In many cases, when you are tempted to stay up late to find a solution to an obstacle, you might be better sleeping on it.

Working backwards is useful when the final result is clear but the initial portion of a problem is obscure.

• Don’t look for solutions immediately; Keep redefining the problem until you arrive at the root cause.
• Don’t try to guess the solution; try to understand how the obstacles, or challenges manifest first.
• Gather data to analyze all potential root causes.

Detectives and investigators use the process. They ask both obvious and unthinkable questions.

• A problem broken down is half way solved. E.g: if you don’t have enough money to get a mortgage, you could divide the obstacle into “too little income,” “high expenses,” and “expectations of future house.”
• Address each category on its own.

For many years, scientists have found that amazing ideas, solutions to problems and obstacles often come to people when they aren’t actively trying to develop a solution.

In many situations when people encounter a problem, they tend to default to what they should do instead of asking what they could do.