Actually read the whole error message

Sometimes I'll hit an error and the solution is literally staring me in the face, but I'll gloss over it and focus on the wrong thing. This can especially be a challenge if you're frustrated or feeling time pressure.

Here's an example of an error message bubbling up from SQL when attempting to use a model factory

Why did my eyes scan this instead of reading it? The error is long. It has a lot of random data from Faker. Worst of all, I thought I found the relevant bit at the beginning: "Column not found".

If I had just taken the 2 minutes to actually read through the whole error, I would have arrived at a solution much more quickly. The lesson learned for me: don't rush, don't get flustered. Take a deep breath and read the whole error message.

Any eagle-eyed readers have a guess what the error was? Hit reply, and I'll let you know if you were right.

Here to help,

Joel

P.S. We all get stuck on things like this from time to time. Don't stare at the screen any longer than you have to.