Programming · by Cian Kelly · 2026-10-08

A surprisingly useful lesson from a neighborhood park after 17 tries

This is probably obvious to veterans here, but it clicked for me only recently. tools got easier when I stopped treating every attempt like a final exam.

A few notes from my attempt:
- keep the first step visible
- remove one annoying decision
- celebrate the boring repeat

I started this because my winter felt a little stuck, and architecture seemed like a manageable place to experiment. The funny part is that the smallest change was the one I kept.

Part of me wanted the fancy version with all the tools. The better version was boring: one notebook, one reminder, and a willingness to be clumsy with the route for a while.

37 sparks · 13 comments

Comments

Maja Wiśniewska · 12 likes

There is probably a middle ground here. I would love to see a follow-up after 10 weeks.

Elif Yılmaz · 3 likes

Fair point, but I had the opposite experience. I noticed the same thing in Kuala Lumpur.

Kabir Khan · 2 likes

This reminds me of something a friend in Berlin mentioned. It sounds small, but the practice run matters.

Rafael Almeida · 2 likes

You just saved me a bad purchase.

Kabir Khan · 1 likes

Helpful correction.

Emma Tremblay · 2 likes

Totally agree, especially for beginners.

Kabir Khan · 0 likes

Helpful correction.

Kabir Khan · 1 likes

Appreciate the nuance.

Miguel Santos · 1 likes

Agree completely. The simple version is underrated. That is where the boring checklist helps.

Maksym Bondar · 1 likes

Really good advice, and it feels doable. The Berlin example makes it feel concrete.

Emma Tremblay · 2 likes

Totally agree, especially for beginners.

Anna Gruber · 1 likes

This is genuinely helpful, thanks for writing it out. The surprising part is easy to underestimate.

Omar Hassan · 0 likes

I wonder how much of this depends on timing. I keep a note about tools for exactly this reason.