All of us, at one point or another, have gone into a stupor when faced with a problem. It’s a natural reaction for most, especially for those prone to panicking. If you’re often faced with a problem you don’t know how to deal with, this might be a useful guide to find some clarity, and along the way, get an answer to the dreadful “What do I do?!”Learn how to improve problem solving skills now.
1. What’s your problem?
The very first thing you should do when tackling a problem is define it clearly. This is not a step that can be skipped, by the way, though it often is. Clarity in what your problem is will give you clarity into what the solution for it might look like.
One of the easiest ways to find a solution to your problem is posing is as a question. The general mode of someone with a problem is “I have a problem! Just what am I going to do?”, but that’s obviously not productive. Use “why” questions, and don’t panic. Look at these examples of productive questions:
- “Why did the dog make a mess in the kitchen?” “Because no one took him for a walk that day. We should communicate better to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
- “Why did I get such low grades this semester?” “I failed to show up to class most of the time and didn’t hand in most of my assignments. The ones I did hand in, were late and sloppy. I should resolve to do better next year.”
The examples are pretty simple and general, but you get the idea. Posing your problem as a question is a great way to figure out a solution, the nature of questions being such that they almost demand answers. Sometimes it will take a few questions-and-answers to get to the root cause of a particular problem, just keep asking. You’ll know when you hit it.
By the way, all of this seems very obvious and simplistic, but you’d be amazed at how well this works for an exercise hardly anyone does.
2. Practical steps
If the previous portion could be done in your mind, for this one you’ll need pen and paper. Write down your question and the answer to it right underneath. Using different colors could be a good idea. What you’ll end up with is two lines: your problem, clearly defined, and your solution, clearly defined. This sheet of paper is about to become your action plan.
Let’s go back to the example used previously: “I failed to show up to class most of the time and didn’t hand in most of my assignments. The ones I did hand in, were late and sloppy. I should resolve to do better next year.” With a simple enough dissection, we get these components: Show up to class, hand in assignments on time, work harder on the assignments.
Make these components into a list and extrapolate practical resolutions from them:
- Show up to class: don’t stay up later than what would allow for a full night’s sleep. Only party strictly on the weekends. Get an alarm clock that isn’t a phone (you’d actually be surprised at how well this works to wake you up).
- Hand in assignments on time and work harder on the assignments: solution to both is not to put them off until last minute. Start doing the assigned work when it’s assigned!
And there’s your plan of action! This method is useful for decluttering your mind and finding a clear solution to your issue. If you’re prone to panic, use it. If your problem is a dilemma, try posing the question as a yes or no. The second step then becomes two columns of “action plans” towards different goals and the solution to your dilemma will present itself when you extrapolate the actions into results they will bring.
