This post certainly isn’t as profound as the source of the concept, but it has been something that has merged the contextual boundaries of the differing spheres of my life over the last few weeks and resolved into a super quick win to solve a simple life problem that I was failing at every day!
I shared a much shorter version of this on the work slack and thought it would be a good intro post into writing content for my site again.
I’d consider myself proficient in both development and project management when required. I successfully adopt various patterns, approaches, processes and models in my practice with both of them to streamline and effectively undertake both as needed – but when it comes to the simple task of ‘drinking water‘ – wow do I fail badly.
You, unlike me, are probably already capable of ‘drinking’ – so this post is probably ‘life 101’ to you but I often need a teeny little system in place to keep my personal checks and balances in line.
More often than not I end busy days dehydrated and with a headache and in no fit state to do life with my family until I’ve had a big drink and the headache has gone.
I’m not an expert on the overall health benefits of water, but I sure know it’s good for you and you should drink it! (Real health advice here)
So; what does Software Development, Project Management and Elephants have to do with my water intake?
This guy:
Desmond Tutu
Amongst all the other wonderful things he did, which this post doesn’t do justice for – the internet tells me he once said the following phrase:
There is only one way to eat an elephant, a bite at a time.
AZQuotes, SpicerFacilitation
This phrase is ubiquitous to the concept of ‘breaking big things down into smaller chunks so they can be dealt with‘ – I honestly didn’t know it was him who said it until I researched its origin.
Development
The concept is so foundational in software development I do it without thought: requirements to solutions, solutions to applications, applications to services, functions (serverless) or just ‘code’, code into classes, modules, packages and/or functions, functions into statements and underlying business logic. You get the picture – I don’t go worrying about how that super large complex system gets from A to pink-bananas, but break it down into its component parts with each having an input and output to the next system along the line – one bite at a time.
Project Management
The same is true of project management, the larger task is broken down into smaller ones to be tracked through the project lifecycle and although the larger goal or milestone is always kept in scope, it is the small achievable tasks that are focused on.
So again Dan! What do elephants have to do with water!!!
I’ve known for years, possibly over a decade now that I’m rubbish at keeping my fluid consumption up.
As a developer in the early days, I would often go hours and hours without leaving the contextual bubble only breaking it for a comfort break or a quick walk across the office to wake my legs up.
I would always return to the bubble as quickly as possible to regain that context, focus and complete the task.
The day would end, the head would be booming and I’d be throwing back pints of water to try and re-hydrate.
Fast forward to more recent days and with the increase in virtual meetings, I find myself more glued to a webcam for long solution design & refinement sessions, architectural discussions & team planning calls.
Currently, at least one day of my week is back to back 0900-1600 calls with a short 30-minute gap in the middle for lunch.
My day ends, my head would be booming and I’d be rushing to the cupboard, finding the largest glass I could and necking a couple before heading into the family to have our evening.
Somethign had to change!
Starting only a few months ago now I started a process of trying to drink more.
First I took a large 2L bottle to my desk – let’s cut the story short and say that I would usually take that 2L bottle away from my desk at the end of the day with about 1.8L still in it. Failed
Next, I tried taking a glass to my desk – I drank the first glass, and that was it got to the end of my day and dropped an empty, used once glass in the sink. Failed
Something clicked the other day, and I mixed the two concepts; took the bottle full of water to my desk with glass. When the glass becomes empty, it gets filled, I just seem to drink from it because it is there. Whether that is during calls, during thoughts, when I need a keyboard break or just on and off during the day – it just happens now.
If you eat an elephant one bite at a time, you obviously drink water; one glass at a time!
The large amounts going from the bottle into the glass are noticeable (as opposed to the sips I’d take through the day) and are actually quite encouraging to see it ‘chunk down’ when I fill the glass, spurring me on that I’m drinking well.
I can gauge not just how much I’ve drunk, as it goes down – but also a little mental ‘how much of the day is left’ due to how full the bottle is which again is a secondary win!
So far, I’ve managed to finish a 2L bottle every day for two weeks, without thinking about it, and a few days the bottle has emptied sooner than the day has ended which is great.
This post has been much longer than the initial thought was, and only about how I drink water better.
I contemplated not even bothering to write it as I have the ability to waffle most of the time, and it was such a silly little thought.
Take from it what you will, my approach to hitting my fluid intake targets, the application of taking smaller bites of things with regards to development, or just enjoy the picture of the elephant by Nam Anh.
If you got to the end of my horrendously tenuous link, I commend you!