Endurance

Often software development is more about endurance than being smart. While it really helps to be smart, there are many things that don't come easily. I often see young software engineers wanting to give up on a project because they aren't making the kind of progress they would like to see. They feel like they are wasting time and especially for someone who is used to being successful, it makes them feel like they are failing.

I like to ride my bicycle, often for several hours at a time. In a lot of cases I end up overextending myself and the last few miles on the road back can be very difficult. The same can be said of software. Especially, if you are working on a project and you get down toward the end and you find that there is a very difficult problem to solve that you didn't anticipate.

It is during these times that often the successful engineer isn't the smartest one, but the one with the most mental endurance.

When I ride my bike I like to contrive to make the ride back the easy half. So I'll ride uphill to start or into the wind. Sometimes this doesn't work out, but if you can tackle the hard stuff first, you will be in a better position to finish the project. And, if it turns out that the hard stuff can't be solved, you call it quits and you have lost less time.

Endurance isn't everything. Sometimes you need to know when to take a break. I will very often figure out a nasty problem on the drive home from work. The simple act of taking my mind off the problem or being distracted by other things seems to help my mind figure out problems. If you find yourself struggling with a problem well after everyone else has gone home, go home. You are not doing anyone any favors by continuing to beat your head against a problem when you are tired.

Just as 30 minute break to eat and drink and generally relax in the middle of a bike ride can make the rest of the ride go a lot easier, the same is true for your brain. It works better when it is rested.

Another way to make things easier to deal with is to break things into chunks that you can deal with. When I'm riding, I will set my sights on the next easily achievable goal. It might be the top of the next hill, the next mile, the halfway mark or so on. When you are working on a project you should keep the larger picture of where you are at in mind, but focus on the next thing. It may seem that months or years of time devoted to a project is insurmountable, but if you take it one easy step at a time you will soon start to see the results.

Sometimes I see engineers that are more like sprinters. These are the guys that are working really long hours in the last week or so of a project to get it done. My question is where were they in the first few weeks? You obviously don't want to get burned out early so you have to pace yourself, but there is no reason to work excessivly hard at the end of a project, unless you didn't plan well. I never liked cramming for tests either. I figured if I didn't know it by the time I took the test then I didn't know it and what's the point of taking the class in the first place.

So the next time you feel like the project you are working on is never going to get done. Take a step back examine the long term goals, look at where you have been and then refocus on the next step.