The above essay by OG Richard Hamming is the one to read (forget PG's essay). It is hosted in many places on the web and this is one of them.

Follow up with Hamming's classic book; The Art of Doing Science and Engineering: Learning to Learn available here (pdf) - https://worrydream.com/refs/Hamming_1997_-_The_Art_of_Doing_... It is a very unique one-of-a-kind book which is a must read cover-to-cover.

The last chapter of the above book is You and Your Research ;-)