I remember there was a time that I kept repeating the same mistakes, especially when it came to coding. It was like I was stuck in a loop, doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results. I would write code, run it, and it would fail. Then I would tweak it a bit, run it again, and it would still fail. I felt like a hamster on a wheel, going nowhere fast.
I decided to figure out why this was happening. First, I started keeping track of what I did. I made it a point to write down everything, when the problems happened, what I was doing at the time, and what I thought was causing the problem. I used a simple notebook and wrote down every time I got stuck on the same kind of bug or error. It sounds simple, but it made a big difference.
Then I started looking for something to replace my bad habits. It was tough to admit that I had some habits that weren’t helpful. For example, I noticed that I often skipped reading error messages properly. Instead of jumping straight to fixing the code, I made myself stop and read the errors carefully. This helped me understand what was really going wrong. Also, when I got stuck, I started taking short breaks instead of just pushing through. This gave my brain a chance to reset and I often came back with a fresh perspective.
Here are the main things I did to break out of my bad cycles:
- Wrote everything down: I wrote down every instance where I got stuck on a similar issue. This helped me see the patterns in my mistakes.
- Swapped bad habits for good ones: I consciously replaced bad habits, like ignoring error messages or powering through frustration, with better ones, like careful reading and taking breaks.
- Broke it down: Instead of trying to fix everything at once, I broke down the problems into smaller, manageable parts. This made it easier to identify and fix the root causes.
It wasn’t easy, and it didn’t happen overnight. But slowly, I started seeing changes. I was making fewer of the same mistakes, and I felt more in control of my work. It was like I finally got off the hamster wheel and started moving forward. I still make mistakes, of course, but now I know how to learn from them and get better. It was all about changing the way I approached my problems and building a better system for myself.
