A theory on approaching difficult tasks
Whichever industry you work in, whether you work for yourself or a company and whatever your job description, there are days where things just aren’t going your way. No matter how long you sit at your desk, tapping your pencil, the solution to the problem at hand just isn’t apparent.
As a developer, the problem and solution are usually quite clean-cut (such is the nature of code, prodominantly). The solution, however clean-cut it may be, isn’t always visible when approaching a coding task. At times like those, I employ a theory:
Whatever you do to figure out the solution, whatever pencil-tapping or repeated contact between your head and desk occurs, the end result will work and be exactly as per the task set out to you.
Knowing this, the task of achieving the goal becomes seemingly less stressful and a bit clearer to tackle. In addition, I find it important to clear one’s head, move away from the problem for a few minutes and give it some thought from a different angle.
That’s my theory, anyways.
Stop. Think. Re-evaluate.