Section 3.3. Deleting Old Routines

3.3. Deleting Old Routines

Sometimes you have to update your routines.

In the "gas tank" story, earlier in this chapter, I pointed out that eventually I forgot why I had started such a routine but I continued doing it. That sounds a little dangerous. Without knowing why I was doing something, is it right to keep doing it?

I guess it comes down to faith in myself. Since I created the routine, I know I have already settled any ethical dilemmas. And I'm talking about changing backup tapes and filling gas tanks, not life-or-death decisions.

I find that routines delete themselves by becoming obsolete. When I got a promotion and someone else took responsibility for changing the backup tapes, the routine I had developed expired on its own.

Routines also modify themselves and evolve. This isn't a Perl script that, if left unmodified, will fail after the files it affects have been migrated to a new server. This is you. You're human. You see things as they happen and adjust.

Of course, I try to be flexible. When someone challenges my adherence to a particular routine, I keep an open mind and listen to his concerns. Sometimes he is even right.