The light in the closet was burnt out when I moved into my first Los Angeles apartment in 2015. After years of putting up with it, one day I finally realized how a lack of light was impacting my wardrobe choices and my storage efficiency — I needed to change the bulb.
So, four years after I moved in and “lived with” a suboptimal closet experience, I purchased a fresh new bulb…and then…I didn’t have a ladder. And I didn’t have the budget to get one.
Problems come in all shapes and sizes, and my lack-of-a-ladder issue was small potatoes, at best. Yet I’ve found that, throughout the years, my greatest resource has been the ability to solve problems across the range of complexities — at work, at home, and in relationships. Paired with empathy and ever-growing communication skills, it’s my superpower.
“Throughout the years, my greatest resource has been the ability to solve problems across the range of complexities — at work, at home, and in relationships.”
My solutions seem to come at the speed of light, thanks to a long history of gaming, creative solutioning, and neurodivergence. While I love being able to identify every possible solution in a short time, it can also be a weakness to work that quickly — so I appreciate folks who can complement my rapid generation with thoughtful, intentional deep-dives.
But wherever you fall on this spectrum, how can you actually get better at solving problems?
In my research, most problem-solving frameworks focus on organizational problem-solving for more efficient teams and higher revenue. But it’s not a skill just for knowledge-working professionals; we can all use a little flexing of our problem-solving muscles in our day-to-day lives. Here’s my own process, with some tips from professionals, on how to keep building this skill even further — and becoming a more competent, confident person.
Shift from problem to opportunity
We’re often taught to treat “problems” as proof that something has gone wrong — or that *we* have done something wrong. Problems are what show up in performance reviews and panicked text threads, and can arrive with heavy, shame-y energy. Problems = fight-or-flight mode.
Zoom out, though. A lot of what we call problems are really just tiny points of friction: places where things catch, slow down, or feel unnecessarily hard. (A la my ladder issue). The first step for me has always been to re-imagine these little conflicts as invitations instead of indictments; the problem, then, becomes a lot softer to handle.
An overflowing email inbox might mean you get to test out new tech-forward solutions; a messy house might mean you can learn new organizational skills or get rid of what no longer serves you; a long, boring commute might become space for journaling or further learning via audiobooks or podcasts.
When we look at my ladder conundrum, I saw that moment as a time to improve my quality of life, even marginally, as well as not spend unnecessary money. I saw the light (hah 💡) at the end of the tunnel, both literally and metaphorically.
“Problems are really just tiny points of friction: places where things catch, slow down, or feel unnecessarily hard. “
Identify the problem
Okay, so your mindset has shifted gears into opportunity mode — now’s when the work really begins.
We all have a million problems, all the time. But there’s actually great skill in being able to acknowledge them and communicate them to others, or to ourselves. Sometimes we don’t even know that a problem is just that — a problem.
Think of the quiet, annoying minutiae you’ve half-consciously decided is “just how life is.” Maybe laundry makes you want to scream, so clean clothes live permanently on a chair. Maybe you’re always out of groceries, or constantly forgetting one key ingredient. Maybe your inbox is chaotic enough that important emails from your kid’s school slip by. Maybe you’re tired of a broken lightbulb but felt helpless to do anything about it.
These small things will keep happening until something, usually much more important, breaks down.
“Scan your work/life, and you’ll often find that your problems are just tiny points of friction: places where things catch, slow down, or feel unnecessarily hard.”
So, scan your work/life, and you’ll often find that your problems are just tiny points of friction: places where things catch, slow down, or feel unnecessarily hard. These disruptions aren’t moral failings, they’re simply design challenges that you can face head-on; even if you can improve them by even ten percent, you’ll feel the lightness echo throughout your life.
Of course, the big organizational problems will be more evident than these smaller ones, but I find that starting small can help me work up the courage to face the larger issues. It really is about starting with small exercises, like solving the no-ladder problem, and working your way to the more intimidating problems.
Now that you know what you’re facing, it’s time to change your mind entirely.
Reframe the problem
If you’re looking for a secret sauce when it comes to your problem-solving burger — this is it.
A lot of problem solving gets stuck before it ever begins. It’s not because we’re necessarily bad at solutions, but it’s because we’ve defined the problem too narrowly. We think the only answer to our lightbulb conundrum is to buy a ladder.
Psychologists will describe “functional fixedness” in this space, which means once we decide what something is for, we stop seeing the other ways it could help us. And once we lock onto one obvious-to-us solution, it becomes difficult to consider any other answer.
“‘Functional fixedness’ means once we decide what something is for, we stop seeing the other ways it could help us. And once we lock onto one obvious-to-us solution, it becomes difficult to consider any other answer.”
One of my favorite ways to work around that is to swap the question, “What’s the right solution?” with, “What’s the need here?” On paper, those questions sound similar. In practice, they feel completely different. “What’s the right solution?” is a test with one correct answer. “What’s the need here?” is an invitation. An opportunity, as it were. It opens up lots of possible answers and asks you to get curious instead of panicked.
When it came to my lightbulb, I didn’t really need to buy a ladder (that I couldn’t afford, nor had storage for). The problem was not “I need a ladder,” but rather, “I need to be able to reach the ceiling in this closet”. Once I phrased it that way, the universe of options quietly expanded. A ladder was still the textbook answer, but it wasn’t the only one.
