“When I got stalled on a painting project, I’d learned over time to resist the impulse to tackle the creative problem head-on. Maybe because I always had a second or third job to keep me occupied, I’d gotten into the habit of letting my thoughts percolate. Instead of worrying about the problem directly, I’d stop thinking about it, put it to one side. Some other part of my brain would work on it and a solution would present itself as if it had been there the whole time.”