> A background processing phase, this requires a sense of almost boredom.
I can relate very well to the phases of probleming solving you described. But for me it's forgetting about the problem even for a short period of time instead of boredom.
When I'm deep into the first phase I sometimes get a bit too attached to a point were the problem is the first thought that comes to my mind after waking up (well...if I'm really stuck there might be even some weird dreams about it).
In the past I started to cancel non-work-related activities until I solved the problem. But I've learned that this oftentimes just lead to frustration - when the day is over I missed out on a nice evening with friends and still haven't solved the problem.
But when I just let it go for a few hours more than once the solution came right to me when I was on my bike back home. Just when I noticed that I haven't thought about the problem for the past few hours.
Sometimes this can get a bit demanding if I then happen to be past the Ballmer Peak.
I can relate very well to the phases of probleming solving you described. But for me it's forgetting about the problem even for a short period of time instead of boredom.
When I'm deep into the first phase I sometimes get a bit too attached to a point were the problem is the first thought that comes to my mind after waking up (well...if I'm really stuck there might be even some weird dreams about it).
In the past I started to cancel non-work-related activities until I solved the problem. But I've learned that this oftentimes just lead to frustration - when the day is over I missed out on a nice evening with friends and still haven't solved the problem.
But when I just let it go for a few hours more than once the solution came right to me when I was on my bike back home. Just when I noticed that I haven't thought about the problem for the past few hours.
Sometimes this can get a bit demanding if I then happen to be past the Ballmer Peak.