When struggling with a problem for a long time, it’s easy to get caught in a vortex of thoughts.

Imagine a software engineer named Alice. Alice has worked at Big Tech Co for 2 years, and she’s been thinking about getting a new job.

“I should get a new job. I know I’m underpaid. I kind of like my team, though my manager is going to leave the company soon, and that might hurt my chance of promo. Maybe I should stick it out for another few months, since I could still get promoted next cycle. I’m going to need some time to practice interviewing anyway. And I want to use the opportunity to go to Toastmasters at my company. I’ll have to get a new gym membership. And I want to learn Swift for my next job. But I’m also interested in backend development. Maybe I could get paid more doing that, too. I should do some research on what skill I should learn next. I don’t know what I’m doing at this company. But I don’t know if I should leave yet. Maybe my new manager will be better. But leaving also means burdening my team with a lot of extra work…”

Alice burns through a lot of mental energy debating each option. Days pass, then weeks, then months.

Finally, Alice talks to a mentor. She rambles for a long time and the mentor listens.

“What do you think?” she asks.

“…About what part?” the mentor asks, confused.

“Well my manager is leaving the team soon, so I was thinking that might hurt my chances of promo. And If I’m not going to get promo soon, I might consider getting a new job. But to get a new job, I need to practice interviewing–”

The mentor holds up his hand to signal “stop”. Alice stops talking.

“What’s the problem? Put it into your own words in one sentence.”

Alice pauses for a moment.

“I’m thinking of practicing interviewing, but I want to learn backend development, so I don’t know what language I should practice. And I’m not sure if I should get a master’s…” she rambles a bit more.

“Wait,” says the mentor, gently. “What’s the problem?”

Alice pauses again to reflect.

“I don’t know if I should quit my job and find a new one.” Alice says.

“Alright,” replies the mentor. “Do you want a new job?”

“Hmm…” Alice says. “I think so, but I’m not sure.”

Alice and her mentor spend some time discussing the pros and cons of each option, writing each idea down on paper. Finally, Alice decides she’s ready to look for a new job.

“Is there anything stopping you from getting started tomorrow?” Asks the mentor.

“No,” replies Alice. “I could start by reviewing data structures and algorithms, since those concepts apply to any language.”

Alice and her mentor spend another few minutes writing down a concrete game plan for interview prep. A month later, she has multiple interviews on the calendar at great workplaces with smart colleagues and interesting projects. She then evaluates each offer, negotiates her salary, and earns a $40k raise.

If you find yourself stuck, try asking yourself:

What’s the problem?

Condense the problem into a single sentence. You might be surprised that there’s no problem at all.