Are you the type to plan everything out, or do you just wing it?

[Alan]

You’ve got a bright idea, a bit of excitement, and perhaps a steaming cup of coffee. Do you lay out a detailed plan like a mastermind, or do you leap into action and adjust as the chaos unfolds? I’d love to know how you usually start your projects and how that’s been working for you recently.

 

[Circuitsmith]

I like a basic outline and lots of coffee. I think being flexible is way better than trying to be perfect, since every project changes as soon as you start working on it.

 

[cap&resistor]

I usually just scribble a quick plan on some paper and then just go for it. If I plan too much, I lose steam, but if I don't plan at all, I just end up fixing a bunch of mistakes later on.

 

[barfle]

Another joke I tell is that the only thing I ever designed and built that worked right the first time I tried it was an extension cord. With the little clippy ends.

That’s an exaggeration, of course, but even with 40 years of experience as an EE, I find that I forget something that mother nature doesn’t let me get away with.

I generally mull over a new idea for quite a while before I turn it into a real project. Then I draw it out on paper, see if I can find mistakes, build it and run the smoke test.

 

[Alan]

I like a basic outline and lots of coffee. I think being flexible is way better than trying to be perfect, since every project changes as soon as you start working on it.

Absolutely. Flexibility always trumps perfection. With a good cup of coffee and a solid outline, the chaos becomes so much easier to handle.

Another joke I tell is that the only thing I ever designed and built that worked right the first time I tried it was an extension cord. With the little clippy ends.

That’s an exaggeration, of course, but even with 40 years of experience as an EE, I find that I forget something that mother nature doesn’t let me get away with.

I generally mull over a new idea for quite a while before I turn it into a real project. Then I draw it out on paper, see if I can find mistakes, build it and run the smoke test.

Sometimes, even with plenty of experience, you still have to go through that initial 'smoke test.' On the bright side your extension cord proved that some things can work perfectly right out of the gate