Getting Ready to Return to Work: Problem Solving

Getting Ready to Return to Work: Problem Solving Back in Motion Rehab Inc. January 2014

Getting Ready to Return to Work: Problem Solving We deal with problems almost every day. Problems can be large or small, and occur in all aspects of our lives in our personal lives and at work. Some problems are easily solved, while others are not so easily fixed. If we don t focus on resolving problems, they may become bigger. Even problems that seem to go away sometimes come back to haunt us later. Over time, unsolved problems create stress in our lives and take a toll on our health and well being. We solve problems all the time using various strategies and approaches. How did we learn to do this? Did anyone every sit down and teach us how to problem solve? Most people would say no most people learn how to solve problems though experience and using strategies that worked for them in the past. But we re not all good at solving problems. Most of us can handle the smaller day-today problems, but the bigger and more complicated problems are much harder to deal with. And many people find that when they feel stressed or overwhelmed, their problem solving skills seem to suffer. In fact, when people feel overwhelmed, they often avoid the bigger problems (which, unfortunately, does not make them go away). Problem solving is a set of skills. This means that it is something you can learn and develop and get better at. Working on improving your problem solving skills can help you function better in all aspects of your life, including at your job. Not only will it help you solve your problems more effectively, but it may even reduce your stress level and help you feel more confident. There are many different ways to solve a problem. All of them involve a series of steps. In this booklet we are going to focus on a 7-step problem solving model. Back in Motion Rehab Inc. Page 2

Seven steps to solve a problem may seem like overkill, especially for smaller problems. However, it is worth giving this process a try getting practice going through this stepby-step approach to coming up with solutions to problems can be really useful preparation for the bigger problems you may face in the future. The more you practice this, the easier it will be to move through the steps efficiently and effectively. STEP 1: Identify the Problem Sounds easy, right? Not always. Sometimes you may not be clear on what the specific problem is, or you may see a collection of specific problems as just one huge problem. In order to solve a problem, you need to figure out exactly what the problem is. Start by making a list of problems you need to fix. These can be related to any part of your life. Review your list and decide on ONE problem you want to focus on. In the space below, describe your problem be as specific as possible. If your description of your problem is too vague, it will be hard to know where your solution should start. For example, if you identify your problem as My kids are driving me crazy, it is a lot harder to know where to start than it would be if you managed to be more specific My kids are disorganized and don t listen to me when I ask them to get ready for school, and as a result they are often late. To help you narrow down the problem, it can be helpful to ask yourself some questions: What is the situation right now? Back in Motion Rehab Inc. Page 3

What is making me feel upset? What would I like the situation to be? STEP 2. Explore the Problem Once you are clear on what exactly the problem is, you can start to think about it from different angles. Here is a list of questions you can ask yourself that may help you think about your problem in different ways. This process can help you in coming up with ideas for effective solutions. How is this problem affecting me? How is this problem affecting others? Is this a problem for anyone else? If so, what are other people doing about this? Are there any obstacles in the way of solving this what is standing in my way? Step 3: Set Goals Isn t it time to start thinking about solutions? Not quite yet! Before you decide how you are going to solve the problem, it is important to think carefully about what it is Back in Motion Rehab Inc. Page 4

exactly that you want to achieve. This is especially true for bigger, more complicated problems. Think about your problem, and what it is that you want to achieve it is time to start narrowing down your goals. If one of your problems is my job is very stressful, you may be tempted to say your goal is to reduce my stress at work. This is probably very true but not very helpful in terms of really setting a goal because it is quite vague and general. How would you reduce the stress at work? Setting goals can be a lot more effective you use the SMART principle. The SMART principle is a technique for goal setting that can help you set goals you can actually achieve. Here is how it works: When you are setting a goal, try to make it Specific. Reduce my stress at work is general. Improve my time management skills so that I can be organized and schedule my work tasks every day is specific, and provides a much better starting point for coming up with solutions. Measureable. Finding way to measure the goal will help you know when have achieved it. For example, a goal that is hard to measure is being more organized. A measurable goal could be Each morning, use the calendar on my computer to schedule my day and include time to respond to emails and work on my important projects. It should be clear whether you are meeting the goal or not. To determine whether your goal is measureable, ask yourself questions such as: What exactly do I need to do? When? How much? How many times? How will I know when I have achieved this goal? Action-oriented. It is a lot easier to achieve goals when they involve you doing something. Even if your problem is a situation or another person s behaviour, think about what you might be able to do to help solve the problem. Realistic. It is important that your goal is realistic! Think about whether your goal is manageable for you, right now. Time-limited. Give yourself a time frame. Commitment to a deadline will help you focus your efforts and get started. This can be harder than you think! Use the box below to start working on your goal. There is lots of space provided so that you can rework your goal to meet all of the SMART criteria. Back in Motion Rehab Inc. Page 5

