How I Think Through Technical Problems

The Myth of the Genius Developer

There's this image of the brilliant programmer who just knows the answer. They look at a problem, their eyes narrow, and boom—solution.

That's not how it works. At least not for me.

I want to pull back the curtain and show you what my actual problem-solving process looks like. Spoiler: it involves a lot of staring at walls.

My Real Process (Unfiltered)

Step 1: Panic Slightly

I'm being honest here. When a client brings me a complex problem, my first reaction is often: "How am I going to figure this out?"

I've learned to recognize this feeling and let it pass. It usually takes about 10 minutes. Coffee helps.

Step 2: Resist the Urge to Code

Every fiber of my being wants to open my editor and start typing. This is almost always wrong.

Instead, I force myself to sit with the problem. I ask:

• What exactly is broken?

• What should it do instead?

• What don't I understand yet?

Step 3: Draw It Out

I'm a visual thinker. My desk is covered with notebooks full of diagrams that would make no sense to anyone else.

I draw:

• How data flows through the system

• Where the problem might be happening

• What the ideal state looks like

Something about moving my hand helps my brain process.

Step 4: Explain It to Someone (or Something)

You've probably heard of rubber duck debugging. I talk through problems out loud, usually to my dog. He's very patient.

The act of explaining forces clarity. If I can't explain what's wrong simply, I don't understand it yet.

Step 5: Break It Into Smaller Questions

Big problems are overwhelming. Small questions are answerable.

"Why is the system slow?" becomes:

• Which specific operation is slow?

• When did it start being slow?

• What changed around that time?

• Can I reproduce it reliably?

Each small question gets me closer.

Step 6: Accept That I'll Be Wrong

My first hypothesis is wrong maybe 70% of the time. That's fine. Being wrong quickly is better than being uncertain slowly.

I form a theory, test it, and move on. Each wrong answer eliminates possibilities.

Step 7: Take a Break

The solutions to my hardest problems have come to me:

• In the shower

• While making dinner

• At 3 AM (annoying, but effective)

• During a walk

When I'm stuck, I step away. My brain keeps working in the background.

What Actually Helps

Experience helps, but not how you'd think. I'm not faster because I've seen every problem. I'm faster because I've learned to be comfortable with not knowing.

Writing things down helps. I keep notes on every project. Not documentation—just messy thoughts. Reading my notes from three days ago often reveals the answer.

Asking for help helps. I used to see this as failure. Now I see it as efficiency. Someone else might have solved this exact problem yesterday.

The Unglamorous Truth

Problem-solving isn't elegant. It's:

• Reading stack traces at midnight

• Saying "that's weird" about 50 times

• Adding print statements everywhere

• Removing print statements because there are too many

• Discovering you fixed the bug an hour ago but had a typo in your test

Why I'm Telling You This

Because if you're struggling with a problem right now, I want you to know: that's normal. The people who seem to have all the answers? They're doing the same messy process. They've just done it more times.

The only real secret is persistence. Keep poking at it. Take breaks. Come back. Eventually, it clicks.

That's not glamorous, but it's true.