Comment by Ben Gubler on "What was the hardest lesson you learned as a developer?"

CommentWhat was the hardest lesson you learned as a developer?

Ben Gubler

"Wisdom begins in wonder" --Socrates

Apr 12, 2018

I can't do everything.

I often start on one project, then quickly get sucked into another project because I've gotten bored of the first or want to learn something new. As a result, I have like 40 unfinished projects lying around in Github repos or folders on my computer.

I should clarify: I haven't learned this lesson yet, but I'm trying to. I'm trying to be a finisher of projects and not just a starter, so I can actually be a productive human being!

Wilferd Peterson calls successful people those with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground. I've got my head in the cloud... now I'm trying to reach my feet to the ground.

Arsh Multani

Software engineer & Founder @ SynSwift

Apr 13, 2018

Your situation is same as mine... :P ... seriously need to focus just on one project then on another else they are never going to reach their end.

Think of it, not as a waste of time, but a 'sketch'. As an illustrator, I've started many pieces of art, eventually putting them aside or throwing them away.

This process is ignored in development, but is equally important because - something is "just not right".

When we work on projects, it requires motivation to see them to the end, and de-motivation is caused by, most often, realizing that - no matter how much work is put into it at this point, it won't be as good as it could be.

So, we 'clean slate' something else that could fill that need instead of refactoring what we already have.

Much like tearing a incomplete drawing from your sketchbook, crumbling it up, and throwing it away.

The process is to start over and make sure that personal skill-related improvements are achieved.

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