Why is DIY so hard?
OP asked:
“
I am trying to replace a bathroom light switch. Its had two switches, one of which did nothing, the other turned both fan and light on/off. I turned off the breaker, pulled the faceplate and switch off, put the wires into the new switches and went to ground them. The box screw hole got stripped and I couldn’t attach the grounds. None of the wires say what anything is and they are all black. Got mad and punched a hole in a table (ikeashit) and called an electrician for monday.
I can’t even change a fucking light switch, my question is how do I start learning to be less of a retard or am I just ngmi?”
I mean, we’ve all been there. If we break your problem down a bit:
-I don’t know how to trace wires to determine function
-I am not experienced enough to guess wire function
-old materials break down and I don’t have an immediate solution or replacement
-this project is taking longer than I expected
-this is the first time I’m facing a particular problem
-I want this to be easier than it is
-I get frustrated when things don’t go my way
I’m pretty sure if my dad had hired electricians and workers, instead of DIYing everything, I would have gotten yelled 100% less in my childhood. Nothing brought out his impatience, frustration and rage like the situation you described above. Unless it was plumbing and water was spraying everywhere and I brought him the wrong fucking wrench or whatever he was yelling for.
So maybe work on the “hitting things when mad” part, as that will show the biggest returns. After that, I’d focus on having realistic expectations. I spent 4 hours trying to put a new keyboard tray on my desk. Should have been about 30 minutes. I’ve been tracking and my time estimates are about 300% off for DIY projects. If I think it “should take a day” it usually takes 3. I get lucky with small jobs, but the more complex, the more things that can go wrong, the quicker I hit that 300% mark.