Reframing around the real need doesn’t magically make every problem easy, but it does make them more interesting. It nudges you out of that all-or-nothing place and into a more flexible, generous mindset — life won’t always give you a ladder, but that doesn’t mean you’re doomed.
Assess the possibilities
Once you’ve named a problem and reframed it around the real need, the next phase is to explore what’s possible. To be honest, this is where I tend to shut down, thinking that there’s only one way to solve a problem and I don’t have access to it. Or worse: I get swallowed up by the swathe of options to the point of freezing up. But we must prevail!
“See how many different shapes a solution could take, don’t force yourself to find the one perfect answer on the first try.”
I start by reminding myself that no idea is permanent, and that I can freely explore what’s available. Whether or not you’re working with a team, this is where psychological safety comes in; do you feel free to suggest opportunities that feel different, or maybe even…a little scary?
This step is the “pie in the sky” moment. With unlimited resources and perfect technology, what could you imagine as the solution here? A laundry-folding robot? An automation that texts you if a teacher emails you? A system that reminds you to get groceries before you need them last-minute? Or maybe it’s a lightbulb that never burns out — but that wouldn’t have helped with my ladder debacle. In that case, I considered dragging the dining table or dresser into the closet, borrowing a (tall) stepstool from a neighbor, getting one of those lightbulb grabber tools, or asking an ultra-tall friend to help.
Some of those ideas are obviously better than others. Some might be non-starters. That’s okay. The goal is to see how many different shapes a solution could take, not to find the one perfect answer on the first try.
Acknowledge your limitations
We don’t love to talk about it, but when it comes to effective problem solving, we must ask: Where are our constraints?
Consider your actual life: your budget, your time, your energy, your environment, your appetite for risk. If you have no money or no car, “buy a ladder today” probably isn’t realistic. If you live in the middle of nowhere without close neighbors, borrowing might be harder. If you live in a dense, friendly building, borrowing could be the easiest thing in the world. Bonus points if your neighbor is tall and handy. Maybe you call a handyman or submit a request to your apartment maintenance; you don’t have to do this all alone if you have available resources.
At this point, don’t shame yourself for having constraints; just use them as filters so you can cross off the options that clearly won’t work for you right now.
Assessing the possibilities with a consideration for your constraints is really about giving yourself permission to see more than one way forward, then picking the one that fits your life *right now* — knowing you can always adjust later. It’s less about finding the “right” solution and more about finding a workable next experiment.
“Assessing the possibilities with a consideration for your constraints is really about giving yourself permission to see more than one way forward, then picking the one that fits your life *right now* — knowing you can always adjust later.”
Avoid rigid systems + checklists
Other than learning to reframe our problems, there really is no true secret sauce here that’s easily repeatable. In all my experience and research, there is no one set of questions that can help us solve the questions presented to us. So, the final advice I have here for everyday problem-solvers: Instead of relying on repeatable systems, focus on developing your mindset further. Allow yourself to see problems for what they are, reframe approaches, consider possibilities, and work within your constraints — without having to go through a one-size-fits-all checklist.
There are so many professional, studied methodologies to problem-solving that work for executives and consultants. But for everyday, personal problems — the kind where you’re just trying to make your home flow better or communicate more clearly with a friend — rigid systems and checklists can sometimes do more harm than good. They turn something that could be curious and playful into a test you’re afraid to fail.
Problem solving depends deeply on the safety you feel when you’re approaching it, so go easy on yourself. Allow for daydreams, invite diverse opinions, and explore wild alternatives — even if an idea isn’t feasible at this time, it may be the key to your next step. It’s not inconsistency to change your mind, either; it’s responsiveness.
“Allow for daydreams, invite diverse opinions, and explore wild alternatives — even if an idea isn’t feasible at this time, it may be the key to your next step.”
Importantly, I can’t help but add as a reminder: There are situations where we aren’t actually being called to solve a problem. If a loved one is expressing their challenges, we might want to ask “Are you in problem-solving mode, or do you just want me to listen?” This really has made all the difference for me and my loved ones. Sometimes the best we can do in the face of a problem is to listen, to sit with someone in their problems and let them breathe for a minute.
In the end, exercising your problem solving muscles is less about mastering a single method and more about building a relationship with your own curiosity. Problems become less of a verdict and more of a conversation: What’s really going on here? What do I actually need? What’s possible, given the reality of my life today? Do I need the ladder, or do I just need to find a way to be a little bit taller, just for now?
The happy ending here is that I used my dresser to stand up and change my lightbulb — the unhappy ending is that the light socket never worked to begin with. Even without solving the initial issue, I reminded myself of my capability and ingenuity…and eventually, I got myself a ladder. But not after many years of solving the actual problem of needing to be taller and using what I had on hand: tables, tall friends, and dangerous parkour moves. Consider this your sign to try something a little different before you try what’s obvious.
The more often you practice asking all of the above questions, the stronger and more flexible your problem solving muscles become.
Emily McGowan is the Editorial Director at The Good Trade. She studied Creative Writing and Business at Indiana University, and has over ten years of experience as a writer and editor in sustainability and lifestyle spaces. Since 2017, she’s been discovering and reviewing the top sustainable home, fashion, beauty, and wellness products so readers can make their most informed decisions. Her editorial work has been recognized by major publications like The New York Times and BBC Worklife. You can usually find her in her colorful Los Angeles apartment journaling, playing with her cat, or crafting. Say hi on Instagram or follow along with her Substack, Pinky Promise.
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