You can often tell general idea of the tactic without doing any calculations, just looking at the general imbalances of the board.
For example, if you have a lot of pieces near the opponents king and not many defending it, there's a good chance it will be a "Mate is X". Another was to tell if it might be a checkmate problem is to look for forcing moves. See if you can give check, and then look at what happens after you give the check.
One way to tell if the puzzle is one where you win material is to look for pieces that are pinned, overloaded, hanging, etc.
Counting material can also be useful. If at the starting position you're down a queen, and you see a tactic that wins a knight, then that's not the right tactic, since in the final position you would still be losing by a lot. In the final position your side should have a significant material advantage (ie. more than just a pawn), a forced mate, or some other big advantage.
I hope these tips helped. Really the best way to increase your board vision and tactical skill is just a lot of repitition. At your level, almost all of your studying should be devoted to practicing tactics.
Good luck
What do I look at to get started on a problem?
So I am going through tactics trainer/puzzles/workouts/etc and I find myself at a loss when the scenario is first presented, not knowing how to start often leaves me in a state of "I dont want to think, I'll do it later".Eventually I will fight off that feeling and take a crack at the puzzle, and as a beginner, immidiately try to look for the obvious move (which is almost always wrong or not the best).
With that said, am I supposed to count the minor pieces first? Do I immidately look for the fastest mates? Do I look at the pawns?
Thanks in advance, bonus points for anyone who can find a video/article on the subject.