How often do you worry you're behind?
 

After spending the last couple hours browsing the CD forums, I am petrified about the progress my team is making so far. How often, if ever, do you feel the same as I?

There was supposed to be a poll, but for some reason, it didn't show and I'm too lazy to make another thread.

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

I feel like my team is behind right now because we have to meet off site for the first week or two weeks of build season because of our schools exams :/ this happened to us last year too...

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

We build 2 days after school 4-7 and Satruday 9-3. I usually feel like we are behind and this year we have missed several meetings due to snow. We do require students to focus, use time wisely and work hard. We do not allow adults to do the work or designing. Team 1098 is student designed, student built. No professional work at all. They always manage to get it all done and last year 2nd in St Louis.

So Yes you are not the only one feeling the pressure.

Oh I just found out that tomorrows meeting is canceled, SNOW...OH NO!!!!!

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

Well, during the first week of build season we lost 2 days to snow. Saturday, we only had 2 students and 2 adults. Then we lost Monday due to the holiday. Nothing happened on Tuesday for some reason(s) {exams being one of them} and then today only 2 people were able to work (only one student, me) again due to exams. Are we behind? In my opinion, no, but we will be at this pace. We have a good minibot prototype and a frame with wheels (but no chains, sprockets, or motors). It seems like nobody plans on going to any meetings this week, of the three years I have been on the team this is the most I've seen exams affect attendance. I really hope the reason is truly because of exams and not the 90 minute gap between exams and the meeting or "because nobody else will be there" because 1) I don't like being called nobody, and 2) because that shows a serious lack of motivation and interest.

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

Pretty much every minute of everyday, every season.

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

was gona say this word for word

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

I suppose it's a bit frustrated because I see teams that are already preparing final products and practicing, but I don't think that complaining about progress in week 2 is fair.

Talk to me, or someone else on the team, in week 4.

- Sunny

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

Our team kept a 1-2 meeting per week schedule through the main part of our FTC build and attendance to any extra meetings was less than desirable (apparently some people don't check email hourly, daily, or even monthly in some cases??!??!!).
Using that as an indicator for FRC, I was really concerned, but the team has done a great job this past week with our Monday-Thursday (6-9) and Saturday(8-12) schedule. We've had an outstanding turnout of mentors and team members alike especially considering the size of our team.

Does that mean I feel like we're not behind?
Of course not.

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

So long as you have a plan to finish a bot and you are meeting your schedule everyday you know you are going to be fine. Its tough seeing all these teams that already have so much done but every team moves at its own pace. We don't build a single part of our bot until the start of week 3 and we've finished as early as week 4. It's all about having a plan and going at your own pace and dealing with the eventual chaos that is build season.

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

I am pretty relaxed as usual. I got nothing done on Saturday through Tuesday. But I still am not worried. I got all the logistics done so I can just wait for the other programmers to do their part.

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

Last year I worried a lot about whether we were going finish all the things we wanted to. I think one of the biggest things FIRST has given me is how to handle the stress of a deadline. (Not that I couldn't still use a lot of improvement :o ) Last year we lost 11 days from the snow storm and we aren't allowed to meet on the days before midterms. But it all worked out in the end. We didn't end up with all the features we would have liked but what team did?

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

We don't really catch up until sometime in May, in a bad year it is June or July.

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

I always feel that we are behind, especially this year with lots of things to complete. Last year we finished the day before ship date and everything worked out. I think it is human nature to worry about being behind.

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

Week 1 thru 5 ::safety::
Week 6 :ahh:

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

I always worry about being behind. Then everything magically works out every year.

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

Honestly, I always wish we made more progress than we do.

Reality is, NEVER compare your progress with other teams. It will only stress you out and slow you down.

All teams work at different paces and it changes from year to year.

If you have a schedule, stick to it as best you can.

From my experience, most teams rally in the eleventh hour and get it done, almost.

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

My old mentor Bill Beatty used to let us in on some secrets every once and awhile.

Rule #1: Fall behind early

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

Some member of our team are really worried this year, because we are really pushing ourselves this year to build a robot that can take us to St. Louis.

(And no, it's not because we think we HAVE to, or anyone's forcing us. We just think we owe it to ourselves to keep building on the successes we have had, and the next step is winning a regional.)

In all of this fear and sorts, we are miles ahead of the last two years. We usually start build in the heat of exam week, but we started preliminary build last Saturday (we built the C-Base bot and have been calibrating the sensors and testing equipment), and an FTC team is coming in to help us next week with our minibot. Our prototypes have looked great as well.

I think design finalization is tomorrow!

As our build leader said, "No one can understand my happiness."

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

What do you mean behind?

You mean there is a deadline????

I better read the rules...










just kidding...
We are always behind....but in a good way

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

Serious answer:

I generally start feeling that we're behind somewhere in early May. This feeling intensifies around January, and then lets up in mid-late April.

More serious answer:

The interesting thing about Logomotion is that it isn't hard to build a robot to do everything required of it this year. The hard part is building a robot that can do all those things better than everyone else's robot...

Which means that all of us are behind, no matter where we're at! :eek:

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

Being behind lets you see what other teams have already built, and build something to beat it. being behind gives you a better idea of your situation and gives you hindsight of things that haven't even happened yet.