Think about how you will know when you have reached your goal, and record it in the space below. If you have trouble answering this question, you may want to keep working on defining your SMART goal so that you feel clear on how you will know when you have achieved it. Using the SMART principle can be useful to determining what it is that you want to achieve. It is also a helpful tool to use later on when you are planning your specific solutions. Step 4: Look at Alternatives Finally, time to start thinking about solutions! This is a time for brainstorming the more possible solutions you find, the more likely it is that you will find the most effective solutions. There is space in the box below to start writing down possible solutions to your problem. If you need more space, use extra paper. Here are a few brainstorming tips: It s easier to find a good solution when you have lots of different solutions to choose from. It doesn t matter whether the ideas are useful or practical at this stage just write down any idea as it comes to you. This may help get the juices flowing and lead you to new and creative solutions. You can discard the bad ideas later. You can also seek ideas about possible solutions by talking to others. Some solutions that seem silly at first can work when combined with other ideas. Back in Motion Rehab Inc. Page 6

Step 5: Select a Possible Solution Review your list of possible solutions. Think about which of these are most likely to give you the outcome you want. Which ones are most relevant to your situation? Which ones are most manageable? What are the pros and cons of the possible solutions? If you think it might be helpful, review your possible solutions with a friend or family member, and talk about the possible outcomes for your solutions, and about which ones might be the most practical or easy to implement. Going through the process of thinking about possible outcomes and the advantages and disadvantages of your possible solutions will help you identify the solution that will probably work best for you. You can use the following questions as a guide to choosing the best solution. Will this help me reach my goal and solve the problem? How good or bad will I feel if I choose this solution? Sometimes solutions can solve the problem but end up making you feel unhappy. How much time and effort does this solution involve? Is this practical for me right now? Does this solution have more benefits than costs? Think about how your possible solution will affect you and others. Back in Motion Rehab Inc. Page 7

Remember that a perfect solution rarely exists. There may be possible negative consequences to all of your possible solutions. Your job is to pick a solution that is the best for you right now, with the most benefits and the least costs. Record the solution you think will work the best for you in the box below. Step 6: Implement Your Solution After you ve picked your solution, it is time to make a plan of action! Think about the SMART principle make sure your plan is specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic, and time-limited. Write down all the steps it will take to carry out your solution. You will be much more likely to take action if you know exactly what you need to do, step by step. Now it s time to get started! Plan when exactly you are going to begin to implement you plan. Back in Motion Rehab Inc. Page 8

Step 7: Evaluate Effectiveness So did your solution work? Once you have implemented your plan, you can determine whether you were successful in solving your problem. If the answer is yes, then pat yourself on the back! If things didn t go as planned, then you may need to figure out what went wrong or got in the way. You may need to revamp your plan, or perhaps go back and choose a different solution, and make a new step-by-step plan. You can use the space below to map out your revised plan, or if you decide on a different solution, a new step-by-step plan. Don t get discouraged if you have to go through these steps more than once. Finding the right solution can be challenging, especially for more complicated problems. Back in Motion Rehab Inc. Page 9

Let s run through an example of this seven step process. Megan has been back at work for two weeks after a six month leave due to problems she was having with lower back pain and depression. She is finding her return to work to be pretty tough; she is having trouble staying focused and finds multi-tasking leaves her feeling anxious and frantic. She feels overwhelmed by her job tasks and worries that she is falling behind. Her back pain seems to be getting worse from sitting in her office chair for so long. She is exhausted after work and finds that she is irritable with her husband and kids. Step 1: Identify the Problem Megan made a list of the problems she was facing: 1. I m overwhelmed and stressed at work 2. I m disorganized 3. I am behind in my emails 4. I m having trouble focusing I m trying to keep track of several things at once and don t get anything done 5. I m forgetting to do things 6. My back is really sore by the afternoon which makes it even harder to focus and get anything done 7. I m grumpy with Dave and the kids it s not fair to them 8. I can t sleep because my back hurts and I m worried I ll get fired Back in Motion Rehab Inc. Page 10

Megan reviewed her problem list, and decided to focus on #2 I m disorganized. She worked on narrowing down the problem a little bit more: I m disorganized. My disorganization results in me having trouble focusing (because I am trying to do to many things at once, or I switch tasks before completing what I m doing) and forgetting things (I m forgetting things because I don t keep track of the things I need to do) Being disorganized leads to me feeling stressed and overwhelmed I want to have a tidy desk, and a clear plan for each day, with time to spend on the important things I need to do When Megan started thinking more carefully about her problem, she realized that several of the problems on her original list were related to the problems she was having with disorganization. It also helped her to start thinking about how she would like things to change. Step 2: Explore the Problem Megan used these questions to help her look at her problem from different angles: How is this problem affecting me? It is making me less productive at work. I am feeling stressed and overwhelmed. It s affecting my mood and sleep. How is it affecting others? My coworkers have to do some of my work. I m grumpy with my family. Who else experiences this problem? Elsie (coworker) has problems being disorganized. My son is very disorganized. What do they do about it? Elsie has learned how to use her work email/calendar more effectively to help her organize her day. I could ask her about that. I try to help my son be more organized for example, getting him to use his Back in Motion Rehab Inc. Page 11

