Work smarter not harder
Original source: Work smarter, not harder
There is a quote from abraham lincoln saying that:
Give me 6 hours to chop down a tree and I'll spend the first 4 sharpening the axe
Solve a task
Before sovling any task, ask yourself these 5 questions:
- Do you have all the information for the task. If not, ask someone, go search on google.
- What is the scope of the task. Don't do thing that is outside of the scope.
- Is it a repeatable task. Can I automate it?
- What's all the possible solutions to achieve the task.
- What's is the best solution for the given context.
Other tips
- Minimize dependencies, accept them only when there are really no other options
- Read the manual first, even if it is boring
- Research before you write code, avoid failing at a problem, seek expertise
- choose to refactor first, before coding
- apply abstraction and generalization to further reduce the work
- think very hard about the consequences before diving in