https://workyoucanexplain.com/series/recovering-when-school-gets-messy/ Recent content in Recovering When School Gets Messy on Work You Can Explain Hugo en-US Copyright © Work You Can Explain Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 -0500 https://workyoucanexplain.com/posts/emergency-triage-for-broken-assignments-and-files/ Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 -0500 https://workyoucanexplain.com/posts/emergency-triage-for-broken-assignments-and-files/ <p>When an assignment file disappears or stops opening, your first job is not to fix it. Your first job is to preserve what still exists and understand the situation well enough to choose a safe next step.</p> <p>Do not keep editing the only copy. Do not reinstall software because one file failed. Do not run a destructive command because an AI assistant suggested it. Make a protected copy, write down the facts, and work from the copy.</p> https://workyoucanexplain.com/posts/recovering-git-history-and-lost-code/ Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 -0500 https://workyoucanexplain.com/posts/recovering-git-history-and-lost-code/ <p>Git may be able to recover code that disappeared from your current branch, but recovery begins with inspection. A reflog records local movements of references such as <code>HEAD</code>; it does not guarantee that every file or commit still exists, and it is not a substitute for a remote or tested backup.</p> <p>The safe pattern is: protect the repository, inspect history, create a recovery reference, compare the candidate, and restore only after verification.</p> https://workyoucanexplain.com/posts/communicating-with-instructors-during-a-technical-crisis/ Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 -0500 https://workyoucanexplain.com/posts/communicating-with-instructors-during-a-technical-crisis/ <p>When a technical problem may affect an assignment, contact the instructor as soon as the risk is clear. The message should make the situation easy to understand: identify the course and assignment, describe what happened, state what you have checked, explain the current risk, and make one specific request.</p> <p>You do not need to prove the final cause before sending the first message. You do need to be accurate about what you observed and what you have tried.</p> https://workyoucanexplain.com/posts/post-crisis-postmortem-and-system-hardening/ Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 -0500 https://workyoucanexplain.com/posts/post-crisis-postmortem-and-system-hardening/ <p>After a technical crisis, do not settle for “it works again.” Record what happened, identify the protection that was missing or unclear, and test one small improvement while the evidence is still available.</p> <p>A postmortem is not a confession and it is not a search for someone to blame. It is a short record that helps you make the next failure less damaging and easier to explain.</p> <h2 id="capture-the-incident-before-memory-edits-it">Capture the incident before memory edits it</h2> <p>Write the first version from your working log, file history, messages, and recovery evidence. Use five sections:</p>