tech talk
Doubt and Distraction Ask almost any seasoned fabricator
and they’ll tell you there are times when it doesn’t even feel like you have to think about what you’re doing, everything seems to effortlessly click into place, and the next thing you know, you’re ready to wrap! I call this being in the “flow”. Now, if it were possible to stay in the flow at all times, the amount of work one could accomplish would be mind-boggling. But in the real world, there are two mortal enemies of the flow: doubt and distraction. Of the two, distraction is the lesser evil.
Distractions come from outside sources and can be managed, to a certain extent, by taking some thoughtful steps and set- ting some boundaries. Allow yourself time away from your phone or computer to focus on the project. Ask your co-workers to respect there are times when you need to focus on the task at hand and, unless it is a truly time-sensitive or urgent matter, they should wait until you are at a point where you can break away to help them. Doubt, on the other hand, is much more
difficult to manage. And doubt can be crippling. Being unsure about the results or the process can cause you to second guess every decision you make. We often sit and stare at a project trying to figure out what the perfect next move is going to be, and how that will affect every subse- quent move. This is often referred to as “paralysis by analysis”. Fortunately for us, doubt can be mitigated (even eliminated) with experience. The important thing is to recognize the doubt and take some action
56 Mobile Electronics June 2014
to manage it. If you find yourself spending hours trying to find the perfect solution to a problem, just choose one and try it! Be confident that after the first step, you’ll figure out the second step, and then the third, and so on. If you are unsure whether the customer is going to like a certain aspect of the build (or you’re not sure if it’s going to be functional), verify it with the customer. Get them on the phone, get them involved, eliminate the doubt, and keep on building.
Te 1000 Yard Stare This is just a final footnote from me and
something that I struggle with all the time. At times (normally very late at night) I’ll find myself staring blankly at a piece trying to figure out what to do next. It’s times like this, when you’re exhausted, that mistakes can happen, and doubt can take a stran- glehold on progress. When this happens, I force myself to go home. Or, at the very least, go out and take a break. I come back rested and, more often than not, the solu- tion that had eluded me becomes apparent.
In fact, I often lay awake in bed working through it all in my head so that when I show up at the shop, I’m right back in the flow and things get done a lot faster. But please, don’t tell your significant other that I told you to ignore them in bed.
JOEY’S PART: Let’s face it. There are countless ways to properly construct parts to an automo- tive audio build. I have been to a number of different trainings and seen many great techniques. It would be impossi- ble to cover the different techniques and schools of thought in one article. What we will be focusing on is the final prep work, the last step before the finish line. We will be looking at how to finish a proj- ect in carpet, suede, vinyl, or paint. For each of these we will look at tools, tips, and tricks from not only myself, but also other industry veterans.
Carpet Hopefully, everyone is comfortable working with this medium. Carpet
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