Rubber-duck debugging

You may have heard this phrase before: rubber-duck debugging. It's been around a long while and it's one of the most effective problem-solving tricks you can perform. The idea here is simple. Take anybody who will listen, and if there's nobody around, a rubber duck on your desk would do just as well (hence the name). Describe the problem you're trying to solve, out loud, and in simple terms. This forces you to organize your thoughts about the problem. If you find that you can't describe the problem in clear, simple terms, then you don't understand it yet. You're not ready to try to answer the question because you're not yet clear on what question you need to ask. Play with it and explore it until you really can phrase it in simple terms. Often, this process alone will suggest a clear solution to you, and if not, you now have a much better shot at finding a solution because you now know what question you're asking. Do this out loud or in writing. It's too easy to stay fuzzy and gloss over things when you let it tumble around in your mind. Force yourself to put the words in order. You'll be surprised by how powerful and effective this technique is.