Is over-thinking a bad attribute? 11

[gman89]

I've been working professionally as a mechanical engineer for about a year now and am fairly introspective by nature. One thing I never thought would be an issue in my career would be my tendency to think too much about things. During university the only negative feedback I could attribute to it might be a comment like "who cares why it's like that, the answer is correct". However, working in consulting I find myself really struggling to establish myself as "efficient" because of this. I've been criticized several times for spending too long on jobs that may not have had anywhere near the budget required to justify it.

There are obvious advantages, attention to detail is rarely criticized when you spell it out that way. But the mindset I have has a downside even when it comes to things like how I should write up a report, form a table or spreadsheet, number of measurements I take to ensure I've covered all the bases and even triple checking calculations to see that I haven't missed something, for example. It's bad enough to the extent that I actually feel a tremendous sense of anxiety when I feel something isn't optimized, even if it's just presentation of a table in a report.

For ages I thought that I was 'still learning' and dismissed it. But I'm now convinced it's much more deeply seeded than that and really feel like I'm bad at my job because of it. It's really not something you can just 'turn off' either so to speak.

I'm just wondering if this is actually a handicap or if I'm maybe just not doing the right sort of job to suit my personality/logical framework.

 

[truckandbus]

When you start a job, you and your boss should agree to a timeline to get the job done. As soon as something comes up that you feel will jeopradize that timeline, you need to discuss it with your boss. He may elect at that time to apply additional resources to address your concern and still meet schedule; or he may tell you you are overthinking the issue and to 'get over it' and finsh the job on time. The point is, it is okay to 'take a deep dive', but not to make that decision on your own. You are apt to be investigating issues that may have already been resolved by others; you are apt to put project dadlines at risk.

You won't get in trouble asking for direction.

 

[eea]

You could always invest the extra time spent "after hours" and "off the project billing clock". Want to woo-hoo the boss, tidy up that BOM and spreadsheet fonts after 5pm. I can only speak for the civil roadway side of life (private and public coming on 25 years), but getting a working first pass right out of the gate is tons better than an overbudget tweaked set of plans. I've seen guys invest time in defining centerline alignments ('er chains) for a 10' deep driveway apron graded at 5% in GeoPak (and that was on the private side!). I still don't take points off for using scissors and tape if it gets the job done.

On a side rant, I'm seeing a lot of over-investment in resources to produce deisgns in 3D that aren't being constructed using anything close 3D control in the field. I say that after using a hybrid 3D CAD platform for over 15 years. In my opinion, 2D paper drawings are still the standard for the foreseeable future. You want 3D electronics? Pay me upfront for a 2' interval TIN without holes, elsewise it is 25' urban or 50' rural interval cross sections on 2D K+E sheets.

As has already been stated numerous times, establish what the deliverables are to be with your boss (and eventually the client) and aim for that. You have to know when to cut bait.

 

[geesamand]

I always strive to know not just how to solve a problem or answer a question, but to develop an understanding for the value of the accuracy. If I'm generating a force value that will be used in a structural analysis, then it's vital to know whether a 10% difference in value will affect the final design in a significant way. Become skilled at using conservatism to offset time investment.

Those who fail to think "down the line" and understand how much effort is required for a given task, will waste tremendous resources spinning off in circles trying to refine things that have no value. Just come up with the first suitable answer and move on.

On the other hand, knowing which problems are the most valuable and critical to your business means that noodling over refinements and alternate solutions can be very worthwhile.