

What to do when stuck on a problem? Sleep. - zackyap
http://www.zackyap.com/post/30716510801/what-to-do-when-stuck-on-a-problem-sleep

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mtkd
Anything that takes you away from the problem will help.

Take a shower if you don't have long.

I recommend walking before taking on a big problem - even if you're not stuck.

A 1h walk means you are unable to code your first solution, by the time you
get back you'll be 4 iterations on in your head - you've just saved yourself 2
days.

~~~
genwin
I too find that planning code while in the shower or during a walk is much
more effective than when at the computer or whiteboard.

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kiba
So, it's a short post about how sleeping might help, but there's no attempt to
actually conduct a scientific experiment to find out if you get better ideas
by doing that. At the very least you could do is supplement your post with
some citations.

Are startup people so lazy that they rely only on seat-of-the-pant anecdotal
evidences?

~~~
lvh
To be fair, he does at least reference Wikipedia, which has well-sourced
statements at least partially backing up what he appears to be claiming.

~~~
zackyap
^ Yeap. This. I was mainly trying to share a problem solving technique that's
been working for me. I did look up Wikipedia for an explanation and linked to
it. It was a pretty decent explanation with credible research sources. I'll
make it more obvious that it isn't some sort of scientific self-quote.

Thanks for the suggestion and thanks for backing me up.

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atirip
Yes, yes, exactly what i am doing for a long time, deliberatley. My brain
works at night, i usally can not get very good sleep, but i do see lot of
interesting dreams and somehow the solution presents himself at some point. Be
prepared you may forgot the solution when you wake up like dreams you saw. So
try to not mix them in the middle of the night ;-) And no, i cannot help with
that, i can separate them somehow.

~~~
zackyap
I spend some time thinking through the ideas when I wake. Evernote works great
for me especially when it's copy or marketing ideas.

