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Leitura de 15 min

When To Walk Away From (and come back to) A Problem

Summary

In this episode of Developer Tea, host Jonathan Cottrell continues the discussion on problem-solving modes by addressing a listener’s question: “When do you walk away from a problem in order to find the solution?” He explains that the science of problem-solving is intertwined with the science of learning, where our brains build pathways using existing information to reach new insights.

Cottrell challenges the common intuition that sheer persistence is the key to solving problems. He uses the metaphor of building a wall, noting that sometimes we build in the wrong direction, move bricks without making progress, or cause the structure to crumble. He explains that our brains are networks of neurons seeking efficient, well-traveled pathways. A critical insight is that these pathways are not built solely through focused effort.

The host emphasizes that our brains require rest to form pathways efficiently. Mental fatigue is real, and different types of brain activity occur during focused work versus rest. He argues that we need both intentional engagement and sufficient downtime, which can be as simple as stepping away for a walk. He recommends adopting a pattern like the Pomodoro Technique, taking short breaks after periods of focused work, which is backed by science to improve both productivity and quality.

Cottrell advises listeners to listen to feelings of burnout instead of pushing through them. Suppressing fatigue, a common cultural expectation, often leads to poor work. By taking breaks, you are being smart and heeding your brain’s natural mechanism designed to help you achieve your work effectively. The episode concludes with thanks to the listener who submitted the question and a reminder of the importance of reviews for the podcast’s longevity.

Recommendations

Books

  • When — A book by Daniel Pink mentioned by the host. It discusses daily rhythms and patterns, such as the peak, trough, and recovery cycle that individuals experience, which relates to effective problem-solving and work habits.

Techniques

  • Pomodoro Technique — A time management method referenced by the host. He recommends adopting a similar pattern of working for a period until a brain break is needed, then stepping away for a short walk, which is backed by science to improve productivity and work quality.

Topic Timeline

  • 00:00:00 — Introduction and the listener’s question on problem-solving — Jonathan Cottrell introduces the episode, connecting it to the previous discussion on problem-solving modes. He presents the core question from a listener review: “When do you walk away from a problem in order to find the solution?” He states his goal is to help developers find clarity and purpose, acknowledging the complexity of the question.
  • 00:00:46 — The science of problem-solving as learning — Cottrell explains that problem-solving is essentially a learning process, where you use existing information as scaffolding to reach new knowledge. He introduces a wall-building metaphor but notes its limitations, as sheer force doesn’t guarantee progress—you might build the wrong wall or just rearrange bricks without advancing.
  • 00:02:15 — How the brain finds pathways during problem-solving — The host describes the brain as a network of neurons seeking efficient, well-traveled pathways. He cautions against oversimplifying to a neural network model but emphasizes that stronger or more frequent connections make certain paths more likely to be recalled. He hints at a critical point often missed about this process.
  • 00:03:42 — Sponsor message from Linode — A sponsored segment promoting Linode’s cloud hosting services, highlighting features like global data centers, root access to Linux servers starting at 20 credit with a promo code.
  • 00:04:58 — The critical role of rest in building neural pathways — Cottrell debunks the idea that our brains are only active during focused work. He explains that rest is essential for efficient pathway formation. Mental fatigue is real, and our brains remain active even during sleep, but different types of activity occur during rest versus focused engagement. Both are necessary, with rest being particularly crucial.
  • 00:06:27 — Answering the listener’s question: there’s no universal prescription — Addressing the question from listener ‘2snowboard’, Cottrell states there is no specific prescribed time or rhythm that works for everyone. However, humans do follow natural rhythms, referencing Daniel Pink’s book ‘When’ about daily patterns of peak, trough, and recovery. He illustrates with an example of spacing out meetings with breaks to maintain effectiveness.
  • 00:08:08 — Recommendation to adopt a Pomodoro-like pattern and listen to fatigue — Cottrell recommends adopting a pattern similar to the Pomodoro Technique—working until a brain break is needed, then stepping away for a short walk, which is scientifically supported to improve productivity and quality. His second recommendation is to not suppress feelings of tiredness or burnout, as pushing through often leads to poor work. Instead, listen to these signals as your brain’s way of helping you achieve better results.
  • 00:10:00 — Closing thanks, call for reviews, and credits — The host thanks the listener for the question, encourages more questions via iTunes reviews or email, and reiterates the importance of reviews for the podcast’s discoverability. He thanks the sponsor Linode again, provides the promo code details, and credits producer Sarah Jackson and the Spec.fm network.

Episode Info

  • Podcast: Developer Tea
  • Author: Jonathan Cutrell
  • Category: Technology Business Careers Society & Culture
  • Published: 2020-05-01T09:00:00Z
  • Duration: 00:11:15

References

Podcast Info

Transcript

[00:00:00] In the last episode of Developer Tea, we talked about problem solving modes and specifically

[00:00:09] your default problem solving mode. In today’s episode, we’re going to continue this discussion

[00:00:15] and actually answer a question from a reviewer. This question was actually posted in the review.

