Here is a concrete thing to try. Maybe it won't be useful, but it's helped me in the past. Get a blank sheet of paper and a writing utensil. Not a text editor.

Here is a concrete thing to try. Maybe it won't be useful, but it's helped me in the past. Get a blank sheet of paper and a writing utensil. Not a text editor. Start at the top of your call stack and start making a diagram that resembles a directory tree: application_code_function(string arg) library_function() std_lib_func() Use arrows, add notes on the side. Whatever helps. Try to get one API call stack. I don't do this often, but it helps especially when I'm not familiar with the patterns used in the project, or I'm having a groggy day and having trouble thinking "deep". It seems to help to me to try and reason about it away from the distractions of the IDE and the OS.