Do you have a checklist to go through? Something like: 1 - just try to think of a solution. Sometimes you'll just see it. 2 - what if you sort something? Sort

Do you have a checklist to go through? Something like: 1 - just try to think of a solution. Sometimes you'll just see it. 2 - what if you sort something? Sort the data and see if it helps to see a solution 3 - what if you stick all the data into a dictionary? Does that help? 4 - what if you stick all the data into a tree? Does that help? Etc etc. You can make a nice long list of things to try. For 90% of the problems, doing one of the things on your list will lead you to a solution.