[00:00:23] When do you walk away from a problem in order to find the solution?

[00:00:29] My name is Jonathan Cottrell. My goal in the show is to help driven developers like you find

[00:00:33] clarity, perspective, and purpose in their careers. And this question is not an easy

[00:00:38] question to answer. And if you don’t understand kind of the premise of this question, let’s back

[00:00:46] up and talk a little bit about the science of problem solving. The science of problem solving,

[00:00:50] as it turns out, is the same.

[00:00:53] One in the same as the science of learning. You’re looking for some piece of information

[00:00:59] that you didn’t have before. And more explicitly, you’re using older pieces of information

[00:01:05] in order to kind of scaffold towards that new piece. You can visually imagine that the old

[00:01:11] pieces of information are kind of the bricks in the wall that eventually will make it high enough

[00:01:18] to where you can reach that next spot. But this metaphor

[00:01:22] doesn’t really…

[00:01:23] hold up perfectly. Because if you take the metaphor at face value, you can imagine that

[00:01:29] you can go and kind of gather those bricks together and just through sheer force of will

[00:01:36] and energy build that wall. And this is our intuition that the longer we spend expending

[00:01:45] energy in building that scaffolding, the more likely that scaffolding will get built on time.

[00:01:53] Unfortunately, the wall very often either comes crumbling down, or maybe you’re building

[00:02:00] the wrong wall or building it in the wrong direction. Or maybe you’re taking a brick

[00:02:05] from one part of the wall and just putting on another part of the wall, not making any

[00:02:09] progress, but just shifting things around. Now that we’ve exhausted the metaphor, let’s talk a

[00:02:15] little bit about why this is the case. What is it exactly that our brains are doing when we’re

[00:02:21] problem solving?

[00:02:23] Now, there’s obviously not an easy answer that will fit in a five-minute podcast like this one,

[00:02:28] but to summarize, your brain is looking for pathways. It’s looking for pathways from

[00:02:36] information that you’ve been exposed to previously, and it’s trying to find the

[00:02:42] most efficient pathways or the most well-traveled ones, the ones that are most likely to fire.

[00:02:49] Our brains are big networks. That shouldn’t be surprising.

[00:02:53] To us as engineers, networks of neurons. Now, we don’t want to oversimplify this because

[00:02:58] the mental model of a neural network is only part of the way towards actually modeling what

[00:03:06] our brains do. So we don’t want to actually kind of backfill that mental model into how we

[00:03:13] understand neural science, but we can understand the basic premise that the more connections that

[00:03:21] we have, or the stronger the connection, the stronger the connection. So we don’t want to

[00:03:23] specifically, the more likely we’re going to go down that path. That information is more likely

[00:03:29] to be recalled. But there’s a critical point about this path-making and path-finding that we very

[00:03:36] often miss. I’m going to talk about that critical point right after we talk about today’s sponsor,

[00:03:42] Linode. Linode has 11 data centers worldwide. You can get root access to a Linux server on

[00:03:48] one of those data centers or spread across those data centers for as little as $5.

[00:03:53] The Nanode plans start as low as $5. You get dedicated CPU plans if you want them to go on the

[00:03:59] other end of the spectrum in terms of power. The Nanode plan, you can get root access to a Linux

[00:04:05] server just like you can on those dedicated CPU plans. So you can do really cool projects and

[00:04:10] then scale them up. The great thing about Linode is that it’s built by developers. So if you want

[00:04:15] to scale up in an automated way, for example, you’re going to have root access, but you’re

[00:04:19] also going to have an API and a Python CLI. So you can scale up in an automated way, but you’re

[00:04:23] So if you know how to use those things as a developer, you can automate the management of

[00:04:28] your server. They also have a revamped cloud manager. It’s built on an open source single

[00:04:33] page app. You can find that at cloud.linode.com. And of course, Linode’s code can all be found on

[00:04:39] GitHub. Like I said, they are a team of developers building tools for other developers. Go and check

[00:04:45] out what Linode has to offer. And you can get a $20 credit by heading over to linode.com slash

[00:04:51] developer T.

[00:04:53] Use the code developer T 2020 at checkout. Thank you again to Linode for sponsoring today’s episode

[00:04:58] of developer T. When we think about problem solving and these neural pathways, we imagine

[00:05:05] that our brains are something that we can turn on and off. That when we’re awake and when we’re

[00:05:13] working, that we’re kind of adding to those pathways. And then when we’re resting, when we’re

[00:05:19] vegging out, watching TV, or even when we’re exercising, that those pathways are cold.

