Thinking too much!!

Posted on Jan 9th 2010 | 3comments

I would like to touch upon a few things before I get into this article. First of all, I would like to answer a question which has been asked to me - “Why don’t you have a design blog if you’re a web designer and developer?”

Here’s my answer- According to me, there are two conditions which should be fulfilled before you set up a design blog

1. A good amount of experience in designing and development.

2. The ability to come up with something new every now and then so that you don’t bore people with the usual list posts.

As far as the first requirement is concerned, I don’t think I have that much experience as compared to some other great designers in the community. I will not comment about the second requirement because this can be best judged by the community rather by the designer himself.

The second point is regarding redesign of this blog. I came up with this blog to share my passions which range from desgining, programming, math to astrophysics, science fictions, art and music. The redesigned blog would be a dynamic one which would change according to the content- No, I am not trying to copy Jason Santa Maria. It would be nothing like that. Rather, it would be roughly based on warping of time-space according to Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity. (Haha, that sounds weird, but believe me that’s what it’s going to be!! :D)

Ok, back to the article. The last line of the above paragraph might have given you the idea of what I am going to talk about- Thinking too much!!.My friends often say that I think too much. But, the question is- “How much is too much?”

The Brighter side of the argument

This can be answered in a single line- If the time lag in making a decision is exponentially more as compared to others, then you’re thinking too much. This is a very raw answer because the time lag usually depends upon the circumstances in which an individual is making a decision, and these circumstances vary for every individual. The second thing is that making a decision (or providing a solution for a problem) also depends upon a person’s intelligence and vision. Some bright individuals have the talent of realizing the depth of a problem and hence they take a little more time in providing the right solution rather than an incomplete solution. For example, Einstein took nearly a decade to come up with General Relativity after his first paper on Special Relativity got published. Some of his friends might have said- “Hey Einstein! You’re thinking too much! Newton told us all about gravity. No need to dwell further.” However, Einstein had realized that Newton had given an incomplete solution by not providing an answer on how exactly gravity works. And then Einstein came up with General Theory of Relativity. Now, this was the brighter part of the discussion wherein I somehow tried to justify that thinking too much might actually be beneficial.

The real deal

Today’s world is all about making quick decisions. You think too much and you lose the chance. Decision making essentially depends upon an individual’s thought process. And it is this thought process which can make all the difference. Let me elaborate on this point with a personal example. I have a certain thought process when it comes to software or web app development. I begin with the whiteboard writing down points like why the app is needed, who are our target users and what all the app will do? This is followed by various diagrams like use case, class, etc. I also think whether the application would fall under my existing coding skills or will it requires something special. This is where I think too much. It’s like a complete analysis of your coding skills –Have I done this before? If not, what is the degree of complexity? How much time can I devote in learning a new technique? Blah, Blah….

On the other hand, my friend has a completely different process. He attacks the idea, fires up the diagrams and starts coding. Boom! Sometimes I feel that he is playing a FPS like Left 4 Dead, shooting all those who come in between!! There have been numerous occasions where I have pointed that you might get stuck there. He has a constant reply for this- “We’ll see and then we have stack overflow”(Oh yea! Stack overflow! Easy life !!) It’s not that he has come out successful every time. There have been occasions where he realized that he missed adding some crucial functionality to the app. But lately, I’ve realized that I am really thinking too much. It’s good to analyze things, but over analysis to that point that you abandon your idea before even beginning it is what I now call as douchebag thinking.

I have three big projects coming this year. I still begin with the whiteboard. (Sorry, I can’t abandon it. I love whiteboards!). However, now I don’t over analyze things.

What is your thought process when it comes to development? What’s your take on thinking too much?

(BTW, I wasn't thinking too much while I was writing this post. Just blogged it! :D )

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