Using Puzzle Logic Like Letter Boxed to Improve Problem Solving in Microsoft 365

Hi everyone.

I have been thinking a lot lately about how we approach problem solving in the Microsoft 365 environment, and I realized that there’s a great analogy in a word puzzle I have been enjoying called Letter Boxed.

In Letter Boxed  you are given a set of letters arranged around a box. Your task is to form a chain of words that uses all the letters at least once where each word starts with the last letter of the previous word and no word repeats any letter. At first it seems simple  but as you dig deeper it becomes a challenge of strategy, pattern recognition, and efficient sequencing all skills that directly apply to how we approach solutions in Microsoft technologies.

Here is how I see the connection:

Mapping Dependencies Just like linking words without breaking the chain, when designing solutions in Power Automate, Azure Logic Apps, or Teams workflows we must map dependencies so each step flows logically into the next.

Avoiding Dead Ends In the puzzle some letter combinations make you hit a dead end. In real projects, poorly designed conditions, loops or API calls can lead to the same. Thinking ahead helps avoid those blocks.

Maximizing Resources The puzzle forces you to use every letter at least once. Similarly, we should strive to leverage built‑in capabilities Graph API, connectors and templates before building custom code.

I have found that using puzzles like this even casually helps sharpen the way I break down and solve complex configuration or integration challenges.

Question for the community:
Do you use any games, puzzles or outside the box activities to improve your technical thinking? How do you train your brain for better logic and sequencing when working with Microsoft 365 tools?

Looking forward to your ideas and experiences!

Thanks.