When I have a tough problem and go on 'walkabout' it isnt exercise... often I just go outside and sit on the bench. The point is to ignore the problem and let my mind get out of an unproductive rut... to approach it from a new angle. I cannot emphasize enough how often this approach has saved my ass, especially when dealing with problems that threatened my making a deadline- It is how I have come up with solutions that have solved problems that were threatening whole programs...

I have made 'ignoring' a problem a regular part of my problem solving procedure. I have seen people that just sit at their desk and pound away at a problem endlessly for hours, this is inefficient in my opinion.

I am just sharing a method that has been astoundingly successful in my experience, it may not work for everyone...