When I solve physics problems and get confused by something changing, I have a tendency to turn it into a "static" problem by plotting out all the possible changes as if they are points, and then represent that change as a trajectory through these points.
It often give me a better idea on what is happening, since I am kinda a computer and can only possess one step at a time
(This is why I suck at dynamical systems, too many things happening at the same time)