I learned one of my favorite ways to increase my productivity from the least intelligent student in my graduate school program. I was getting off the elevator when I saw James. Usually he looked a bit despondent, but this day he was ebullient. I asked, "What's up, James?" He said, "For six months, I had been unable to get started on my dissertation. I just kept staring at that blank screen, but yesterday my advisor told me two words that unlocked me: write crap. It's infinitely easier to revise your way into good work than to come up with brilliance out of thin air."

Now, whether it's a writing roadblock or any other problem, I simply write whatever comes to mind and start revising. It gets better very quickly. And it's much more fun seeing the ongoing progress than staring at a blank screen.

Think of a problem you're facing. Jot down something about the problem -- a few words or a diagram that describe the problem, its causes, possible solutions, whatever. Now, change one little thing that brings you a step closer to solving your problem. Keep making changes and you'll be more likely to come up with a solution than if you tried to go from clueless to solution in one giant step.