Save often, increase speed (in later games), learn keyboard shortcuts or clicks to get through repeated plays faster, then if sleeping on a puzzle doesn’t help try a hint system like UMS.
I’m not a fan of the “save scum” term since it seems so negative for a perfectly reasonable technique. Some people watch movies only at home so they can pause, rewind, and jump to wherever they want. So no shame in doing similar things with the games we play.
EDIT: Forgot to mention save states like with DOSBox-X that can allow quick save and load for DOS games that limit saving and loading or lack it entirely.
