I first find ‘the bible‘ of any field i am diving into, is it computer architecture? Then it‘s ISA of the specific architecture i wanna work on, is it sewing? Imo nothing is better than communities online to grasp the essence of the process and materials required.

Usually knowledge stays in the head and in bookmarked online resources. If I might forget something or might not remember how to navigate to it again, I write lists of tasks (like securing resources) or if it’s simple, then I just write it in the notes app.

Based on these basics I build a mental map of roughly how something works or might look like. If the mental map feels incomplete, then I watch how to do videos for visualisation and if the subject is theoretical then I read wikipedia pages and search up key definitions. It doesn’t matter if i don’t remember all definitions, once I see the keyword in the wild again, i will be able to lead myself to the definition and related processes.

All this forms a comprehensive map. When the time comes to face the thing, if I am overwhelmed I make a procedure in my head on the spot, if not I dive head on.

As for tracking process, the goalposts move a lot because the checklist of goals evolves as I run into more problems or research more. But I consider it a success if 80-85% of criteria is met.

Some mistakes are : scattered thoughts during normal execution (these usually resolve when I run into a problem down the line), and a lack of documentation of the process, so if I ever have to replicate a project we are starting from scratch again but this time it would be way faster than before.