It seems that I have two modes of thinking: managerial mode where I think in at a big-picture level, and programmer mode where I keep hammering away at one issue until I get it fixed/solved. Getting stuck in one mode when I really need to switch to the other one is really dangerous. For example, if I really really need to solve a single-issue problem, and I go into managerial mode, I keep look at insignificant factors / make great future plans that do not have any immediate impact on the current issue. Or if I really really need to look at the big picture and say “these issues are problematic but they do not have a big impact on the overall project, so they can be tabled for later and I need to focus on the large-impact issues” but I go into programmer mode and keep trying to fix that one tiny issue that has interesting technical challenges but would take up time I need to fix the more important issues.
The question is: How do I instantaneously switch between modes?
Alexis Chan 