Your brain keeps working on problems while you rest. Stepping away isn’t quitting. It’s background processing.

Thinking does not only happen while you sit there straining at it. A problem keeps getting worked on while you walk the dog, shower or sleep, which is why the answer arrives at a strange moment with no effort attached to it. Stepping back is a stage of the work, not an escape from it.

When you are genuinely stuck on a problem set, stop after a real attempt and go do something physical for twenty minutes. Come back and read the question again. Treat leaving the desk as a move you chose rather than a failure of will.