How do you get things done when working on something unfamiliar?

[rcd2]

Hi! Very often I seem to struggle to get anything done when I’m working on an unfamiliar subject, specially when I struggle with the documentation. This is not a rant about bad documentation, but an attempt to learn about some stories and strategies from people that can always seem to get things done even in a situation where the documentation isn’t for total beginners and they don’t also have the correct background.

A good example is Prometheus. I struggle with their documentation, but I feel I’m missing some background knowledge as well, but I don’t even know where to get it.

Another one is AWS. I’ve tried to use AWS ECS with an EC2 launcher but I failed to do it by myself. I later found a GitHub example, but I really don’t know what I’m doing.

How do you get your work done in these situations (let’s assume the final answer is not just a couple of Google searches away)? Do you just go down the rabbit whole of whatever seems to be the required background knowledge? Is it trial-an-error? If so, how do you it’s done right and you’re not overlooking anything major when you don’t understand all the variables involved in the problem?

I hope this question isn’t too vague and you’re able to understand the kind of advice I’m chasing.

[afarrell]

First, get yourself set up with sources of feedback that can let you play around with things safely and get rapid feedback. This could mean setting up a sandbox environment. This could mean finding someone more experienced and asking, “Hey towards the end of the week can I walk you through what I’m building and you let me know about the implications of things?”

[mejutoco]

I would recommend to take a log of what you are learning/debugging using Obsidian or any other system. What tasks do you need to go through; what do you know? what are you trying to prove/find out next?

With time you will be able to use your log to search for context. In case of interruptions/distractions it is invaluable to immediately see where you were in the problem.

[rcd2]

This is very interesting advice. Sometimes just the writing things down helps us clarify my thoughts (like before we post a question here or on SO).

[yuppie_scum]

Could be that you are a visual leaner more than a reading learner. YouTube has a lot of good tutorials and info. And Udemy courses are often cheap - you could buy an AWS course and skip to the ECS section for example.

I will also echo the poster who mentions sandbox environments. Myself I am more of a hands on learner.

We all start somewhere, despite what management and other stakeholders sometimes think, nobody is born knowing all this stuff. Hang in there.

[rcd2]

Thanks, that makes sense. However, sometimes it looks like some of the best engineer's I've worked with can get work done even before technology gets popular enough to have courses :)

Also, it can sometimes be hard to create sandboxes. It's easy for Prometheus, but maybe a bit harder to AWS (I tried LocalStack before).

Nevertheless it's all good advice, thanks!