This process helped Megan start thinking about the negative effects this problem was having on her and those around her, but also helped her see that she is not the only one struggling with disorganization. It also helped her starting thinking about ways that others deal with being disorganized (and that she knew some of these strategies already she was teaching them to her son!) Step 3: Set Goals Megan used the SMART (specific, manageable, action-oriented, realistic, and timelimited) principle to develop a goal: SMART Goal I want to improve my time management skills so that I can feel more in control of my work tasks and environment. I would like to have a practical plan ready by Friday so that I can start making changes on Monday. This helped Megan come up with an overall goal for what she wanted to achieve. There were still details to work out (like the plan!) but she could use the SMART principle again later to help her work out more detailed, specific action-oriented goals. Step 4: Look at Alternatives Megan made a list of things she might be able to do to help her be more organized at work. Back in Motion Rehab Inc. Page 12

Use my computer calendar/email system to plan and schedule my work tasks this will also give me reminders so I m less likely to forget things Make a list at the end of each day of the things I want to work on the next day prioritize the list, and keep it by my keyboard so I can see it Clean up my desk! Take breaks so I can relax a bit and organize my thoughts (this might also help with my back pain!) Turn off my email notifications so I can stay focused on what I m doing (instead of switching to my email) Schedule time to catch up on emails Keep a notepad on my desk so I can make notes and lists Ask coworkers to help with some of my work tasks for the next week or two until I feel more on top of things Stay late for a few nights so that I can get caught up Step 5: Select a Possible Solution Megan reviewed her list of possible solutions, and thought about how realistic and manageable they were, as well as the possible outcomes. She decided a few of her solutions were not such great ideas for her at this point of time. For example, staying late might result in her feeling more stressed and overwhelmed, and even grumpier when she got home. It also might not be manageable, given that her back pain was worse at the end of the day. She decided that there were a few possible solutions that were worth focusing on because she believed they were most likely to be of benefit, and had the least amount of risk. Back in Motion Rehab Inc. Page 13

Use my computer calendar/email system to plan and schedule my work tasks this will also give me reminders so I m less likely to forget things Make a list at the end of each day of the things I want to work on the next day prioritize the list, and keep it by my keyboard so I can see it Clean up my desk! Take breaks so I can relax a bit and organize my thoughts (this might also help with my back pain!) Turn off my email notifications so I can stay focused on what I m doing (instead of switching to my email) Schedule time to catch up on emails However, these seemed like a lot to do at once. Megan decided it would be most manageable for her to work on implementing one possible solution at a time. She decided to choose one solution and work on implementing it over a period of one week. If that went well, she would try to start on one of the other solutions the following week. She decided to start with: Use my computer calendar/email system to plan and schedule my work tasks this will also give me reminders so I m less likely to forget things Step 6: Implement your Solution Looking back at the SMART principle, Megan decided to get even more specific and focus on being time-limited. Here was her plan: Back in Motion Rehab Inc. Page 14

Spend five minutes each morning reviewing and organizing my calendar Allow extra time for each task Leave a 30 minute block empty in the morning and afternoon for unexpected tasks (I can fill these with things on my to-do list if nothing comes up) Stick to the schedule! Try not to get distracted by other tasks Start using the calendar on Monday Stick to it for one week and then evaluate how it s going Step 7. Evaluate Effectiveness of Solution. At the end of the week, Megan was pleased with how using her computer email/calendar system was helping her be more organized. However, she identified a few problems. I didn t schedule enough time to finish tasks I didn t leave any time in my schedule for unexpected (but important) tasks this led me to fall behind in my plan which made me feel stressed Megan made a few tweaks to her original plan: Back in Motion Rehab Inc. Page 15

Spend five minutes each morning reviewing and organizing my calendar Stick to the schedule! Try not to get distracted by other tasks Start using the calendar on Monday Stick to it for one week and then evaluate how it s going After a few weeks of working on her first solution, Megan was satisfied she was on the right track, but she felt that she still having some problems with disorganization. She decided to start implementing some of the other possible solutions on her list. You can use Megan s example to help you work through this process using your own problems. Remember that effective problem-solving is a process that takes time and practice. It doesn t always go right the first time that s okay! Remind yourself to be flexible, and to keep trying. Learn from what didn t work and move forward! Back in Motion Rehab Inc. Page 16