5 Effective Mental Exercises for Problem Solving

Anam
May 27
4 min read

5 Effective mental exercises to help you unlock your perspective during problem solving

As professionals, problem solving is an imperative skill that can help them reap effective and timely results. Just as with any other expertise, you can develop or improve your problem-solving skill that will help you to cut out the noise and find an unbiased solution to a challenge faced in your professional life.

In today's article, we are sharing 5 problem solving mental exercises that can help you to unlock your perspective when you feel stuck during problem solving. These exercises for problem-solving can help sharpen your cognitive abilities, improve creativity, and enhance logical thinking.

But first, let’s explore what gets in the way of rationalizing or logical thinking during the process of problem solving. As humans, unless we master our mind through practice, it’s a box of mixed memories and imprints of our experiences and a reflection of our physical state. Which is why at times, thinking patterns such as cognitive biases, emotional interferences, overthinking, stress, and fatigue impair our rational and logical thinking. Furthermore, our logical thinking can also be affected by our environment, such as cultural and social bias, peer pressure, and lack of knowledge. All of which impacts our ability to find unbiased solutions to the problems we face.

Our cognitive imprints can help us in the case of resolving a repetitive issue, but when faced with a new challenge, the fixed mindset doesn’t help us. We must explore the solutions from a fresh perspective.

Mind Mapping Exercise

The exercise starts with identifying the main topic and branching out into subtopics and connecting related topics.

Start with drawing a central idea or problem in the middle of a page in a box or circle. Draw branches out from the central idea to sub-ideas or aspects of the problem. Continue expanding each sub-idea into more specific details. The idea is to explore all aspects of the problem or the goal.

Mind mapping is an excellent tool for organizing thoughts, visualizing relationships, and exploring multiple angles of a problem.

You can use this technique by yourself or with your team to brainstorm ideas collectively.

For example:

Problem: Reduced customer turnover.

Branch 1: Reason 1.

Branch 2: Reason 2.

Branch 3: The effects 1.

Branch 4: The effects 2.

Branch 4: The solution 1.

Branch 5: The solution 2

Scenario Analysis

This technique works best with issues that are overwhelming and you are unsure of the outcome. Using this technique, you can prepare yourself and your team to deal with multiple outcomes as you overview different scenarios.

Create different scenarios for a problem and explore possible outcomes. Consider best-case, worst-case, and most likely scenarios. Think of solutions that will be applicable to each scenario. This helps you to prepare for any outcome, and you won’t be caught off guard.

This technique helps with enhancing strategic thinking and prepares you for various potential outcomes.

Brainstorming Session

I usually use this technique with my clients when they seem stuck in a fixed mindset. I encourage them to write as many ideas related to a problem or goal as possible without using rational bias. I understand that, as mentioned above, logical thinking is essential for problem solving, but when you feel stuck and are unable to access that part of your brain, it’s best to unlock it by creating a flow of information.

Set a timer and list as many ideas or solutions as possible without self-editing. The goal is quantity over quality. At the end of the session, you can review your list and choose the most relevant ideas to expand on. During this flow, you discover some of the best unbiased solutions possible.

The process of brainstorming sessions can stimulate creative thinking and can lead to unexpected, innovative solutions.

The SCAMPER Technique

At times the solution doesn’t require a 180-degree change, and it just requires a few tweeks to deal with an existing problem or improvement. The SCAMPER method is usually used for improving existing procedures and ideas using familiar concepts.

You can take an existing idea and substitute (S), combine (C), adapt (A), modify (M), put to another use (P), eliminate (E), and reverse (R) to generate new ideas.

As Thomas Edison, one of America’s greatest inventors, famously said, “There’s a way to do it better—find it.” While SCAMPER is often used to improve products, the technique is also a good one to adapt and improve existing processes.

This method promotes innovation by encouraging you to think about how existing solutions or concepts can be altered to solve new problems.

The Role Play Method

The role-play method is effective when you are creating a new product or a solution for your customers. It helps you to identify the blindspots that you may miss as a creator and allows you to see the problem from an end user's perspective.

Imagine yourself in different roles related to the problem (e.g., a customer, competitor, or investor) and consider their expectations, needs, and what solutions your product offers them.

The role-play method in problem solving helps with critical thinking, encourages empathy, different perspectives, and more holistic problem-solving.

Cognitive biases can reduce our ability to solve problems rationally. With these exercises, you can develop and enhance your problem-solving skills to achieve timely and effective solutions. Critical thinking and problem solving are imperative skills for professionals, as they help you to develop solutions and generate fresh ideas that can be crucial for your organization’s growth and development.

If you are a HerMeNow participant or alumni, book your free coaching session now through the HerMeNow website https://www.hermenow.com/wellness.