Starting a Challenging Project

Here is some advice for starting in on challenging project (like making aerogels).

Do something. Do it wrong. Do it better. Repeat.

It’s easy to think about something and then decide it’s too hard and give up, or that it’s no big deal and you could get it done anytime. But either way, if that’s all you do, you’ll never get anything done.

So, do something. Do anything. Try a simple experiment or make a mock-up. Look something up on the Internet. Go to the library. Go to a hardware store. See what you can do now.

Then get a notebook. Write down what you’re thinking, and what questions you have. You’ll probably get some ideas of new stuff to try. If you do, do what you can to try your new ideas. If you’re stuck, find someone (a teacher, a university professor, someone at a company, someone on the Internet) and ask them if they have any ideas for how to move on.

Once you figure out what to do, try it out. You’ll learn something else from doing it.

Repeat.

Soon you’ll discover that you’re making progress!

Be persistent and don’t give up.  Do something (anything) every day.  And if you fall of your horse, get back on!