A problem facing the urgency of time

“If I had an hour to solve a problem, I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.” — Albert Einstein. Yet…

A problem arises. The clock is ticking. A fast-approaching deadline is just around the corner, and you have to come up with some sort of solution. Hopefully, it will work — tick a box.

The clock is ticking. There is less and less time for you to figure things out. The time pressure just puts you in a state of searching for solutions that could potentially work for the problem you’re dealing with.

How long do you have to fully comprehend the problem you are working on? How long are you willing to spend on it? Einstein is said to have believed in spending most of the time on fully understanding the problem you are facing before coming up with a solution. What are your thoughts on his belief?

The clock is ticking. You feel that you have no time. You have to deliver. You are afraid to take that step back to fully understand the problem. You come up with a solution that just barely passes the target. You’re relieved. You can now live to fight another day.