Over the years, I’ve witnessed countless failed projects (many of them my own) resulting from poor self-management. Here is how I recommend one approach hardware projects with the correct mentality.
1. Don’t be Optimistic
“I wonder if that would be an issue… eh, it’ll probably be fine.”
“That could potentially fail, but it probably won’t.”
No, It will never be “fine”. If a thought like that ever passes through your mind you need to STOP RIGHT THERE and correct whatever critical mistake you’re making. No joke. That is a GUARANTEED mistake.
You need to consider every possible way in which your design or solution could be flawed, and then realize that those “potential” failure modes are real. Then, do something about them.
2. Don’t Avoid Unfamiliar Subjects
“This is too hard, I’m not going to understand it. Let’s skip this part.”
“I don’t have time to learn that.”
“I don’t have time to consider that method.”
Avoidance is an easy trap to fall into because it makes your job simpler and easier. The truth is that you absolutely need to perform your research carefully and deliberately.
Solving an engineering problem requires you to learn everything you can about the subject and the underlying system. Take notes if you have to. Ask people questions. At the very least, you need to know what you don’t know.
By the way, I’ve found that while most subjects are far more complex than they first appear, they’re also much quicker to learn than one might expect. What really holds people back from learning new subjects is not difficulty or time, but fear and sloth.
3. Don’t Get Tunnel Vision
“No, I’m sure I can make this work. I can’t consider other options at this point.”
Too many times have I found myself attempting to fix a complicated issue by simply repeatedly tuning parameters. This is tunnel vision. The human brain will do pretty much anything to avoid problem solving and creative thinking. It’s scary.
Don’t get fixated on just one idea. Remember that there are other options, other paths to success. In fact, there is almost always a better way to do something.
4. Be Wary of Productive Procrastination
“I need to perfect this before I can move on to the next stage of the project.”
Oftentimes when we become intimidated by one aspect of a project, we instead focus on perfecting some other facet of it involving a subject that we’re more comfortable with. This, of course, is just a waste of time.
Perfectionism isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but there is always a time limit for completing a project and you need to budget your time appropriately. Productive procrastination is similar to avoidance (#2), but it goes a step further into self-delusion. It’s an insidious, subconscious form of procrastination, one that allows us to avoid a task while still feeling smart and productive. Don’t fall for this trap.
Last edited 2025-11-15.