For Mentors Only: Inspiring Youth

[petek]

I have a pet motto I keep trying to remind myself which I think is relevant:

Better is the enemy of good enough.

I bet a lot of us (mentors and students) got into this line of work first because we wondered how things work, and stayed in it because we thought "I can make that work better". Thus starts a life-long battle between perfection and time. So far, time is ahead.

[BandChick]

The one thing we've been focused on is prioritizing and time management. It's worked for the most part, but there are always kinks that need to be worked out. Speaking of, 1089 found and developed a great project management script for our team. It's called Dot Project, and it allows you to set up projects with timelined deadlines, assign individuals to a project, track the progress of the project etc.

You can find the software here: http://www.dotproject.net/demo/
Here's the tutorial on how to use it, as well: http://psdam.mit.edu/rise/tutorials/...anagement.html

I sympathize with your post, Rick, I'm sure most mentors do. Just remember, even if they do it the long way, at least they're learning!

[John Neun]

Originally Posted by petek

I have a pet motto I keep trying to remind myself which I think is relevant:

Better is the enemy of good enough.

I bet a lot of us (mentors and students) got into this line of work first because we wondered how things work, and stayed in it because we thought "I can make that work better". Thus starts a life-long battle between perfection and time. So far, time is ahead.

"Better is the enemy of Good Enough." I must confess, I have never heard that before, but it is something we should have posted where all can see it. Good one!

Sometimes even the most capable students can't live up to their own estimations of their capabilities. I am of course guilty of this, too, but as we get older and experience more failures, our assessment of our own skills becomes more realistic, or at least more humble. I wish I had the blissful self-confidence of some of our students, even if it is a little delusional. It's all part of the process.

[Peter Matteson]

Originally Posted by petek

I have a pet motto I keep trying to remind myself which I think is relevant:

Better is the enemy of good enough.

I bet a lot of us (mentors and students) got into this line of work first because we wondered how things work, and stayed in it because we thought "I can make that work better". Thus starts a life-long battle between perfection and time. So far, time is ahead.

In my office we call that "analysis paralysis". In addition to using the quote above. Sometimes you can get so focused opn a problem you can't see it clearly anymore. At that point a good engineer will ask for assistance from someone whom is outside the situation and can look at it more objectively.

Sometimes our paradigms blind us from seeing the alternate solution because it is outside our understanding. That is why we never saw the solution that now seems so obviously simple.