Thinking through Problems
So I know the other day I touched on something that broke my brain, which was followed by a pretty meager explanation post.
I wanted to supplement today with a few thoughts on how to work- and think-through problems — I mean, “challenges”.
One of our instructors suggested that when we get stuck on a line of code or bogged down in the structure of our syntax, that we should step away from our computer and try to present a mockup/diagram of the logic using the old-fashioned/never going out of style method of pen to paper.
While it initially didn’t seem wildly intuitive to me — I felt like I should be able to complete all the processes in my head and then transcribe those thoughts with impeccable accuracy directly through the keyboard — I’ve found that the more I’m able to visually work through my thought process — gaining a precise clarity of what I’m being asked to accomplish, which tools I may have in my arsenal that may be applicable to the scenario, and how I would logically structure those tools to manipulate the code into producing the desired outcome —the better I’m able to comprehend the subject matter and the better the results.
This (almost always) takes me through a messy stream of consciousness, but ultimately really helps me to better grasp concepts and be able to apply and recall code in the context of new prompts.
As much as possible now, I’m trying to work through these problems with a pen and paper:
But even when those tools aren’t handy to me, I’ll still try to work through with a non-grammatical process stream using a non-webby tool like ‘Notes’:
While I’m mostly using this approach at the moment to tackle coding challenges, I feel that broadening the application to other areas of my life will be extremely useful as well. Maybe I’m late to the party and everyone else is already on-board with this approach, but — if you aren’t doing so already — maybe try to utilize this to work through any challenges in your relationships/job/life? It’s definitely been a helpful one for me.
