job? Or in other words, how often have I scored a touchdown? Or settled for a field goal? Or turned the ball over?
Another cousin, Tom’s brother Geoff, helped me do most of the backyard job. Geoff is good at landscaping. I’m not. More importantly, Geoff has a “we can do it” attitude. Too often I get stuck in a “what if I screw it up worse?” mentality. Without Geoff volunteering, I probably would not have even attempted this project.
We started the job as the Raiders game kicked off, listening on the radio. On the opening drive, the Raiders drove into the Red Zone and … missed a field goal. The Raiders were embarrassed, losing to a Chicago Bears team that started a backup quarterback named Tyson Bagent, whose last start came in the Division II semifinals last season against the Colorado School of Mines.
For my mental health, listening to the Raiders on the radio and working on my backyard with my cousin is far superior to watching the Raiders on TV.
Geoff only had limited time though. He’s a husband and a father and needed to get home. I’d estimate we completed, yeah, about 80% of the job. I was tempted to call it a day, tell myself that I’ve earned an adult beverage, watch some football and the baseball playoffs, and wait until Geoff is available again to help me finish the job.
But not this time. I decided to go for it alone. I went back to Home Depot to buy the extra supplies needed. I’m full of confidence broadcasting a baseball game solo. But plagued with doubts for “outdoor dog” projects like this.
After watching and learning from Geoff, I setup the edges, and planted the shrubs, and — after calling Geoff to run an idea by him — made decisions on what to do with the final areas. I’d say about 95% of it was done when I ran out of daylight on Sunday. The final 5% was completed Monday after work.
It’s far from perfect. But it’s complete. It’s a touchdown. Maybe the ball skipped through the intended wide receiver’s hands and into someone else’s arms, but a touchdown is a touchdown.
Last night, I was debating if I wanted to write something for this Newsletter. I had a few ideas, but I thought they’d take awhile to research all the facts and wasn’t sure if I had the time. I didn’t write.
This morning, I was preparing to record a podcast and I got an email from Buzzsprout with the headline: “5 Tips To Avoid Podcast Procrastination.” This next line really hit home to me.
Some of us tend to be overthinkers, we second-guess ourselves and our work, which can delay episodes and lead to procrastination. But it is important to remember that imperfect action is better than no action.
Between my Cousin Tom, and the Buzzsprout email, the world was speaking to me.
Not every task in our life needs to be the most spectacular touchdown of the day. Not every Substack post needs to get people buzzing and lead to a dozen new subscribers. Not every meal needs to be gourmet. Not every backyard project needs to be featured in a landscaping journal.
Rejoice in finishing the task, not leaving the final 20% to be completed at some indefinite time in the future. A touchdown is a touchdown.
And surround yourself with people like Cousin Geoff and Cousin Tom.