Help - Mind has gone blank for interview answers!

Hello
I have got an interview in the new year and I am currently practising my interview skills and answers however there is one question that for the life of me I just don't know how to answer which is 'tell me about a time you used your problem-solving skills'. I know I do use this on a daily basis but I just cannot think of any answers. Does anyone know how to answer this please?

[gee4]

You never helped someone with Word or Excel?  It doesn't have to be a mind-blowing example.  The panel want to know how you handle this kind of thing.

Stick to problems that you were able to solve, i.e. "I had problem X, which I later managed to resolve by doing Y".  Show that you are a person who can solve problems rather than someone who lets things get on top of you.

[msmarieh]

Have you ever had something go wrong that you were working on, and you had to fix it? For instance, the State Dept lost my boss's passport one time when it was sent in for renewal. Had to jump through hoops to get it replaced in time for his trip.

Have you ever reorganized something (filing system, mail room, etc.) because it wasn't working well and you had some ideas to improve the efficiency of it?

Have you ever had someone get stuck with something (such as gee's computer example, but it could be anything) and they came to you to brainstorm ideas?

Think about those kinds of things.

I'll also say, just as something to mull over... If you DON'T have any examples, this may be an area that needs improvement for you, as it may indicate that your co-workers don't think of you as a resource when they have a problem or you may not be showing enough initiative in your workplace. Not meaning that unkindly. It's just something to think about.

[Atlanta Z3]

Take a browse through your sent emails.  I'm sure you will find a crisis where you shined and saved the day.  You may want to start a diary, log, monthly task list to help remember key projects in the future.  We have to turn in monthly reports, I've used those reports to highlight accomplishments.

[StephanieP]

I often consider situations where I used initiative to handle something on behalf of my boss/the department: Identifying/correcting a budget item that may have been incorrectly applied to my department, handling a hotel/airline/travel crisis without being asked, managing schedule conflicts, determining and implementing a better process for something (whether that's identifying the right software to use for a project, developing an office procedure to make something more streamlined, etc.)

Have you ever gone into a job and been given very little training? You probably needed to problem-solve your way through that.  I personally like to use an example where I show that I not only solved problems but implemented solutions that could prevent the same issue from cropping up again.