I've come to the conclusion that almost everything within the IT industry boils down to one discipline, or practice... Problem Solving.
Now, I'll warn you before you begin reading any more, I could go off on one with this.
All the way through school, and indeed University, problem solving cropped up many times - usually in the form of you're given an example of a problem and you need to come up with a solution to solve said problem. Our dissertations revolved around the concept of problem solving - with us using a cycle to design, develop, implement and test a solution.
In the real world, as an IT Technician, I'm having to problem solve 24/7 (well, 9 to 5 really)...
The problems usually come in the form of "this has stopped working" and "I tried to do that, but it wont let me". The most common problem being "the printer's not working".
So, my job is to come along and problem solve. The best way to do this is in a logical step-by step method, otherwise known as the process of elimination. In the case of the printer, this process begins with checking the most obvious things - as 99% of the time they're the cause of the problem. Cables, paper, ink. In that order.
Of course, if the problem falls within the 1%, then I usually get them to send their documents to another printer, giving me time to get back to what I was originally doing. It also allows me to return to the problem at a later stage, once I've thought it through. You see, that's a problem with problem solving - it can't be rushed. Whereas everyone you're problem solving for seem to be in a rush themselves.
You may now return to your everyday lives.