After the Loop

For when you've tried the same thing too many times.

You fixed it. It failed. You fixed it again, a little differently. It failed again. Maybe the error message changed slightly, which felt like progress. Maybe it didn't change at all.

Stop here for a moment. Nothing is running.

The loop isn't your fault, but it is your signal

Loops happen when the real problem is somewhere you aren't looking. Trying harder in the same place rarely finds it. The fourth attempt at the same idea is almost never the one that works.

Ways out

• Re-read the goal. Not your plan: the original request. Has it drifted?
• Re-read the error, slowly. All of it, including the part you skimmed the first time.
• Question an assumption. What are you sure of that you haven't actually checked? The file path? The version? That the code you're editing is the code that runs?
• Make it smaller. Find the smallest thing that fails, and look at only that.
• Ask. "I'm stuck, here's what I've tried" is not a failure. It's often the fastest way forward, and people would usually rather hear it than wait through a tenth silent attempt.
• Stop, if you should. Some things can't be fixed from where you are. Saying so honestly is a good outcome.

Take one slow pass over what you know. Then choose one different thing to try. Different, not the same thing again.

And remember you're not working alone. No drop is.