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

The scariest part has to be around this time. All teams have different design processes, and when your's means parts haven't been being assembled while you watch other teams posting online about their robot, it's easy to get scared. Just have to remember to stick to the plan, and it's easy to settle in around the halfway point.

Then you are allowed to freak out on the last weekend trying to finish.

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

I've had a small gut feeling we were behind over the past week and a half but so much has progressed that I don't know where we are at the moment. I know for a fact we are doing much better than last year and that is because of everyone's dedication. Stay dedicated and you will end up where you want to be.

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

Last year we spent more time on design than we ever had before, to the point that by the end of week two I was in a near panic...

...and we were FLR champions, with everything (except that dastardly camera) working exactly as we wanted it to...

So I am learning new ways to be behind, and learning that some of them are good, because being 'ahead' isn't always being ahead...

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

I've been worrying about our team falling behind for the last day. Its looking like we're going to have our 2nd snow day this week, which is too bad because we were going to start 3.5 hours early tomorrow.

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

Daily. Then I remember where we were last year, and I'm at ease for a while.

Then I remember we can fall behind any second. This vicious cycle repeats.

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

we're not behind...more like we are waiting to see how things play out for other teams first...rookie pass lol

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

I am kind of constantly scared that I will not be able to make a good program that tops as one of the best for my team's robot.

We know how to use the new light sensors but now I have to think about how to create the most efficient system to do it in autonomous and potentially teleop.

I feel ambitious in attempting to use the gyro that came in the 2010/2011 KoP with the encoders to assist drivers.

Then there is coming up with effective programming for letting the robot automatically move the arm into the proper height to score.

On all my projects I always feel like there is more to be accomplished. I know that at one point a project must stop and you should be satisfied with what you got.

Kind of put an ease on my mind knowing we did not have to cancel any meetings though I have to feel bad knowing of other teams losing work days.

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

I made a deal with God: No snow days on Mondays or Thursdays during the build season, and I won't ignore my wife for seven weeks straight...

...neither one of us quite keeps our end of the bargain, though...

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

see if you can make it in to robotics on a snow day, my team had 3 snow days last season, and we simply carpooled with people with large vehicles, not everyone could make it but we made a lot of progress with a full day unencumbered by school.

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

I don't know about where you are from, but in New York State that would be illegal.

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

I wish we could do that. I forget the specific reason why we cant go in on snow days. I asked last year but do not remember the response. I think we still went on snow days when we built our robots at our local BAE.

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

It's quite inconvenient, really.

Luckily Shaker only had a two hour delay today...

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

My team has less one week to the build season because the most of our members are from the 11th grade and we are on a trip that called "Israeli Trip" which is the "trip" of the high school so we can't miss it, but I think we always behind because we finished the design not completly (the general design we finished) but we are starting building it. We started to build our drivetrain but it takes too much time because every meeting we finding out other thing we need to buy but we can buy just the next day because the meeting is in the little hours of night and some times it take a week to buy it because orders like from andymark need shipping and we are in Israel.
Last year was our rookie year we succeed well but most of our progress was in the last week that we don't have....

I think we are behind but if we finishing the drivetrain next week we will have a huge progress.....

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

I feel like we're increadably behind, it's almost week three, and we haven't started the drivetrain...:eek:

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

Snow days for us, are all day robot building sessions. If there is a snow day, we tell the kids that if they can make it to the school safely, and it is ok with there parents, that we will have a meeting. I think we actually have better attendance on snow days than during normal meetings sense all other events are cancelled. We also have more time and get more done on snow days. Two seasons ago, our school was canceled for about a week because it was too cold out for the buses to run. We built almost our entire robot that week. As for it being illegal in New York, that would really stink. Our school, I think, can and has had sports practices and everything on snow days.

As for the topic of the thread, I think there will always be a team that is done with their robot before you and after you. Basically you need to just figure out your teams strategy for building your robot and stick to it. Every team is slightly different. Don't worry about how other teams are doing, just stick to your pace. It is like running a race, if you determine what pace you want to run based on the other runners, you can not possibly run your best race. You must determine what is the best pace for you to do your best.

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

Our school cancels ALL after school activities and clubs if their is a snow day, which is bad especially because today our lead mentor was getting there 3 1/2 hours early to meet with an 80/20 representative so we would have been able to start early.

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

I feel perpetually behind til the project is done and submitted.

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

I don't "worry" we're behind. I KNOW it, and move on.

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

This is my first year and I am in my animation sub team and I feel that we have done nothing. Ok we have a story line but that is it. Because we are in Australia we are on holiday :D so the other sub teams in our team have had time to do lots of work. But for animation two people dropped :ahh: out to join Mech and I have not been going for a few days so there has been two people doing all the animation.

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

We dont actually feel THAT behind this year, although that feeling is always present in some form. Feeling behind can also be used as a motivator to keep pushing through. The trick is to set plans and deadlines and work to make those. Setting smaller deadlines breaks down tasks into manageable pieces rather than one big deadline: ship date.
And theres always the saying:
Early= on time
on time= late
late= really late

Re: How often do you worry you're behind?
 

I would feel less behind if my Andymark and Banebots orders would actually arrive...