Half An Ass Does You No Good
Try sitting on that!
I have always had the habit of half-assing things. I remember being a kid and my mother constantly reminding me to complete tasks I started and do them well.
At least, “Emma, don’t half-ass it.” sounds somewhat refined in a British accent.
But it just wasn’t in my nature. Especially, not as a child.
When she told me to clean my room, I’d shove everything into the closet and under the bed. If I couldn’t see it, it didn’t bother me.
Until I had to find something, that is.
What a pain to pull everything out of wherever I shoved it so I could comb through a giant pile looking for one thing. Once I found what I was looking for, I’d shove everything else back in. Then the cycle would start over.
Some of these habits carried over into my adult life.
It was like the memory of my mother nagging me to “Do something right the first time” made it impossible to do. I was an adult now, so I could do it however I wanted.
I could let dirty dishes pile up in the sink and leave the wet towel on the floor.
Then I bought my own place and I started caring more about how it looked.
I didn’t want to leave a mess, even in the closets. It was nice to know where everything was, and for it to look pretty in its place.
But the half-assing didn’t go away.
When we were painting my condo, the window sills were hard to get. So, we painted around the outside, and left the insides white. It didn’t look great, but I told myself I’d finish it later. Or get curtains to cover it up.
It didn’t help that I worked in a half-assed environment. Things got started, but were never followed through.
We’d start a new system or program, and drop it as soon as a new one came along. We were always ordering the sampler platter and never having a meal.
At work, that got to me. I noticed the gaps. The effects it was having on everyone. I started to joke that our mascot should be one butt cheek. Our motto could be: “Where we half-ass everything!”
Then I went home and looked at the unfinished window sills.
It was ugly and it bothered me. But, I knew it would be a big pain to complete.
I had finished with painting over a year before. All the supplies were put away. Not to mention it would take three different colors to finish the windows in every room.
Eventually, I couldn’t take it anymore.
So I got the paint out of the closet and laid down the tarps. The funny thing was it took three times longer to set up for the painting than it took to actually paint.
It would have been so much faster and easier if I had just done it all the way the first time.
Holy crap, my mother was right!
At work I could see how half-assing was actually taking more time and energy than doing one thing well from the start. It may be out of my hands there, but at home, I’m in charge.
And I’m not half-assing things anymore. I’d rather do it right and completely the first time. Then I don’t have to worry about finishing it later.
It’s already done.
Half an ass is unbalanced, unstable. With half an ass, you can’t even sit down. So, why would it work in life?
Are you someone who half-asses or finished something you start? Can you work in an environment where nothing is ever finished?
I used to be half ass and then something happened. Maturity. My own place. I am not entirely sure but now I am a member of the “do it right the first time” club. I hate anything done half ass because it always inevitably looks done half ass…LOL!! An environment where nothing was ever totally finished would drive me to drink copious amounts of booze…LOL!!
GREAT post!
Hmm, maybe something about becoming a home owner helps with it? I hope I can keep my whole-assed habits when I become a renter again!
Yes my dear, as much of a pain in the ass it might be to finish the job the first time, it is a much bigger pain in the ass to have to do it later. My father used to say, “Why the hell do six hours work just to get out of a half hour’s work?” Yep, I was once a half-asser too. Will we ever truly learn?
What a great way to look at it! That is exactly what happened to me. And I was kicking myself for not just doing it the first time. Hopefully now I have really learned. At least about the obvious things…
Great advice! I usually finish what I start when it comes to cleaning or work related stuff, small tasks but on the long term stuff that’s a different story. That’s the one I gotta work on cuz that’ll really bite me in the rear when I least expect it. But it sure is a good habit to have. The worst thing is not starting something for fear of half-assing it and that can be just as bad. Thanks for the reminder sometimes that’s all you need to finish or start that thing you must get done.
So true! I hadn’t even thought of that! Fear of half-assing probably does stop me from starting a lot of things. Hmm, I’m going to have to think on that one. Thanks.
Love this: “With half an ass, you can’t even sit down. So, why would it work in life?”
I have a hard time getting into tasks I don’t want to put my whole behind, brain and heart in. Maturity has helped me improve on that, thank goodness. It’s also taught me that allotting certain tasks to experts who WILL invest their all is often the best option. (Taxes come to mind…)
What a good point, August! I totally agree with letting things go to the people who are much better at them, like taxes and house cleaning. I think it’s worth the money to have an expert. And leaves us time to do the things that we are good at, and are important to us. Then, hopefully, we won’t be so tempted to hals-ass them.
