i've been making enough PCBs recently that i feel like i'm slowly attaining a small degree of professionalism in it: instead of "putting together a thing in a very ad-hoc manner" or "spending days poring over every single detail over and over" i have an idea of how to systematically approach the process from start to end: selecting parts not just by their datasheet but also by availability and lead time, setting up stackup and design rules upfront, figuring out ways to reduce likelihood of making mistakes, making mental checklists for common tasks

i have mixed feelings about it for some reason. maybe it's just that i'm starting to get comfortable with kicad despite finding its UI very disagreeable

(i tried switching to Horizon EDA, but some of the parts i need have very complex footprints that Horizon EDA cannot import some geometric features from, and i am completely unwilling to recreate from scratch. so KiCAD it is i guess.)