Unorthodox post - when your brain just won't "Quickbase"

Hi ChristineK​ , first and foremost, I'm so sorry for your loss. Thank you for being vulnerable here and sharing how it's impacting your ability to solve challenges in Quickbase. While I am not going through the same life event as you, I can sympathize as I know how difficult it would be for me if I had the same circumstances.

I would imagine there are others in The Qrew who have faced what you're facing with struggling to get started.

I'm a mere Community Manager here at Quickbase, so forgive me if I'm getting too basic on this approach.

But I'd start by making two lists.

List one: what are the data points I need to track. This list should simplify the tables and fields you need.

List two: what the data points I need to report on. This list should simplify the reports and report types you need.

LucidChart can be a great tool for creating these types of lists, and there's even an integration into Quickbase allowing you to create an app.

You'll hopefully receive even better advice from the many builders we have in this community. I'd imagine "builder-block" is a real thing that others can relate to.

ChristineK​ 

I appreciate your strength and openness here, and I relate to your challenge as someone who is both a musician and has been Quickbasing for almost ten years now.

First of all, I think it is fair to expect that losses or challenges in one area of life affect our inspiration or motiviation in others. We have to find grace not only for ourselves but also for others. Be patient with yourself.

Also, the space in which we Quickbase is muddy. We wear lots of hats and have to develop many different competencies. I like to use analogies to sell the point. We can use a a building as an example.

The architect who draws the structure, the contractor who coordinates everything, the buyers who source materials, the specialists involved in all of the work from securing the first prerequisite permits to the final touches on the roof all have different backgrounds, strengths, and interests.

However when we go from the brick and mortar to the virtual or digital, we sometimes lose sight of the reality that a single Quickbaser is performing tasks similar to all of these different disciplines.

To use cars as an example, I can say: "I like designing, assembling, and test-driving cars; I do not enjoy maintenance and repairs." Very different mindsets even if there is some overlap in knowledge, skills, and abilities. This is obvious to most people.

To use a final musical analogy, this may look more like the work of taking someone's piano arrangement and figuring out how to make it work for your vocal or instrumental ensemble. I do not know about you, but I do not enjoy rearrangement; I just do it because it is necessary to achieve performance goals (the fun part). I cheat with any tools I can to just get the job done. The passion that I have felt when creating original compositions is entirely different, and the same goes for creating new Quickbase solutions.

Regardless, we have to face others' expectations and get a job done. The challenge is that there are no shortcuts. Seeing the forest for the trees takes time and effort. You have to spend time in the forest, which can be unpleasant depending on the conditions.

A possible approach is to use an AI tool or agent to help document the solution. QuickAppSnap is one option. The outputs should be descriptive of the current solution. Be prepared to study.

I also like to go upstream to the business from which a solution's business (not functional) requirements originated. Understand their system-agnostic business requirements. If they do not have documentation, then now may be the time to create it. If they cannot commit to collaboration, then they may not be ready. That is not your fault. With requirements, you can understand the intent and consider gap analysis between that and the status quo. Hopefully your management understands this.

You also need user inputs, and I think live interviews can help shed light on pain points that can be amalgamated, distilled, and qualified into prescriptive actions. AI tools can help here.

In the end, mental and emotional space as well as workplace culture are critical when faced with the challenges of legacy solutions. Let me know if you ever want to chat about Quickbase or music.

Christine,

We've all been there! (Don't tell my boss I stare at the screen blankly sometimes). It's hard to be motivated to "work" sometimes when life has been difficult outside of work. I had a couple of thoughts though to maybe help get those train engines going again!

The first one is, maybe it would be helpful to have a list of ideas. You have to eat an elephant one bite at a time. When I've created a list, I can use some quick, small wins to gain some momentum back. Like Wes mentioned, these ideas could come from user input or feedback. I'd also be happy to take a look at the app to pull some performance specs, make recommendations, etc. to help be a thought partner!

The second one that works for me is switching gears to use Quickbase for something fun. I'm sure you're like the rest of the Qrew here who enjoys playing around with QB in a Builder Account. I will sometimes just go build something new and fresh for a random idea to add some fun back into the equation. That can help get the juices flowing! I just recently created an app to pull in data from my Fitbit, smart scale, etc. to look at personal help data. It was fun, no pressure, and allowed me to get that feel back. 

Regardless, you've got a whole Qrew here to help! Thank you for being brave to post something personal and vulnerable. You've got support here. Reach out if I can help at all!

Oh Christine, I feel this so deeply. I lost my mom too, and that “my brain just won’t boot up” feeling is so real. You can want to dive in and still feel completely stuck — it’s not lack of motivation, it’s just your brain doing what it needs to heal. Grief scrambles focus, especially when you’re trying to do something creative or mentally heavy like Quickbase work.

First off, thank you for being open about it — you’re absolutely not alone in this.

In case some practical QB advice is helpful — we actually have a really good webinar and associated workbook for App Inheritance that I think you may find useful. It might help give you a bit of structure (and some grace) as you ease back in. You can find it here: Inheriting an App: Where to Start (On-Demand Webinar)

And seriously — start tiny. Watching that recording? That’s a win. Downloading the App Inheritance Workbook? Another win. Opening your app and jotting down what looks confusing? Yet another win. Those little steps start adding up, and hopefully that sense of “ugh, where do I even begin?” will start to loosen its grip.

You don’t need to be in full “builder brain” mode right now. Just give yourself permission to take the first small step — that’s progress.

Sending you a big virtual hug and a reminder that you’re doing better than you think. 💛

Oh my goodness, you all. I deliberated on posting, but this community never disappoints. Thank you for seeing me - I'm truly bowled over in my seat here! And also, there's some really sage advice in here!

@KHall - I am SO sorry to hear your mom has been given a terminal diagnosis. That is how things took shape with my mom, who was battling ovarian cancer and in remission for a year, until she wasn't (last June); I'm so extraordinarily privileged that I was able to not only take that entire period of time away from work, but to be able to care for her in those final months; wishing you peace and time with your Mom, and keeping you and your family in my thoughts as well.

Next, truly, I was so bowled over when I read that there's a group buzzing at Quickbase about how to support me -- truly, incredible! I'm not much of a crier, but that moved me to tears. This group is nothing short of exceptional and amazing!

Last, to everyone who chimed in with thoughts - THANK YOU! I can't wait to dive in first and foremost to the "Inheriting an App" webinar -- I do think that will really help me get unstuck. It's been a daunting task even before all of this, but since, it's just been impossible. I think also reframing Quickbase work into "types" is such a poignant observation. We probably all love to build, and few of us love trying to figure out what someone else's brain was building! And lastly taking customer feedback and bite-sized portions. Since taking on this project, I've gotten some of that feedback and I feel energized/ready to go after those, with the caveat that it's always been at the end of the day and by the following day, I'm right back to this square one. Perhaps intentionally building some of those feedback sessions on the opening of when I have a window of time to work would be a powerful way to capitalize on that momentum and not lose sight of what ideas came to me as they give feedback.

Truly, thank you all - I wasn't sure if there was anything that could help me get "unstuck", but I knew if I was going to try, this group would know best how to get me there. And truly, that is always the case. Love Quickbase and this community so much!