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    • Let's think a little.

    Often the hardest part of "thinking a little" is knowing where to start. I think we've all experienced that paralyzing fear when someone asks us a question, and we have no idea how to even begin.

    To combat this, it's a good idea to have a series of questions -- the right questions, of course -- which you can ask yourself.

    Here are some good starting places:

    • What do you know?
    • What do you need to know?
    • What is stopping you getting from what you know to what you need to know?
    The last one is the whole trick. By correctly identifying the obstacle in your path, you are often able to remove it. Let me say that again. Simply understanding what the obstacle is can sometimes remove it.

    Let's see how this plays out in our problem.

    What do you know?

    What do you need to know? That's pretty straightforward. You need to know which trashcan our skateboard is in.

    What's in your way?

    Now that you've identified the obstacle, you should be well on your way to solving the problem. Can you do it? Think about it. Try and get it on your own before checking my answer.