#112June 1, 2026 · 5 min
The Joy of Unfinished Projects
Why having a drawer full of incomplete ideas might be healthier than finishing everything you start.
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Issue #112 · Sunday, June 1
The Joy of Unfinished Projects
I have a drawer full of things I haven't finished. A half-written essay about maps. A podcast episode I recorded and then abandoned. A newsletter series I started and shelved after two issues.
For a long time this felt like failure. The productivity advice I was marinating in said unfinished things were weakness. "Ship. Iterate. Don't let perfect be the enemy of good." Useful advice. Also, sometimes wrong.
The drawer taught me something different this month. I opened it looking for something else and found the map essay. Read it. It was actually good - just not finished. And in not finishing it, I'd kept it in a state of pure possibility. It couldn't fail. It could only remain interesting.
→ This week: one unfinished thing I'm proud of, and why I might leave it that way.
Wren Calloway · Pixel & Pine · Portland, Oregon
"This is what newsletters should be."
- Reader, issue #108
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