Solving the wrong layer of a problem creates impressive-looking repetition.

Effort put at the wrong depth produces motion without progress. You fix the same category of thing again and again, each fix genuinely well made, and the log of work looks industrious while nothing structural moves. Repetition is often the clearest sign that the layer is wrong.

If you keep solving variations of one problem, stop and name the class it belongs to. Ask what change would make the whole class disappear rather than the current instance. Then decide whether you are able to make it.