Problem solving at your finger tips
Whether you're faced with a decision to make or a conflict to resolve, a logical approach will help.
Problems are an inevitable part of living. Whether well educated or having little education, whether financially wealthy or having little money, everyone experiences feelings of uncertainty and confusion from time to time. Follow these basic steps and you'll be able to handle times like these.
Define the problem
What is it that you would like to see happen? Aim to be as clear as possible. 'I want to achieve 80 marks for English' is more helpful than 'Do better at English'. Put it down in writing and in a place where you'll see it often.
Consider the options
List as many ideas to overcome the issue as possible. They can be as wild and imaginative as your brain allows. Don't stop to evaluate or criticise the ideas. The purpose at this point is to generate a free flowing exchange of possibilities. Ideas for the above goal may include: Get a study partner, ask my teacher for extra help, get tutorials from the internet and find study guides. Write down all the options that come to mind.
Evaluate and select
Re-look at each of the options. Is the idea feasible? What would I need to do to make this happen? Are there constraints (time, money, etc) that limit the possibility of this working? For example: My parents cannot afford to pay for a tutor right now, but what about a study partner? Are there ways to broaden, tweak, or combine good suggestions to make them better?
Develop an action plan
Choose the options you think will work best and put together an action plan. Include the specific steps you will take for each choice. For example, if one piece of the action plan is 'increase studying to four hours a night', making a targeted plan about when, where and how you will study might be helpful.
Include a timeline with your action plan so you know when it is time to evaluate how things are going.
Fix and fine-tune
Assess how things are going. Is there steady progress towards your goal? Do changes need to be made in the plan? This is the time to revise the plan, if necessary. Cut out things that aren't helping, and possibly revisit the list made in the brainstorming step to see if you want to add anything new. Continue to evaluate and modify until the goal is reached.
You may like to keep a record of problems you've encountered and the journey that you took in order to overcome these. Use this to monitor your personal growth and to celebrate your development. Life's a journey and you'd do well to enjoy the ride.
