Sleeping on a problem is the laziest-looking thing that actually works.

Stopping is sometimes the most productive move available. Your mind keeps sorting a problem while you sleep, rearranging it without you staring at it, which is why a knot from last night is often loose by breakfast. It looks like doing nothing and is not. Grinding on past the point of usefulness feels virtuous and produces worse answers.

When you are stuck tonight, write the problem down in one sentence and go to bed. Do not reread it. Look again in the morning before you check your phone, while the sorting is still fresh, and see what has moved.