Like I described in the last paragraph.

I solve engineering problems for a living.

Step 1. Check all the common problems. Is it the power supply? Measure every node? Check the wires? Everything is as it’s supposed to be yet it does not work. Know every part of how it’s supposed to work.

Step 2. Get up and go for lunch. Thoughts still swirl around in my head as I eat, I sit down with my coffee and usually get one or two more things to try popping into my head.

From what I’ve had described to me it’s the same thing being creative.

1. Sit down and write. The last paragraph does not sound good. Rewrite it, again and again. Still sound bad.

2. Get up and do something else, take a slow walk or something and see if you get some ideas.

Sleep is like it’s always been. Tired in the morning and awake in the evening. The lack of daylight in the winter is getting worse and worse the older I get.

Other than that quite good and slowly getting better.

Not sure if that is a thing. From what I’ve been taught:

When you concentrate on something your brain will tend to use familiar thought patterns and not be creative.

When you relax and un-focus you get more creative.

So in a way you can’t try to deliberately come up with ideas. The way around it is to focus on something you want ideas about for a few hours, then get up and do something mindless, have a walk or a bath or something.