before you start working on a problem, use this exercise to help focus your problem statement. the idea is to zoom out or zoom in and make the problem either more general or more specific. you may discover that the problem is bigger or smaller than you originally thought and this may give you an idea for a creative solution.
for example, suppose the problem is that you have a messy living room. to zoom out, you can ask yourself why questions.
"why is my living room messy?"
because i don't have the time to clean it.
"why don't i have time to clean it?"
because i am always at work.
"why am i always at 