So, planning on doing some work on my bike, I'm looking through the list of instructions in Haynes.
Ok, do that?
No problems.
Unscrew this?
Simple.
Move that out the way?
Easy.
Remove the rear shock?
Piece of ca...
Hang on?
What?!
You could have mentioned that at the start, instead of casually chucking it in at about stage 8 of the process...!!
When I'm learning something, or using a manual, it's easiest (for me at least) to do it like this:
- read the table of contents (if it exists)
- go over the entire material, from start to finish
- then go "in more detail" - in case it's not all perfectly clear from the first go. If it is, this can be skipped.
- if using an instructions manual, this is the stage when I would start doing it. Checking if I have all the needed tools, bits...
When writing manuals, I often explicitly recommend how they should be used - similarly to what I listed here. After having read this post, I'm even more convinced that it is good to state the "manual for the manual" right at the start.