“We were always ordering the sampler platter and never having a meal.” – Love this analogy!
Sampler platters are great when you’re not sure what the best option will be, but eventually you need to commit and have that full meal or you end up hungry and malnourished.
I’m a perfectionist, so on things that matter to me, I do them 100%. Unfortunately, I’m also the woman who doesn’t always sweep under the rugs in her house *hangs head*
So true! We do eventually need a meal. Don’t feel bad about not sweeping under the rugs! I swept yesterday, for the first time in a long time, and felt like I pulled something in my back. There is a reason I leave it to the professionals!
First off, the title got me here in a nanosecond! And my eyes aren’t even clear from that morning blur yet. LOL. I think I’m with Natalie. I used to half ass things until I got my own place, now I am a perfectionist. I see my husband try to half ass things when we clean the kids rooms, but then nothing can be found later. Tisk, tisk. That serves no one and only serves headaches down the road.
I could completely relate to your story about the window sills. About a year ago we did a huge amount of painting and ran short on time. We stopped before we finished all the doors and haven’t gotten back to it. Sigh.
Now with the time constraints of family and duty, I have become a hybrid.
But I try to avoid half-assing it as much as possible. You give a good argument why we should.
Yeah, I feel like those things we don’t finish stare at us as reminders. And they will bug me until I finish them. So, now I’m going to try and keep up this habit. It really isn’t that hard to put the dish into the dishwasher right away. Just don’t tell my mother I said that.
Mom’s are pretty fascinating creatures, Emma. Mine was a Southern Lady, so she would never say the word “ass” when we were kids.
But what she did say, constantly, was “Anything worth doing is worth doing well.” Of course, I came to define what was “worth doing” in ways that meant I didn’t have to do it at all!! 
I’d like to say I’m totally cured of that adolescent rebellion, but …..
Defining what’s worth doing, I love that! I have recently discovered this myself. Like August said about the taxes. There are things that aren’t worth me doing myself, because I want them done well. It must have been fun to grow up with a southern lady!
Love this, Emma! Thank you for putting such “get to the heart of the matter” words around this! (The ROFLMAO-ness doesn’t hurt any, either!
)
It’s going on my Link List, next!
Bright Blessings ~
Thanks for saying that! And thanks for putting it on the list. I still don’t know what ROFL means and I’ve been trying to figure it out for months! I guess my brain isn’t set for figuring out those puzzles. I’m sure it isn’t Right On Family Love.
I’m sorry ~ I was “assuming” that ‘everybody knows’ text-speak (Which I only know by osmosis – I still have a very-dumb-phone!)
ROFL stands for “Rolling On Floor, Laughing”. Add MAO, and you no longer have even half-an-ass.
LOL (I know that one!) You had me rolling on the floor with the last bit. No longer have even half an ass! Heehee.
And thanks for keeping me up to date with the text lingo.
Oh, you just gave over half the internet a solid spanking with this post, Emma. A lot of “Half-assers” out here, with me being (proudly?) among the herd….
So many things I have taken over my plate because I jumped into them figuring I’d finish the setup later…. Oh, heck, it’s the curse of any panster. I’m stuck in three WiPs because I never settled on an outline before starting the writing.
Definitely time to stop being “half-assed”.
Thank you for the “Mom voice”.
Three WIP’s! I can’t imagine. I am one for outlining, for sure. Of course, that doesn’t mean I stick to the outline, but at least I made it in the first place, right?
You are right about jumping into things too soon. It reminds me of all the hobbies and workouts I’ve tried over the years. So glad I have that yoga mat in the back of my car that I used once! Heehee.
A really good wisdom to remember. I half ass way too much and am always starting new projects but rarely finishing them. I have gotten better with cleaning since having children but the huge amount of children’s toys and clothes and everything leads to closet stuffing moments when we have guests. Organizing better is a huge boon and saves you from a lot of stress. It makes cleaning and finding things so much easier.
I don’t do cleaning, but I have gotten into organizing. I used to work with a woman who was an organizer on the side. Like a real organizer. People hired her to organize their closets and their entire houses. I got some great tips from her and love the feeling of calm I now have from knowing where everything is. Now, I just have to remember where I organized everything…
I am not immune to the half-assing! Luckily I have my husband to remind me not to do things like spackle a wall hole with a plastic knife. LOL
Great post Emma
What? That’s what I did the one time I spackled a hole. And, toothpaste is ok to use, right?
Glad to know that my saying “half-asssed” sounded somewhat refined. I remember those closets.