Many research students go through periods where their research seems to stall, their motivation drops, and they seem unable to make any progress. As supervisors, we attempt to remain alert to signs that our student's progress has stalled. Drawing on cognitive strategies, this article explores a problem-solving model supervisors can use to identify the major causes of the student's lack of progress and facilitate the student's re-ignition. Each of the problem identification and solving phases is acknowledged by and situated within research on postgraduate supervision and supported by analyzing transcripts from a study on postgraduate supervision.