Unsettled

I feel unsettled. I have a lot to do and I am task saturated. I try something new.

I talk to myself. It feels crazy but it might work. That is the entire mood of these few weeks.

So here we go... 

"Why are you here? And why are you feeling unsettled?"

There are too many things that I need to do. I am task saturated and in danger of just doing things tired and being not very effective in a time where I really need to rise to the challenge. I feel like I'm winging it too much without a plan. I fear I might run out of time.

"Off the top of your head, what are the things that you are most worried about? Can you give some percentages of how much each of these things bother you, and why they bother you?"

Fab Academy - 75%

I have to get all my Weekly Assignments cleared by 6th June and then present my Final Project on 13th June. That is just a lot to do, and not a lot of time left.

Fab Conference - 5%

Supposed to be attending but so far no plans have been put in motion yet. Air ticket, hotel and accommodation have not been sorted out.

BLS training - 15%

I have to be a trainer for two days next week that will take away critical time that I need for Fab Academy. I also need to prepare for the lessons as I will be teaching some of them.

Other stuff such as personal and family admin and responsibilities - 5%

I'm not exactly worried about these. They need to be done to keep life going. The only thing to worry about is for these to pop up at an inconvenient time.

"Let's talk about Fab Academy first since it takes the largest piece of the worry pie. Can you break it down into smaller parts so that it is easier to visualize the tasks that you need to do?"

Weekly Assignments

Weekly assignments are largely up-to-date. There are two more weeks of assignments to clear and also revisions from the previous evaluation.

Left to do - Revisions and last 2 weeks of assignments

How to do - Put aside 2 hours every day (from today) just to clear these until they are done.

Final Project  

I have made progress on the clock display panel and this is about 20% of the work. However, there is still a lot left to be done. Ideally, I want to have the housing/structure 3D printed and tested before I mill the wood. Let's break it down by system.

Clock display

Left to do 

• The dot-dot 
• Alarm off button
• Laser cut black frame
  
• 3D printed test panel
• Test clock code
• Assembly and connection to other systems.

How to do

Get the clock display panel (skeleton) done by Tues, 27th May 2359 to have a good chance of completing the project on time.

Control Center

Left to do 

• Confirm connection schematic
  
• Designing and milling the board
• Assembly and connection to other systems.

How to do

Get help to confirm the schematic and board requirements by Thursday, 29th May. Leave one day for designing the board, one day for milling and soldering the board.

Structure/Housing

Left to do

• Figure out how to connect the panels to the triangular frame
• CAD for Clock display panel
• CAD for Sound display panel
• CAD for prism's triangular frame
• CAD for car base
• 3D Print test
• Wooden milling
  

How to do

Create the clock display panel skeleton and figure out how to attach it to the triangular frame. Also get the schematic done so that you know where the wiring holes go.

Sound

Left to do

• Get a memory card for the mp3
• Solder and connect the components together
• Test the sound system.
• Assembly and connection to control center 

How to do

Work out the final size of the sound system panel. Wire the components together. Do a joint test with Haw Ren. Share the codes and the testing effort.

Power

Left to do

• Understand how the power is connected to work the 5V and 12V systems.
• Connect them up (relay, ON/OFF switch)

 How to do

 Connect the power to the various systems and test them.

Motion

Left to do

• Get the solenoid ram moving.
• CAD/model some ram end cap (OPTIONAL)

 How to do

 Connect the power to the motion system and test them.

 

WiFi Control

Left to do

• Get the code working with the test connection

 How to do

 Test the WiFi control after the test connection has been completed.

 

Seems like a whole chunk of work but some things I can tell from here are that the things that will help the most with the projects are:

1. Finalizing the clock display panel 
2. Knowing how the clock panel connects to the triangular frame 
3. Designing the board
4. Milling the board and 
5. Testing the components 

 Now, it is just hoping that the pace is enough.

Let's talk about Fab Conference next.You have been putting it off so far since you are task saturated. You are at risk of not being able to go. How might we fix that?

I think I can at least understand the process a bit better and start to engage. At the very least I can ask my mentors/RO for help.

Ok, next for BLS training. To be honest, the content isn't difficult. The only thing is that it is fast approaching, and you just need some time to familiarize. How much time do you think you will need?

Rather than think in terms of time, I would just dry running through deck 1 tonight, and then deck 2 tomorrow. I should be ready after doing these.

Lastly, all the little other stuff you need to do. There isn't much to talk about here. They just need to be done. Just clear them when they come. 

I agree.