[00:05:26] That the city, the network of roads in our brain kind of shuts down. But as it turns out,

[00:05:33] basically the opposite is true. Our brains require rest in order to make those pathways

[00:05:41] efficiently. Mental fatigue is a very real thing. And as it turns out, humans’ brains

[00:05:48] actually expand. And as it turns out, humans’ brains actually expand. And as it turns out,

[00:05:49] way more energy than other animals’ brains. Our brains are constantly active, even when we are

[00:05:56] asleep. But the critical point to take away here is not just that our brains are active, but that

[00:06:02] there’s different types of activity that happen when we rest versus when we are actively engaging

[00:06:08] a subject, when we’re trying to recall something, for example. And we need both. We need the recall,

[00:06:14] we need the intentional kind of exercise of those pathways. But we also need,

[00:06:19] and perhaps in a greater measure than the average person gets, we also need that rest and downtime.

[00:06:27] And that downtime can be as simple as stepping away from your computer and taking a walk.

[00:06:33] Now, to answer the question asked by the user 2snowboard, that’s the number 2 snowboard,

[00:06:40] on iTunes, unfortunately, there is no prescription. There’s no specific amount of time.

[00:06:47] There’s not a particular amount of time. There’s not a particular amount of time.

[00:06:49] There’s not a particular rhythm that works for everyone. Although it is true, pretty much

[00:06:54] universally for humans, that we follow some rhythms. You can listen to my interview with

[00:06:58] Daniel Pink about this particular subject. He wrote a book called Win. And that book talks a lot

[00:07:05] about these kinds of things, about what is our daily rhythm. For example, our daily pattern is

[00:07:11] a peak, a trough, and a recovery. And every person tends to have a different kind of

[00:07:18] shape to when that happens in their day. But this also happens in much smaller ways.

[00:07:25] For example, imagine doing three hours of intense meetings. At the end of that three hours,

[00:07:31] it’s very likely that you’re ready for a break. Now, if you did the same amount of meetings

[00:07:37] over the course of, let’s say, six hours, and in between each meeting, you had

[00:07:41] 20 minutes to just totally relax, do whatever you want to, go on a walk,

[00:07:46] and then 40 minutes to do some kind of focused work or something unrelated to what those meetings

[00:07:53] are about, it’s very likely that breaking those up is going to make the third meeting much more

[00:08:00] bearable. Number one, I encourage you to adopt some kind of similar pattern to the Pomodoro

[00:08:08] technique. You don’t absolutely have to use a timer. You don’t absolutely have to follow every

[00:08:14] single rule with Pomodoro. But if you’re going to do some kind of similar pattern, you don’t

[00:08:17] The simple idea of working for a period until you kind of need a brain break and then stepping

[00:08:24] away, taking a five or 10 minute walk is particularly effective, and that’s also

[00:08:30] packed by science as it turns out. But if you step away from your work and come back to it,

[00:08:35] you’re much more likely to get more work done, not just for the sake of productivity, but also

[00:08:40] for the sake of quality. And the second thing that I’ll recommend to you is when you start to feel

[00:08:46] tired or when you start to feel worn out, to not try to suppress that. This is a cultural phenomenon,

[00:08:56] especially in the United States, that when you’re tired, you should push through. And we see movies

[00:09:02] about the subject that kind of the last hour of the fight, and you’re worn out and you try to push

[00:09:09] through. And while this probably works really well in movies and there’s some dramatic effect to it,

[00:09:15] it’s likely that you’re going to feel tired. And when you start to feel worn out, you’re going to feel

[00:09:16] that your worst work will be done when you’re trying to push through. Instead, listen to that

[00:09:24] feeling of burnout. Listen to that feeling of strain. Your brain is not ignoring the work that

[00:09:34] needs to be done. You’re not just being weak by taking a break. In fact, you’re being smart.

[00:09:42] You’re listening to your body. You’re listening to your brain. You’re listening,

[00:09:46] too, exactly what that mechanism was created to do. It’s created to help you achieve that work,

[00:09:54] not the opposite. Thank you so much for listening to today’s episode of Developer Tea. Thank you

[00:10:00] again to Linode for sponsoring today’s episode. Head over to linode.com slash developer tea

[00:10:04] and use the code developer tea 2020. That’s developer tea 2020 at checkout for $20 worth

[00:10:11] of credit. Today’s episode was inspired by a question from listener,

[00:10:16] to snowboard on iTunes. I would love to see more questions from you. You can share those in those

[00:10:22] iTunes reviews, just like to snowboard did, or you can send them directly to me at developer

[00:10:27] tea at gmail.com. I’m also on Twitter at developer tea. By the way, those kinds of reviews are how

[00:10:35] we keep this show going. Because when people leave reviews on iTunes, it helps other developers

[00:10:40] find and then ultimately decide to download and listen to this show.

[00:10:45] So thank you so much for listening to today’s episode of Developer Tea. I’ll see you next time.

[00:10:46] Thank you so much to those of you who have taken the time, the five minutes that it takes

[00:10:49] to leave a review. It makes a huge difference to the longevity of this podcast. Today’s episode

[00:10:56] was produced by Sarah Jackson as a part of the spec.fm network. Go and check out the other awesome

[00:11:01] shows that are made for developers like you looking to level up in their careers at spec.fm.

[00:11:06] My name is Jonathan Cottrell, and until next time, enjoy your tea.

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