Better Results Than Most: Do This to Get Them
Read the friggin’ manual (RTFM)
INTRODUCTION
Buckle in for some honest-to-goodness life advice that is very practical. This is something that I learned back in my teens as I was getting into computers, and that has continued to be relevant throughout life in general.
Folks like me who naturally do this on a regular basis call it “Read the friggin’ manual (RTFM)”.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO “RTFM”?
The concept of RTFM is that you should always take the time to inform yourself about something instead of jumping in blindly. This helps you to potentially avoid having a number of completely unnecessary knee-jerk reactions when things go wrong, or simply not quite the way you expected them to.
In its original form, it refers to taking the time to read through a printed user manual before trying to operate a new device. In a general sense, this could be printed or digital information, the labeled buttons on remote controls, a menu of some sort, etc.
It applies to all facets of life, and if you do things like most people in this world (no, seriously!), you are likely someone who fails to follow this advice most of the time, if not all the time.
DO YOU SEE YOUR OWN BEHAVIOR IN THE FOLLOWING EXAMPLES?
Example #1:
You just purchased a new TV, plugged in the power cord, and perhaps attempted to connect your sound system or cable set-top box to it. You turn on the power, and something isn’t working. Maybe it’s the sound, maybe it’s the channels or something else entirely. So you proceed to try and resolve the issue, perhaps deciding to look at the documentation and schematics that came with the TV. Or, even worse, you get more people involved in trying to fix the problem.
Time wasting and, sometimes even arguing results. Some of the voices are probably heard stating something like “I don’t know anything about technology… I just want to watch TV!”. And those same people are destined to go on remaining ignorant in thís space.
In your hurry to turn your new TV on, and with the idea that not reading the documentation first would save time, you’ve caused yourself, and perhaps other people, lots of unneeded aggravation instead.
Example #2:
You are having lunch at a friend’s house. Your friend hands you a dish that needs to be heated up or defrosted in the microwave oven. You straight away press some digits and hit START. Moments later the bell goes off to indicate that the cooking is finished, and you discover that your dish is undercooked or overcooked. This wouldn’t have happened if you had simply talking the time to read the labels (DEFROST, REHEAT, etc) on your friend’s appliance instead of assuming that you ”know all about how to use microwave ovens”.
Or, what if you’d asked your friend something like “how many watts is your microwave oven?” before beginning the cooking process. If your own microwave oven is 1000 watts, and your friend has an 800 or 1200-watt capacity model, the outcome could be substantially different even if they are both set on “DEFROST for 3 minutes”, for example. And, come to think of it… do you know what capacity microwave oven you have at home?
Example #3:
You are ordering food for delivery through a smartphone APP. You see a discount voucher code at the top of the screen that you can apply to your order right away, and you do so. Everything goes as planned and you receive your order. In this case, everything looks good.
But remember that vendors are not necessarily trying to show you the best of the discount codes available to you when you are purchasing things like this, whether online or through a smartphone APP. Many times, just pressing an additional button or two will reveal better vouchers. Other times, you have to manually remove what’s selected by default in order to be shown or given the ability to choose a better one.
Just spend the extra minute or two to better inform yourself before taking action.
Example #4:
You’ve blocked off an hour or so to work out and you’ve made it to the gym. Great! Today is not a particularly busy day and so you have a good choice of available equipment you can use. Which do you choose, and why? In what order? What’s the correct way to use each machine and perform each exercise? How do you measure your progress?
If you are unable to answer these very basic questions, it means that you haven’t informed yourself sufficiently before showing up. In the best-case scenario, you are moving through the motions in a random and sketchy way.
RTFM.
ALL OF THE ABOVE EXAMPLES HAVE ONE THING IN COMMON: TRYING TO CUT CORNERS
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve witnessed it firsthand from family members, friends, co-workers, end-users I provided IT support to, random gym-goers, etc.
And the thing is, the more you develop the habit of better informing yourself before doing something, the more your general knowledge of how things such as technological devices work increases, and the faster you can adapt and make good use of the new ones you encounter in daily life.
Don’t cut corners. Be proactive. Understand that investing a little more time upfront makes you more efficient and directly helps you to spend your time more effectively on the whole.
CONCLUSION
I’ve given some very common examples here, but there are far more to be found in the way we interact with the world around us:
● Researching information before buying something
● Understanding how to protect yourself when accessing information through the internet
● Knowing how to make healthy food choices
● Learning soft skills (active listening, etc)
● Learning hands-on skills (new language, car repairs, etc)
● Improving your critical thinking skills
● Etc
There are better, more effective ways to do these things. But you must be willing to invest the time and effort required to find out how.
All the best,
Pascal
PS: You can also read more about me here.
