What Coding Taught Me About Solving Hard Problems
Most people respond to problems by pushing harder.
More effort. More emotion. More noise. Software development teaches the opposite lesson. When you rush, systems break. When you slow down, structure appears.
Thinking less emotionally solves more problems.
This idea sharpened for me while reading “Think Like a Programmer” by V. Anton Spraul.
The techniques I’ve picked up so far move elegantly from debugging code to writing songs, finishing short stories, and working through sticky creative phases.
Eight techniques repeat across all three.
1) Always Have a Plan
Paradox: Flexibility starts with structure.
In code, unplanned work produces fragile results. In music, noodling without direction stalls progress. In writing, blank freedom blocks momentum.
A plan does not restrict creativity. A plan protects it.
You open your editor to “fix a bug.” Two hours later, you changed variable names, rewrote unrelated logic, and forgot the original failure. The bug still exists.
Next time, you write four steps on paper before touching the keyboard. Reproduce the error, log inputs, isolate the function, and test the fix.
Thirty minutes later, the issue disappears. The plan did not slow you down. The lack of one did.
Action
• Write a rough sequence of steps before starting
• Expect revisions
• Use the plan as a compass, not a rule
2) Restate the Problem
Paradox: Clarity feels slower than action, yet saves time.
Developers rewrite bugs in plain language. Musicians restate why a song feels off. Writers restate why a paragraph fails.
Most problems shrink once named cleanly.
A song feels wrong. You keep adding chords and layers. Nothing improves.
You stop and restate the issue as one sentence: “The chorus does not feel earned because the verse energy never rises.”
Once named, the solution becomes obvious. You rewrite the verse melody. The chorus works without touching anything else.
Action
• Rewrite the issue as one sentence
• Remove blame and emotion
• Describe what exists, not what should exist
3) Divide the Problem
Paradox: Smaller thinking leads to bigger results.
Programs break into functions. Songs break into sections. Short stories break into moments.
Complexity dissolves through division.
You want to “finish a short story.” The task feels heavy. You avoid it all week.
You divide it into pieces. Fix the opening paragraph. Clarify character desire. Cut the final page by 20 percent.
You finish one piece in twenty minutes. Momentum replaces avoidance. The story finishes itself piece by piece.
Action
• Split the task into finishable pieces
• Focus on one piece at a time
• Ignore polish early
4) Start With Something You Know
Paradox: Progress begins with certainty, not confidence.
Developers anchor work to known inputs. Musicians start with a familiar chord. Writers begin with a sentence they trust.
Momentum grows from stable ground.
A blank page freezes you. Instead of forcing originality, you start with one sentence you trust.
You write a plain description of a room. No beauty. No cleverness.
Five minutes later, a voice emerges. The page fills. Certainty came first. Confidence followed.
Action
• Identify one known element
• Build outward from that anchor
• Let confidence follow action
5) Reduce the Problem
Paradox: Less information reveals more truth.
Debugging removes everything extra. Songwriting strips layers until emotion remains. Editing deletes words to expose meaning.
Noise hides the signal.
A feature fails in production. Logs look noisy. Metrics overwhelm you.
You disable everything except the smallest failing path. One request. One function. One output.
The bug reveals itself immediately. Excess information hid the truth. Subtraction exposed it.
Action
• Remove non-essential elements
• Ask what must exist for failure to continue
• Test the smallest version
6) Look for Analogies
Paradox: Original work borrows structure.
Code relies on patterns. Music repeats forms across genres. Writing echoes timeless shapes.
New problems often wear old masks.
You struggle to structure a piece of writing. You stop trying to invent a new shape.
You ask where you saw this before. You realize the idea follows the same arc as a three-verse song. Setup. Tension. Release.
You borrow the structure. The writing flows without copying content.
Action
• Ask where this pattern appeared before
• Borrow structure, not content
• Adapt what already worked
7) Experiment
Paradox: Guessing slows progress more than testing.
Developers test ideas in isolation. Musicians record drafts. Writers publish imperfect versions.
Small experiments replace endless thought.
You debate a fix in your head for an hour. Two options compete.
You stop thinking and test both in isolation. One breaks instantly. The other works under load.
Ten minutes of testing replaced an hour of mental noise.
Action
• Run low-risk trials
• Observe results without judgment
• Adjust based on evidence
8) Do Not Get Frustrated
Paradox: Emotional distance improves care.
Frustration narrows thinking. Patience widens perception. Debugging rewards calm attention.
So does revision. So does practice.
A bug refuses to move. Emotion spikes. Your thinking narrows. You walk away for fifteen minutes. No phone. No music.
You return calm. You notice one assumption you never questioned. The fix takes five lines.
Action
• Pause when emotion spikes
• Step away briefly
• Return with curiosity
The Transferable Skill
Software development trains one skill above all others. Calm thinking under uncertainty.
The same techniques that solve broken code also solve unfinished songs and stalled writing.
The paradox holds.
Less force produces better outcomes.
Structure frees creativity. Not the other way around.
I’m so used to pushing when something isn’t working…More effort, more thinking, more emotion and half the time that’s exactly what makes everything muddy. The idea that calm and structured thinking actually frees creativity explains so much about why things finally click for me when I slow down and name the real problem. The parallels to music and writing felt honest, not forced. This was grounding in the best way. Thanks for writing this Idris for anyone who needs to solve a hard problem and Happy Friday to you!
The parallels to songwriting were spot-on. I’ve spent way too much time adding layers to a track when the real issue was structural, like the chorus just wasn’t earned yet. The idea of stripping things back to find the signal hit home. Also loved the emphasis on testing instead of guessing. That alone could save me hours. Really appreciate this one Idris Elijah! Enjoy your weekend!!