In hindsight, the knowledge gap that led one into doing a wrong thing might seem obvious, but in the action, one can hardly notice this precisely because it requires the knowledge that you are lacking. However, Julian Shapiro's "One Level Higher" mental model, which I like to call Optimise the machine, not a cog in it, can help to notice when you are moving in the wrong direction. Ask yourself high-level questions such as:

• Why am I doing what I'm doing? What is the problem I am trying to solve? Is it an important problem? (Repeating these questions is known as the Five Whys technique.) ‣
• What will happen when I succeed in what I'm now trying to accomplish? What will happen after that (i. e., what will be the second-order effects)?

If you cannot answer these questions, this is a good moment to stop practice and try to find the answers which requires some self-education.

Related:

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• Keep an eye on the big picture of the project
• Constantly think about what you are doing
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