Always rolled my eyes at writers who outlined before drafting, but after I spent 3 months stuck on chapter 7 of my mystery novel, I tried a simple bullet point outline and finished the whole thing in 2 weeks.

Has anyone else found a writing habit they swore they'd never use actually saved their project?

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I think a lot of people miss that the real trick isn't the outline itself, it's that it forces you to make decisions early. When I was writing a short story I got stuck because I kept going back and changing the main character's motive. Once I wrote down "she wants revenge because of the letter" in a bullet point, I couldn't second guess it anymore. The outline becomes a contract with yourself. You don't have to stick to it forever, but it stops you from wandering around in circles. That freedom from indecision is what actually saves the project.