I always seem to come across this question before I start on any new project, or a new research, or starting to learn something new - "Where do I start?". From my past experiences, for the topics that I absolutely have no idea about, whether it's learning a new programming language, thinking of an idea for the project for a class I am not too confident with, or just picking a new topic and wanting to learn about it, I find myself having hard time to give the initial push to start.
I Google the topic, research to find the best books for the topic, find online articles, comments by other readers, and much more, but that turns out to be very time consuming and at the end, it turns out to be a bad start because when you have too many things on your hand, you get even more confused on what to pick from the resources to start your work! All I need is that "One" resource (book/website) that can get me started on the beginner level. Is there any "one" book out there that has everything I need to know? Is there a website that has exactly what I am looking for? The answer is Yes and No. There are a lot of resources out there and it's just matter of time for you to find them. But, there is not going to be just one resource to give you the guide...you need to collaborate the resources that you have to build a bridge of knowledge for your project.
For all my projects, it's taken me some time to start but after a lot of research, a focused mind, and definitely a lot of patience, I have found the right start. But the struggle does not end there. You find the right start and are very excited to get the work going, and then hit another roadblock. My programming projects have always required implementations of the new technologies that I have never worked with before. So I have hit many roadblocks like not having the right configuration, compatibility between 2 technologies, major design differences in older and newer versions of the software which gets you nowhere, and many more. But these kind of problems don't give me heart attack because I know that I am not the only one facing these problems. I know that someone out there would have come across the same situation as me and all I need to do is find out how they solved it! Here is where the online forums help in a big way. Just google up the error and you will have ray of solutions ...obviously, not all of them will be correct and working, but again you need to keep looking and have lots and lots of "Patience" :).
Another thing that gets me paranoid is that the progress of the project. Some of the questions I keep asking myself are "Am I on track?", "Would I finish on time?", "Am I working on the right material?". During the day when I sit down to work on the project, I feel good about it. At the end of the work I feel a sense of achievement, but there is also a part of me which gets sidetracked with other things happening in life and loose focus from the work for a while. That is almost like taking 2 steps forward and then 1 step backward.....and this is fine as long as this pace is continued. I would hate to see the work just getting delayed and the steps are only backwards and work is not progressing to anything. But it's just a fear of mind that comes along when I am starting a new project. At the end of the work, I know that all the hard work and time put into that work has paid off!! Success at last :).
That's just my side of the story. How do you handle such situations? Do you also have random thoughts running through your mind when you start on a new project? Lots of ideas but hard to find the right direction? I had a lot running through my mind this morning so I decided to just write it out on this post and that also helped me realize that I have handled these kinds of situations before and the end product has been very successful :). So there is nothing to fear about...just stay focused and you will be fine!
4 comments:
Sunshine - your comments are very true, and very helpful and reassuring to read. When starting a new project, I feel the same combination of excitement and frustratration, and feel overwhelmed with the information that is available, particularly when I do not have the background knowledge to understand most of it. One reassuring fact is there is almost never a single source or forum to refer to for any novel and worthwhile problem, right? :-) I agree with you that the best solution is patience and lots of time and effort. You have good habits to take into account whether your effort is leading you to the goal - that is something I need to learn, since I get lost in details. One useful strategy that's worked pretty well for me is to work on the problem only when I have a clear, relaxed, and focused mind, and to know when to put it aside. That keeps me from getting burned out or spending time on it, when I'm unlikely to get much done.
LlamajitKaur,
I like your strategy a lot and that's something that I have had problem with. Sometimes I start working on the project with fresh mind but then I need to realize when to stop or put it aside because I end up exhausting myself and then end up spending more time on the same stuff I went through before!
Sunshine, is this post in relation to beginning your thesis work? If so, very best wishes to you :-)
Hehe...Yes! The project is already begun, just trying to find the right balance to keep it at consistent pace :D.
Post a Comment