problem solving

This past Monday I found myself with the problem of a car still stuck in snow. I hadn't moved my car since the weekend snow storm so I knew it was time to get to work on getting it out. I hadn't gone by my car since Sunday but I was sure it was still stuck so I came out of my building with the shovel ready for the task. Sure enough as I approached the front of my car it was clear that it was still surrounded by snow. Some snow had melted but overall it still looked the same from the front so I set to work right away.
I felt a small bit of relief to see that some snow had melted as it meant I had less work ahead of me. Unfortunately my hopes were crushed as soon as I started to shovel and realized that some of that snow was now ice. However, I kept on shoveling and as there was less snow/ice it wasn't long until I had done enough to be satisfied that I was going to be able to drive my car out of its ice enclosure.
Once my work was done I walked to the side of my car with the intention of putting the shovel in the back seat, drive out of the spot and around the back to return the shovel. However, for some reason I thought better of it and kept walking to the back of my car towards the entrance of the building in which I live.

Up until now there hasn't been anything out of the ordinary in my story. However, as I gaze moved from my car door to the back of my car I realized something that changed this whole everyday experience. Standing there, with shovel in hand, I noticed that the whole back side of my car, and the two parking spots behind it, had been cleared of snow completely! If I had only bothered to walk around my car once I would have realized that all I needed to do to get my car out was put it in reverse.

So, I spent about half an hour shoveling snow and ice because I was prepared for the problem and was able to deal with it efficiently! See, I knew what the problem was and once I knew that I did not bother to look back, I gathered the tools I needed and went at it. As I sit at home now I wonder if this is the way I approach problem solving in my life? that is to say, once I feel I have a grasp of the problem I gather the tools I need and, without looking back, get to it. am I wasting time by skipping a step?