The wording is a great help in debugging and continuing a stalled train of thought: describe the problem as if you were looking for a stranger with it who is absolutely unfamiliar with the circumstances, articulate the purpose of the task, how it works, and what can cause trouble. The more detailed you are about the problem, the more likely you are to come up with a solution without the help of others, and if you don’t figure it out yourself, you can actually ask the question on a forum.
Also use words for planning. UML diagrams and similar brainstorming solutions can help, but you only really see the task in full, in detail, if you describe the operation, because you are already thinking about possible mistakes and pitfalls while writing. If you read back your previous thoughts while writing, your brain won’t “short-circuit,” meaning you won’t get into the same train of thought over and over again.
The wording is a great help in debugging and continuing a stalled train of thought: describe the problem as if you were looking for a stranger with it who is absolutely unfamiliar with the circumstances, articulate the purpose of the task, how it works, and what can cause trouble. The more detailed you are about the problem, the more likely you are to come up with a solution without the help of others, and if you don’t figure it out yourself, you can actually ask the question on a forum.
Also use words for planning. UML diagrams and similar brainstorming solutions can help, but you only really see the task in full, in detail, if you describe the operation, because you are already thinking about possible mistakes and pitfalls while writing. If you read back your previous thoughts while writing, your brain won’t “short-circuit,” meaning you won’t get into the same train of thought over and over again.
Great advice!