That's an interesting question! I never thought about how my mind works when I try to solve coding problems.
My favorite thing to do when I'm stuck with a problem, is to go for a little walk and to start thinking about it.
My mental model could be described as little piles of requirements, problems and possible roads to take lying on the ground, which I can skim, sort or shuffle. Without having to think about it I tend to grab one or multiple connected problems in the process I either find most interesting or which seem to be the most important. I don't have to think it all through. Knowing that there is a solution and being able to roughly picture it is enough to go on and makes it clearer what other stuff I should or should not worry about and - also very important - what to do next once I get back to the computer.
If I'm unable to solve what I think is a major problem or at least to identify the sensible next step, I try to take a step back (which is a 100 times easier when you are NOT sitting at your computer). Very often I find that I can ignore a problem completely, that a requirement might require some clarification or rethinking or that it might not such a bad idea to go with a much simpler solution instead, clearing all the piles away, which is always a relief :)
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That's an interesting question! I never thought about how my mind works when I try to solve coding problems.
My favorite thing to do when I'm stuck with a problem, is to go for a little walk and to start thinking about it.
My mental model could be described as little piles of requirements, problems and possible roads to take lying on the ground, which I can skim, sort or shuffle. Without having to think about it I tend to grab one or multiple connected problems in the process I either find most interesting or which seem to be the most important. I don't have to think it all through. Knowing that there is a solution and being able to roughly picture it is enough to go on and makes it clearer what other stuff I should or should not worry about and - also very important - what to do next once I get back to the computer.
If I'm unable to solve what I think is a major problem or at least to identify the sensible next step, I try to take a step back (which is a 100 times easier when you are NOT sitting at your computer). Very often I find that I can ignore a problem completely, that a requirement might require some clarification or rethinking or that it might not such a bad idea to go with a much simpler solution instead, clearing all the piles away, which is always a relief :)