Most of us have been there, some projects just aren't fixed. Everyone puts a build on the shelves from time to time, and some hackers start almost any project to complete it. Why does this happen? What can we do about it? Or does it matter? Most memorable is the wine glass I made for my sister's birthday, which is still half-finished 11 years later.
The answer is what you can consider a "finished" project. Is it a full build with all possible features implemented and improved? With this column, you can count all your completed projects on one hand. What can you really get out of your personal project? This is an interesting point to think about because changing the way you think can improve your productivity. Then let's dig in.
Candy Shop Kid Syndrome
I have a friend who is very hardworking and can take on any challenge that comes his way. After a while a pattern fell into place. Start one project, then another, and another. Everything was fair game. But nothing was done during the limited hours of the day. Instead, shorter and shorter time frames were available for each project. To get another, he must first leave one.
One day when I told him about it, I realized that he looked like a kid in a sweet shop. A child sees a tempting dot and grabs it, then another. Soon his hands were full, and picking up another, he dropped the other.
It doesn't help that the flavor options are endless. The boy will not leave the shop until his problem is solved. It would keep my friends walking away from other picky projects, never ending.
Just not the interesting partOur eyes are naturally drawn to a project that has something interesting in it. BB-8 droid, the adorable ball-shaped robot from Star Wars, is a perfect example of this. His body is basically a flat rolling ball, but no matter which way he rolls, his head stays upright. As soon as I saw BB-8 spinning at breakneck speed, Star Wars. At the first trailer for The Force Awakens, I was blown away.
But to make a long story short, I have yet to see a Star Wars droid. I came across a very interesting engineering problem. How to wrap it? How to keep your head? The answers were simple, but they didn't work. It was a very tasty meal.
My BB-8 droid is now doing well and has delighted many young and old at various events. But it remains unfinished. I didn't add any sound effects or make it move faster, which is a tedious energy problem that can easily be solved with money. The interesting part is over and I move on. Maybe I'll go back to this endless candy store when it opens.
In fact, I learned many engineering concepts and succeeded in the process. My personal development is happening even though there is no real project.
Those who run away in fearSometimes (and hopefully rarely) a project just doesn't work out. It seemed like a good idea, but at times it was difficult or impossible.
One of my crazy ideas is to do something like a multi-legged robot that projects holograms in scenes from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. The robot will have a projector that will display on a long and slightly curved transparent screen. The viewer will see everything behind the image appear in front of them like a pyramid hologram, which is basically Pepper's phantom effect.
However, in order to display the image on a large screen in general, the image received by the projector must be distorted, it must be an anamorphic projection. After a few tries, I found that the bottom part of the image would have a decent resolution, but the pixels at the top were too big and dirty, making the image unintelligible. So I rejected the project. Realizing there is a rare technical hurdle before passing a project tip is a lesson everyone learns the hard way, so keep that in mind in your work.
As for my sister's unfinished wine rack, I stopped working on it when I realized my woodworking skills couldn't produce something beautiful enough to display in her elegantly decorated dining room.
In both of these examples, making a calculated decision to minimize losses is the key to productivity in other jobs. Spending a lot of time learning how to make BB-8s was a wise investment as I developed my skills. The learning curve with fine woodworking was very shallow; It will take me forever to become a master carpenter. If I need to do some woodworking in the future, I know I'll have to call a handyman to do the job.
Lose by bribery
Are you sidetracked from starting projects to support other programs? A good example of this is building your own CNC machine, laser cutter, or 3D printer before using it to create a "real" project.
To make matters worse, you can start small and then go big. And, of course, you realize that it can be improved. A CNC machine's x and y axes may be smoother, a laser cutter's laser may need to be more powerful, requiring a different support mechanism, or you may find a way around. Strengthen the structure of 3D printers. There are always other improvements we can make.
The "real" project is delayed because the tool development effort consumes all available time and resources. But who are we kidding? Often the tool was what we wanted to do first. There's nothing wrong with starting a new build, as long as you step back and decide if the project fits your goals, time, and resources. Should you jump into a tool making project like woodworking, or should you use some crafting and get back to the project you really want to focus on?
How to prepare for project implementationFor many projects, I'll just say, "I'm not doing a good job." These are places where I demonstrate an idea or learn a skill, a subtle look that fits on a store shelf, it doesn't matter. But sometimes a project really needs to reach a predetermined stage of completion. Here are some tips to make sure you get there.
Do the less interesting and easier tasks first. For my BB-8 droid, this basically meant installing LEDs and painting the bowl and head. After finishing this aesthetic task, which is not very interesting to me, I will move on to more interesting engineering problems. After solving the problems, the droid is complete. But I didn't do it in that order and BB-8 was just drawn. Instead, the following strategy made it possible.
Contact someone or post it or display it somewhere. My BB-8 is painted because I'm committed to displaying it at the Maker Faire booth. Making that commitment with someone else helps you get through it.
Leave the project on the desktop. The saying "out of sight out of mind" is true. If you need something done, give him most of your workspace and he'll chase you to get it done.
Use smart strategies to overcome weaknesses. If the project is hindered by something difficult, there are several techniques to help you find a solution:
After all, if a project is only important to you, it's okay to drop it whenever you want. If you place high expectations on yourself to complete each project, it can chain you down and even prevent you from completing it. Don't fall into this trap.
There are good reasons to pursue unfinished projects.
What are the reasons for not completing your plans? What is your strategy for achieving this? Let us know in the comments below.
Post Scriptum:As for comments, Hackaday's comment thread often leads to new articles. (Thanks) This article was inspired by a thread started by [Doug Lepard] about a pilot project done by [James Bruton] while waiting for parts under this article. [Doug]'s thread came up when he said that the design between them was sometimes flawed. Obviously, we can all relate in some way. When I read that thread, I added the article idea to my to-do list. Consider this article a finished project.
