Problem Solving, One Step at a Time

Ever feel like the work is piling on and you are falling into a never ending abyss? I do, a lot of the time. It's Sunday at 3 PM, the next day you have a project due, and two tests. The weekend went to waste and you haven't prepared. I know that feeling. But before you fall into this pattern you have to take action, one step at a time.

ONE STEP AT A TIME: The one step at a time method is a strategy that places a focus on the consequences of a problem. When you examine the problem through the consequences, reality strikes in quickly, and you want to eliminate the problem quickly. Thus, possible strategy's are created and ultimately, the best strategy implemented. Thi

s method works wonders.

My Problem:

This week, I waited until the last minute to do my Buddhism readings, a poor decision. By noon, every Thursday, I am required to have completed a reflection about the readings for the week. This week, the readings were not only many in number, but very long. The social me decided to put this off to the last minute, but cramming Buddhism on a Wednesday night was not the ideal solution.

Tackling the Problem:

After CLS on Wednesday, I headed to the library to confront this issue. I laid out the consequences of what would happen if I did not hand in the reading by noon, Thursday.

1) I would not do the readings, not turn in a reflection, thus lowering my grade.

-Certainly this was not acceptable.

2) I would skim half the readings, thus compromising my knowledge of the materials, or write a poor reflection.

Then I made a list of possible solutions.

1) I could read an article from Blackboard and an article from the book then write about those.

2) I could split up the readings into chunks throughout the day, then write the reflection.

This seemed like a good idea, but still chunked a lot of work into one day. So I decided to tweak it. I would do as much of the readings over the course of three hours in the library. Anything I did not finish reading, would be covered on thursday. I then decided to leave the reflection for thursday morning. Some might question this decision, but it makes sense for me. I do not sleep late, so I might as well get a lot of work done in the morning. So I put this strategy into action, and through tough work and procrastination, I eventually got my reflection done on time.

Why it Works:

This strategy works because it places the consequences of your actions right in front of you. This method is especially good for people who tend to procrastinate, such as myself. Also, it inspires you to think of solutions quickly and makes waiting until the last minute seem like a bad option.

Coping my Problems using the COPER

Stressed of not finding the solution to your problems? Frustrated because you can't be happy ?
Tired of thinking 'WHEN IS THIS GONNA END' ?
Anxious because your thinking the problem would resolve itself sooner or later knowing that it won't unless YOU take action? ...




This is exactly how I felt when I couldn't do my Woman's Gender Reading in PEACE ! Fidgeting in my seat, distracted by my friend's loud voices, hearing music on people's laptop made me just want to tell everybody to BE QUIET ! ... but then who would actually listen to me. In reality, NO ONE!

While reading Dr.Blumin's book "It's all about choices", I realized that the title was really true and in order for me to solve my problem, it would be my choice to fix this annoying situation I was in.

Let's go into depth what that "annoying situation" was and I'm pretty sure everybody has had one of these...

MY PROBLEM


For my Woman's Gender class, I would have assignments for homework to read at least 10 set of pages for each particular chapter. Although they might not seem a lot, it's hard to process everything in your head and understand the terminologies. I would have to be extremely focus and re-read the chapters over again to fully understand the main concepts. What was bothering me was that I couldn't do so because of the surrounding around me. It was either...

• My room but my bed would be so inviting for me to sleep so that was a NO !
• The study lounge at Day Hall but my friends were always there which meant DISTRACTIONS !
• The bad staircase at Day hall, although it was quiet and peaceful, it would be cold there and it got UNCOMFORTABLE to sit on the steps for a long period of time and there wasn't any tables so of course, a BIG NO !
  

My solution to end this problem ?

I decided to use the COPER which was really helpful for me because it was visual and actually allowed me write out each step to my problems and what i would do to fix it. This method would allow me to organize what my problem was and it allowed me to focus my attention on what i can do to fix it or to have options on fixing it as well.
How do you use this brilliant method ?

First, you make 5 rows and two columns and then you write in each row..

• Current conditions
• Options
• Plan
• Execute the plan
• Reflect

On the second column you summarize your responses.

1. For current conditions, you write out what was your problems, when did it happen, where does it happen and what were the consequences of it. This step helps you analyze the problem.
2. For options, write out what options you are willing to take to solve your problems and why do you think this would work? Also, write out what do you think the results would be. This step allows you to brainstorm solutions for your problems.
3. For plan, write when will YOU take action for the Options. *include the date and time. This step allows you to have a set date and commit to it.
4. For execute, I didn't really understand what to write for this column but i just wrote what i did to accomplish my solution. This allows you to see what you've done to solve your problem.
5. For reflect, write out how effective your plan was and explain the impact of it. Also, explain if you need to continue this plan or have to consider another option.This allows you to see what was a successful or unsuccessful solution.

My Results

Overall, I tried this method and it helped me see what was a possible solution i can do everyday. First off, i stopped going to the lounge and started going to the library in Bird and Carnegie more often. Everybody studying at the 'quiet room' in bird library respected the fact that it was a quiet room and in Carnegie as well. Although it could get a little noisy in bird library(quiet room), i managed focus on my readings without any distractions. Carnegie was extremely quiet and i could barely hear a pin drop. The only bad thing about Carnegie is that on weekends, they close at 5 in the afternoon. At least i can get my work done on time and concentrate better without any loud noises. My attention span has increased when i read my WGS chapters and i can successfully understand it without any distractions which was often time consuming.

The COPER method has allowed me to actually think about my problem and think of possibilities on what i can do to fix it. It was a guide that allowed me to get up and take action and evaluate the results. I also like the fact that it took off a lot of stress, i mean who doesn't ?