Have you ever felt stuck in dealing with a problem? You know you have to solve an issue, but it's hard to see a clear path to positive results. What do you do when you're stuck?

In problem solving, being stuck isn't always immediately apparent and we arrive at the realization in different ways. I, for one, tend to procrastinate when I'm stuck, dealing with menial tasks instead of the important one at hand.

Promotional Consultant Today shares these tactics to deploy the next time you notice you're deep in the stuck.

1. Apply tried-and-true problem solving frameworks. The bad news? "There is no formula for problem solving," says Michael Kallet, author of Think Smarter. "If there were, we'd plug the world's problems into the formula, and we would have no problems." The good news is there's no shortage of ways to look at problems that generate ideas for solving them.

Look at problems with a different perspective. For example, instead of asking, "What can I do to be brilliant?" you can start by asking, "What should I do to avoid being stupid?" In that way, inversion thinking can eliminate nasty problems.

2. Give it a rest: the incubation period. Once you a) recognize you're engaging in your personal favorite avoidance behavior and therefore b) arrive at the realization you're stuck, then what? Stop right there. Step away and let your subconscious take over for a while. Scientists call this the "incubation period," since our brains continue to work on problems after we consciously abandon them and go do something else. Activities that give you relative solitude, free you from distraction and allow your mind to wander, such as long walks, meditation or prayer, a good night's sleep, exercise, even your boring commute, let your subconscious mind work its magic. Ever wonder why you arrive at your best ideas in the shower? This is why.

3. Seek outside perspective. Talking to an uninvolved party—a mentor, a spouse, a therapist, a trusted friend or colleague—will bring a fresh perspective to solving your problem. Describe what the problem is, what you've done and where you're stuck. Unlike you, they're living outside the problem, so they'll see it from a different angle and hopefully ask questions you haven't thought to ask yourself. Sometimes, simply verbalizing the problem is enough to solve it; the act of saying it out loud can make the right thing to do seem painfully obvious.

Here's an easy way to get unstuck: Read tomorrow's issue of PCT for more ideas and inspiration.

Source: Emily Triplett Lentz is on the marketing team at Help Scout, the invisible help desk software.