Heh. I'd love to be able to tell my boss -- "I'm a little stumped. See you tomorrow."

(But I do see what you mean, and I agree)

Less so now that it is post "dot com" era - but this is actually not entirely out of place in the tech world.

Especially if your workplace has the mindset that things need to get done by a certain date, and how they get there doesn't entirely matter (depending on what you are producing, and perhaps team dynamics or lack thereof) - then frequently they will tell you to do whatever it takes to free your brain to wrap around the problem.

Effectively managing a problem includes knowing when there is inefficient cycles, and remedying the solution.

That said - there are many more managers that would never ever do that.
(and of course if you have a schedule that involves certain hours due to customer interaction, this is totally infeasible)

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There are some odd things afoot now, in the Villa Straylight.

Unfortunately my workplace has the mindset that things needs to get done by a certain date, and it doesn't entirely matter how we get there as long as we put in at least 40 hours per week...

I second that. When I started to work for the company I now work for, I used to have the best idea during the five-minute walk to the next train station! Which is a good indicator that I haven't really been able to detach myself from the problem during the day.

I like to ask my coworkers as well. It often helps that most of them are not programmers; I have to explain the problem in a different way to them, which helps me to find the solution.

And I also like to go and have a cup of coffee. Not because of the coffee, but because it makes me get up and walk around. Then, I can just stay in the kitchen for a few minutes and think about my problem in a different environement.