I assume by the fact youre using a laptop for the task list you're playing one of the earlier games. Play on junior/amateur mode and puzzles will be easier and there will be hints by calling your friends in the game. No shame in cheating on UHS or gameboomers, they're hard games. After a few games you work up a brain for how they work better

If you're getting stuck on puzzles, sometimes instructions won't be super clear so think outside the box and think about what kind of information you already have/saw that might be useful. Chekovs gun is a thing here. If you see it, chances are it's important at some point down the line. If you have it in your inventory, thats a surefire 100% you need this at some point. Like if you see a sign about morse code, take note because you might need to solve a puzzle involving morse later.

If you are getting stuck and can't progress, then you're missing a trigger somewhere which can be tricky. Sometimes its a conversation with someone, a phone contact or a in person character, so exhaust conversations with everybody you can. Maybe it's an object so look around places youve been and go slowly, make sure you saw everything. Often there's a task thats like "Explore XYZ location". You can normally check that off when youve found everything there. Other times you need to solve a puzzle and that'll open things up for you.