There was this reported bug in the software on which I had to investigate and provide an estimate for a fix. After some cursory checks, I thought that the required fix was isolated and rather simple to handle. In the end I gave an estimate of 2 hours for a fix and left it up to the client to decide whether they wanted it fixed. Late in the day they gave me a tentative green light, so I got right down to it.
Well, the simple task that I was expected started to drag on. I spent a good hour just trying to figure out a different issue that was blocking me from making progress on the main issue. Two hours came and went and I still wasn’t finished. Sure, my original idea was implemented, but as I continued to probe things it became apparent that the issue was a little bit more entangled with other parts than expected. When I had put in my eight hours, I actually decided to stick around to continue chasing down the issue.
I was getting frustrated at the fact that things weren’t fully solved. For a while I was determined to get things done. Two hours after quitting time, I thought I had a solution, but I came short. By that time, all of my colleagues were long gone. I felt like I had danced around the issue, dotting the code landscape with snippets intended to fix things without really addressing the problem. Seeing as how it was already mid-evening, I decided to just call it a night and head home.
So, I guess I’m wondering why I put myself through that? While he was still in office, one of my colleagues told me that he had never seen me this excited about code in ages. Well, yes, I was sort of excited, though not in the elated sense. I mean, I was bouncing all of the place in the code just trying to find leads. I was a man on a mission. That’s part of it, right? The other part of it must be the fact that I said that it would only take 2 hours to do. Ha! What the hell was I thinking? Generally my estimates tend to be more accurate. I’ve managed to build a reputation for knowing the system well enough to give a good timing analysis. I don’t think I wanted to indicate that I had made a mistake. That’s why I was determined to finish it off. Well, after four hours of that nonsense I came to my senses. Thank goodness. In all seriousness, what’s the worse that can happen if I tell people that the problem is a little bit more entrenched than originally expected, right? It’s definitely not like I brushed it off. I gave it a good try, however, in the end the problem won out. I really shouldn’t let my ego play into what I do at work.
Anyway, come morning I will spend another hour or two trying to see if I could finish the investigation. Otherwise, I’ll just tell them that it’s bigger than I expected. I don’t need other people’s approval.
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2 comments
OmegaRadium says:
Fri. January 22, 2010 at 9:36 am (UTC -5 )
I know that feeling all too well! Sometimes you simply get lost in something and before you know it, hours have gone by in what seemed like an instant. I don’t think it was a matter of pride, maybe a little, but it’s an example of the extraordinary focus that the human brain can achieve to solve problems. If anything, we need more people in the world willing to sit down and try to figure out solutions in this same manner…
Jay says:
Fri. January 22, 2010 at 7:21 pm (UTC -5 )
Ultimately, you need to strike a balance between staying focused and remembering your personal needs. Ultimately, a company will be thankful to get extra hours out of you, but it’s harder to get hours away from the company without fuss. I think I ended up tipping too much toward the company’s needs last night. No harm, I suppose, but it can’t happen to often or else I’m letting myself get taken advantage of.