What Can Jigsaw Puzzles Teach Us About Problem Solving?

Like many other families during the holidays, we found ourselves going analog and working on a jigsaw puzzle. It occurred to me that there are many parallels to be drawn between one’s approach to tackling a puzzle and tackling challenges at work or even in life.

I’ve always enjoyed the process of solving jigsaw puzzles. At the most basic level, there’s the satisfaction of such tangible, measurable progress commensurate with the effort. Sure, some puzzles are easier than others, but at the end of the day they can all be assembled to match the picture on the box cover. Part of the frustration when problem solving is that you can sometimes feel like you’re going in circles no matter how hard you’re trying. As I tried to make out a blur of purple grapes in my puzzle, I wondered how to apply the jigsaw mindset to problem solving in general.

1. Start with the edge pieces – define the shape of the project / objective / goal.
2. Pick an identifiable shape or object to work on rather than randomly trying to fit pieces across the entirety of the puzzle. The focus will help you make more immediate, tangible progress and you have the satisfaction of seeing the picture build.
3. If you’re building the puzzle as a team, determine if you’re working together or independently. If independently, state your focus so that if the other person comes across a piece that may help you, they can pass it along. If working together, give one another enough space to work effectively. It does no one any good to be getting in each other’s way or competing for pieces.
4. Remember to take a break. You may think you’re in the zone (puzzles can be addictive that way) but at some point you hit a wall and need to stop. Get up, take a walk, do something else. You’ll come back with a fresh perspective and energy.
5. The piece you need may not be the piece you’re looking for. That’s the trick with puzzles – when the image is broken down into small pieces, things get distorted. You need to keep an open mind and try things that might not seem like the obvious fit at the outset.
6. A puzzle can still be "solved" even without all the pieces. One puzzle we assembled was missing more than a few pieces. It's easy to get fixated on a missing piece when it's really not necessary to see the whole picture. We elected to keep going and still managed to see the bigger picture.

So the next time you find yourself working through a problem – whether at work or in life – try to see it in the context of a jigsaw puzzle just waiting to be solved.