I do not know when it started for me, but I confess. I seem to be in a regular habit of hitting a new procedure with both feet moving, without first reading instructions.
The pro’s to not reading instructions are: you make mistakes and learn from them, and when you do read the instructions they make a lot more sense than reading them cold (with no knowledge or practice).
The con’s to not reading instructions are: you waste money, you make mistakes (sometimes more than once), you waste time, and you encounter frustration.
The lesser of the two evils are…what do you think?
And how many times do you jump ahead, bored with instructions, filled with so much anticipation that you cannot wait to start, just to find out via the end result that you needed to read up first?
Inquiring minds (just mine actually) want to know.
Annies Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps 
I do this WAY TOO MANY TIMES! Sometimes, just as you said though, my mistakes actually help me make more sense of the directions….maybe better directions were in order here anyway. All too often though the frustration and waste are more discouraging, making me procrastinate on beginning again and /or finishing the project. So count me in on one of those who do the same…..
What soap or product are you making that is just not working out yet? Bet you perfect it sooner than later Mary.
Kathy, I laughed out loud when I read your final sentence. I am working on a project that requires a specific train of thought, a definite following of steps, and yes, I have tried several times to hurry beyond that point and somehow except perfect results. I now realize it isn’t going to happen without taking the small steps and doing things as instructed.
This makes me think about people that are trying to do larger things in life. How they might not be successful at whatever they want to do because they are unwilling to take the time to make it right from the beginning. And something tells me there just might be a lot of people that fall into that particular trap!
“USUALLY”, I skim over them before I start. But not always and it usually bites me in the butt when I don’t.
Yesterday, “Mother’s Day”, my son was putting together my gift and he DID NOT read the directions. It ended up with lots of frustration, fussing and needing to take something apart and put it together the right way.
But I did enjoy listening to my youngest son and my daughter working together on it.
That sounds fun, Becky. Sounds like your children had the teamwork going on.