I am sure you are aware of the importance of problem-solving skills no matter your role or job title and that is why you are reading this write-up.
Cool!
I am going to show you what is going on in the minds of creators and basic tips to develop your problem-solving skills.
But wait a minute!
Are you finding it difficult to learn a programming language or framework very fast? If yes, check out part#2 of this series: How to Fast-Track Learning a Programming Language or Framework
Or start reading below tips to improve your problem-solving skills.
💥 There is no solution: Everything is a compromise.
Any solution you have at hand is a compromise to satisfy the interest of a set of people. The provider of such solution has consciously or unconsciously neglected some other things that can make the solution better.
That means no solution is perfect.
Some products/services or solutions seem perfect but by having this kind of belief, you would lookout for some of their compromises and bring out another solution to satisfy another set of people who are not comfortable with such compromises.
💥 Seek first to understand.
When you are in a hurry to solve a problem, your solutions may not be appropriate.
That is fine sometimes for some reasons.
But when you are struggling to solve a real problem, you need to first understand the problem.
The question to ask is, what can I do to understand problems better?
- You can identify parts of the problem until you break it to small units you can comprehend.
Then solve them one part after another and bring them together to form a whole solution.
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Each unit of a problem has major components such as:
- Effects
- Causes
- Unknown
- Victims
Probing these four major components will help you arrive at solutions to some problems.
You need to question the effects of the problem at hand in relation to its causes until you arrive at a point where the victims are relieved without causing another problem.
💥 Be a Giver: "Givers never Lack".
Problem solvers are the kind of people that don't wait for solutions, they are proactive about discovering problems to solve.
Givers are highly curious and always dogged to try even when they are not qualified.
Solving problems requires you to be aware of the problems around whether experienced personally or by others.
That means you need to be someone willing to give solutions even if you don't know what to do yet.
Giving is about caring for others. Don't forget.
💥 Every problem is a hint: Find out.
Whenever you have a problem, big or small, it is a hint to another problem to infinity. It is also a hint of possible solutions.
If you can really probe a problem, it would lead you to many problems and solutions.
Just keep probing until you are satisfied.
Your satisfaction is the limit or compromise since you can go further if you want to.
💥 Don't Assume: Find out always.
It is common for human beings to act based on previous knowledge or assumptions.
It easy for you to just react based on whatever you know previously without considering whether things have changed or not.
To become a better problem solver, you need to start questioning your assumptions and knowledge and those of others.
If you start questioning some assumptions about some problems or solutions, you will go further than what is currently available.
💥 Every Action is an Experiment.
Problem solvers always see every action as a form of research through which they can learn new lessons and discover other challenges to address.
Problem solvers are always triggered to learn by/from problems.
That means they learn more about whatever is not clear about the problem at hand continuously until the problem is solved.
💥 Change your beliefs when you are stuck.
It is common to be stuck while solving problems. So, when you don't know how to move forward to solve a problem, change your mind or belief.
You can achieve that by questioning your take.
For example, you can ask questions such as:
Must I do it this way?
Can't I use another approach to achieve the same or better results?
Those kind of questions would free you when you are stuck.
So, change your take or belief when you are stuck and you shall be free.
💥Ask for Help:
Whenever you are stuck while solving a problem, it is great to ask for help because solving the problem at hand is the goal and who solves it is not as important as solving the problem.
Being an expert or problem-solver is not about knowing answers to all questions, it is about knowing how to find answers.
💥Finally, Problem-solvers always Stay Long with Problems:
Some problems can be solved easily while some are difficult to deal with. Problem-solvers understand clearly that solving real problems takes time and they are always ready to see the problem to the end especially when the problem is worth their efforts.
💥 What's next?
Stay connected here or follow me on Twitter: Shakespeare of Code
Do you know some mental models that make you a great problem solver? If yes, please share them with us in the comment section and I really appreciate it in advance.
One more thing
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Top comments (2)
A good knowledge of mathematics could be of good use too
Yeah! That is true.