Prasanna

When you get stuck in work

I believe many times people ask these questions themselves

What to do when I don't know how to do it?
Who will help me?...., etc

Remember I am talking about technical problems.

1. The first thing one should do is Google search to find the solution. (Yes, there won't be accurate solutions, but for every problem you face, the likelihood of you getting a solution or a tip which will take you in the right direction to solve the problem is nearly 100%).

2. For specific problems, it's better to visit appropriate forums straightaway (for example in case of java related issues visit http://forum.java.sun.com/index.jspa and search there, so that all the responses will be java specific).

Repeat steps 1 and 2 till you get the solution (Don't try on your own at the first place, you will be wasting time when there is a solution available for your problem already).

In a highly unlikely scenario where you don't make any progress from steps 1 and 2, go through the related documentation, if you are still stuck, finally ask help from experts.

The reason why you should not approach others at the first place is when you do that you will become dependent on others at the first place, which inculcates a bad practice in you, also if one can find solutions by his/her own effort, it will last in memory forever and will induce the habit of problem solving in you. Now I realize why experts always advice others to solve problems by themselves. At the best case, if you don't depend on anyone, then you are an expert!

I apply the above steps for any of my technical issues, but the bad habit it creates is a total dependency on search and user forums, occasionally if I don't have connectivity to net, it's a pain to sort out things.

Posted at 02:10AM May 06, 2007 by prasanna in Personal  |  Comments[5]