I was at the hair salon recently, on a snowy, slushy day. Right inside the door was a large boot tray. Clear purpose. Clear expectation. Put your snow boots in the tray so melting snow doesn’t end up everywhere, and so others don’t end up with wet socks.
Everyone did. Except one person.
She placed her boots neatly beside the tray. Not in it. Beside it.
That tiny moment bothered me more than it probably should have. I even posted about it on social media, half-joking, half-curious if it bothered others as well. It has been a surprisingly popular post, and the responses came fast. Many people agreed with me. “Why not just put them in the tray?” Others pushed back hard. “This doesn’t matter.” “You’re nitpicking.” “There are bigger problems in the world.” Some defended with “Perhaps the tray was full,” which I hadn’t considered, but could certainly be true.
But the negative comments bothered me, and that is exactly why it matters.
Because this is not about boots.
Ignoring that the tray could have been full, this is about the quiet habit of doing 80 percent of a job, convincing ourselves it is good enough, and justifying why the last 20 percent is unnecessary.
As professionals, you see this every day. Sometimes in others. Sometimes, if we are honest with ourselves.
The tray was there. The expectation was obvious. The difference between beside and inside was minimal effort. Yet the choice was made to stop just short of full completion.
In the workplace, that looks like sending the email without double-checking the attachment. Preparing the meeting, but not confirming the room setup. Drafting the document, but not aligning it fully with the executive’s voice. Booking the travel but not checking the connection times carefully.
Nothing explodes immediately. Many times, there is no consequence. Which is why the habit sticks.
Psychologists call this normalization of deviance. Small departures from the standard become acceptable because nothing bad happened last time. Over time, the exception becomes the norm.
Think about your driving habits. You drive 5 to 10 km over the limit because “everyone does” and “it’s basically the speed of traffic.” The first time, it feels like a conscious choice. Over time, it becomes your default speed. You are no longer deciding. You are deviating by habit.
It could be not coming to a full stop at a stop sign, responding to an email without proofreading before hitting send, saying, “I’ll remember,” and not writing it down, or even as simple as leaving your dishes in the sink and not in the dishwasher and telling yourself you’ll get to it “later.”
The justification is always the same. Nothing bad has happened yet.
You are following the spirit of the rule, not the rule itself. That is exactly how 80 percent thinking works.
There is research that supports this. In high-reliability environments such as healthcare, aviation, and nuclear power, studies show that minor deviations are often the root cause of later major failures. The famous WHO surgical safety checklist reduced surgical complications by 36 percent simply by ensuring that every step was completed, every time, with no shortcuts (New England Journal of Medicine, 2009).
That is not because surgeons are careless. It is because humans are wired to conserve effort and justify shortcuts when the risk does not feel immediate.
Sound familiar?
In our work, the consequences are rarely life-threatening or even job-threatening.
Instead, they show up as erosion. Erosion of trust. Erosion of confidence. Erosion of reputation.
Your executive or colleague may not say anything when something is 80 percent done. They may fix it themselves. They may adjust. They may compensate quietly. But over time, a pattern forms. Not of incompetence, but of incompleteness.
And here is the uncomfortable part. Most people who operate at 80 percent believe they are operating at 100.
We tell ourselves stories. “That extra step isn’t necessary.” “No one will notice.” “I don’t have time to make it perfect.” “This is good enough.”
But excellence is rarely about perfection. It is about completion.
The person who put her boots beside the tray likely thought she was being considerate. She did not kick them into the middle of the floor. She did not leave them dripping in the doorway. In her mind, she did enough.
Yet the system was designed for a reason. The tray contained water, mess, and chaos. Putting her shoes beside the tray defeated the purpose entirely.
In your role as an EA, you are part of many systems, meetings, communication flows, decision-making processes, and effectiveness. When you stop short, even slightly, the system absorbs the mess instead of containing it.
And yes, there are times when 100 percent truly is not required. Strategic judgment matters. But the danger is when 80 percent becomes the default, not the exception.
Here is a powerful self-check. Ask yourself this week:
- · Where am I stopping just short because it has become a habit?
- · Where am I justifying instead of deciding?
- · Where am I placing the boots beside the tray?
High-performing EAs are not defined by working harder or longer. They are defined by clarity of standards. They know when 80 percent is intentional and when 100 percent is required. And they do not confuse the two.
The smallest choices often reveal the biggest patterns. Pay attention to yours.
Because beside the tray is never the same as in it.
The 80 Percent Habit Check
A quick self-assessment
This is not about judgment. It’s about noticing.
Read each statement and answer honestly: Often / Sometimes / Rarely.
Part 1: Spotting the Habit
- I send emails without rereading them from the recipient’s perspective.
- I assume details are “close enough” because nothing has gone wrong before.
- I skip a final check when I feel rushed or confident.
- I leave tasks almost finished and tell myself I’ll come back to them.
- I rely on memory rather than writing things down.
- I stop short of full completion because “it’s just internal.”
- I book things but don’t always confirm them.
- I multitask while listening and still consider myself present.
- I justify shortcuts by telling myself I’m being efficient.
- I notice small standards slipping, but don’t correct them because they seem minor.
If you answered Often to more than three of these, you’re not failing.
You’re human.
But you are likely operating on habit instead of intention.
Part 2: The Boot Tray Test
For each task on your desk this week, ask yourself:
- Is the tray obvious here?
In other words, is the expectation clear even if it hasn’t been stated? - Am I putting this task in the tray or beside it?
Am I completing it, or just getting close enough to feel done? - Who absorbs the remaining 20 percent if I stop now?
Me, my executive, or someone else?
This reframes completion as a systems issue, not a personal one.
Part 3: When 80 Percent Is a Choice, Not a Shortcut
Now the critical distinction.
For any task you intentionally leave at 80 percent, write down one sentence:
“I am stopping here because…”
If you can clearly explain the risk, impact, and reason, that’s a strategy.
If your explanation sounds like “I didn’t think it mattered,” that’s a habit.
High-level EAs don’t do everything at 100 percent.
They decide where 100 percent is required.
Part 4: Resetting Your Standards
Choose one area this week where you will consciously return to full completion.
Not everything. Just one.
Examples:
- All emails that go to your executive are reread before sending.
- All meetings you support have a defined outcome and end time.
- All bookings are confirmed, not assumed.
- All handoffs are truly finished, not almost finished.
One reset interrupts the pattern.
And finally, answer this in one sentence for yourself:
Where have I been justifying 80 percent because it has become normal?
Awareness changes behaviour faster than criticism ever will.
Because the goal isn’t perfection.
Its intention.
And once you start noticing when you put the boots beside the tray, you rarely stop seeing them.