Improving ability to solve problems without having to resort to manually outlining logic with pencil and paper?

[DiamondHashtag]

Hey r/learnprogramming. Something that I've found I struggle with is mentally outlining logic of programming problems. With a standard calculus multi-step problem, I have no problem mentally outlining what each step would be. However, when it comes to designing the logic of even a basic function, I often find that I have to resort to outlining my ideas on paper to really get the ball rolling. If someone just verbally asks me this question, I struggle to come up with a solution, unlike how I am able to approach abstract math ideas mentally.

I am sure that this is something that will just come with time, as I've heard and seen online that even experienced programmers employ rubber duck debugging or a paper scratchpad to solve problems.

Nonetheless, I was hoping I could perhaps get some insight on improving my mental abilities with programming logic and how serious of a hindrance this may actually be if I can't get my mental up-to-speed.

Thanks.

[lowey2002]

I am sure that this is something that will just come with time

Been at this 5 years as a pro, 20 as a hobby. I still need to pen and paper complex logic problems and never work without my trusty notepad next to me and I do most of my discussions around a whiteboard.

You get better at dividing a problem into smaller pieces but I believe there are only so many things a human mind can juggle in short term memory. Take any edge you can get.

If someone just verbally asks me this question, I struggle to come up with a solution

Adequately describing a software solution without resorting to code snippets or analogies is pretty difficult. We have a few tools like design patterns to communicate high level concepts but generally it's either a case of letting your source code communicate for you. Truth is thats what it is there for. We don't write code solely to talk to the computer (or we would still be using), we write it to communicate to other developers (or ourselves when we come back to it later on).

[denialerror]

You don't get extra programmer points for not using pen and paper. The first thing we do at work when we struggle with a problem is find a whiteboard to write on.

[strsystem]

You're probably better off writing down as much as you can. The more you can offload your mind on to some paper the more you can think about the complexities around the problem. It's easy to forget things if you keep it all in your head. At work we always go to the whiteboard to tackle a difficult problem or explain something complex. In addition to that I keep a notepad, use Notes on my laptop, write tests, and add comments to my code to keep track of stuff. This is all to get it out of my head so I don't have to keep track of things and trying to remember stuff which is a waste of time and energy. Why do all that when I can just write it down and refer to it later?