99% of the time I’m very happy with my choice to leave the windows world behind me.
Sometimes I feel even adventures and confident enough to lock in and try to contribute to a FOSS project myself. Then I hit an awfully outdated wiki with very vague content/version numbers in the dependencies or the tooling and feel the mental truck hit my brain.
Nothing in the past 20 years that I own my personal computer, has prepared me to combat never ending lists of dependencies and isolation software (vms, podman, you name it). Every project has it’s own favorites and getting it all on one device without reverse-implementing a new/next layer of abstraction or isolation that does not interfere with the rest of my system or other projects using the same tooling, is still a nerve wrecking odyssey.
Now as adults we know, we can just stand up form our desks and move outside to touch some grass or drink a nice coffee to calm our nerves but on that challenge is not going to get easier once we sit down again. At least not for me.
My question to you folks.:
How do you combat that feeling? What is your way to get through it, when “walking away” is not an option?
I think the biggest challenge is just realising the break from it is needed. Frequently I find myself spiralling into a fatigued overly focused state, trying to fix a thing. Eventually I might park it and go to bed, or take a break.
Then, with that mental space, so often I get the “AHA!”, and the solution is really really obvious.
Getting that mental space isn’t hard, I just need to remember to allow it. It’s as simple as taking a shower, or going for a walk. Touching grass as you say.
Pretty close to what I was going to say, sometimes a short walk or doing some other task can give your mind the rest it needs and I often find while I’m doing something else the solution will pop into my mind, I think I sort of get tunnel vision when I focus too hard on something and that short break helps me see outside of that tunnel.
30+ years of Unix+Linux, and all I can say is, accept things will never be perfect, and don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. Get your apps, services, toolsets, to be good. Find tools that are good enough to use, good enough to iterate on, good enough to stick with. If I’m stuck with an issue, I’ll try and replicate it on a separate device. If I’m stuck with it, it’s worth questioning just how much energy you want to put to it before choosing something else. Don’t let your regret be a permanent state of mind.