One thing I've always been bothered by was the fact that some people who do 90% unsatisfactory work can be more highly regarded than people who do 90% satisfactory work, if the former have 1% outstanding work where it is most visible.  Basically, they are able to hide the fact that they are sloppy, lazy, and uninspired, by dedicating a large amount of their effort to perfecting the small part of their work people see.

However, I am beginning to realize that sometimes, the real key to doing something isn't in the vast majority of the actual task, but in a few small important details.  If those details are paid attention to, the whole task can be easily accomplished.  Otherwise, accomplishing the task becomes challenging and time-consuming. 

Experience has shown this to be true, ranked from oldest to newest:

My dad painted a chair on the carpet without first putting something under it.  We ended up with stained carpet, which is quite expensive to un-stain.  In fact, all his attempts at un-staining the carpet only left a more pronounced mark.  This whole thing could've been easily avoided with 10 seconds of preparation.

One of my friends has said that an amazing massage is really just the first 10 minutes needing to be amazing.  The rest doesn't matter.

Picking up calligraphy, I have gradually realized that each letter does not need to be perfect.  It is much more a matter of keeping a few basic principles - even spacing, consistent slant, and the perfecting of a few common strokes - that determine how the entire writing will look.

A month of preparation, and two and a half days of solid work went down the drain due to an uncoordinated presentation that failed to highlight the work.

Then, there are the details that don't matter and shouldn't be focused on:

Nickel and diming potential tenants at the risk of them deciding not to rent, or deciding to move out as soon as the rent it up, leaving the house empty.

There are probably things all around that happen all the time that further emphasize the importance of identifying which details are important, and making sure those are done right.

So, there are a few key takeaways of things that matter:

• Paying attention to details
• Identifying the details that are important