This week, I read a pattern called Familiar Tools. This pattern happens when you feel hesitant to let go of some familiar tools that will soon become obsolete at some point. Through this pattern, I can understand that everything has two sides, even familiar tools are not an exception. As the author said, familiar tools can help you solve problems quickly, easily beat another candidate in an interview or increase your productivity at work. However, if you stick to what you already know and ignore the changing of the world, your career will be in jeopardy. That is because over time, many new tools will emerge and some existing tools will become obsolete and lose their effectiveness. If you cannot throw away a part of your toolbox to discover something new and update your toolbox regularly, then it is like you are wielding a sword to battle in a world where everyone uses guns. There is no way for your existence in that world. Therefore, to solve this problem, besides constantly looking for new tools to update your toolbox, you need to face the challenge of giving up some familiar tools that will soon become obsolete to reclaim space for other new tools .
In my opinion, this pattern is really not difficult to implement. In other words, as an apprentice, I understand that it takes a lot of time to learn and get used to a tool, so letting go of what you are already an expert on can be described as feeling loss. However, I wonder what if I keep a tool that I will no longer need or use in the future? Or what if I use a tool I am familiar with, but it does not help me; on the contrary, all it does is make me feel like every problem is suddenly getting harder and I cannot solve any of them? For myself, those familiar tools have now become obstacles in my long career path. So, I never hesitate to replace outdated tools from my toolbox with new ones. In my opinion, throwing away my familiar tools, it may not be something I can choose, it is something that I have to do to advance my career.
From the blog CS@Worcester – T's CSblog by tyahhhh and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.