After 15 minutes of focus, trying to figure something out (that includes experimentation, research on Google, looking at examples, etc.), try formulating a question about your problem and get it ready for a discussion board post or email. Don’t post or send it just yet! Take a little 2-minute walk, stand up and stretch, or go get a drink of water and then come back to your question. Did you have any ideas or places to look for an answer while you took a little “brain break?” I find that sometimes when I just formulate the question and walk away, I have some more ideas — maybe even a solution!
If that didn’t provide any insights, then post your question or send your email. After it is posted/sent, your brain is relieved that you aren’t stressing out about it, but it also continues to work on the problem subconsciously!
Here is proof from my own experience:
Embarrassingly, I shouted, “It’s in the timer routine! I cleared the variable at the wrong time!” during what was supposed to be a dinner date. My date looked at me rather puzzled. I had been working on a biathlon program that was to be used to gather statistics of the participants and produce reports. I had been stuck on a problem and, unfortunately, the solution came to me in the middle of dinner — when I wasn’t even thinking about it!
I was explaining a coding problem I was having to my mother — who knew nothing about computer programming, but was an excellent listener! She gave me all of the appropriate good-listener queues: eye contact, smiling, nodding, etc. When I was finished, she asked me the most bizarre, off-the-wall question that really had nothing to do with what I had been explaining to her. But that bizarre question broke my current direction of thought and sent me in a new direction toward the solution. Verbalization helps, too!
Set your own time limit on how much-concentrated effort you will spend on a problem before taking a “brain break” to let your subconscious mind take over for a bit and give this technique a try!