Life is busy
We can very easily get caught up in the whirlwind of day to day activities. You may even find yourself continuing with something that is not working out as planned because who has the time to figure out how to make it better, right?! Wrong. If you were able to pause long enough to realize things aren’t going as planned, then that is the perfect time to stop and ask yourself – Why?
This simple strategy can really bring up a wealth of knowledge and understanding of certain situations.
Stop and analyze a current scenario you have that you would like to make better and ask yourself “why am I doing this?” Begin to act like the curious, annoying seven year old and ask yourself why repeatedly. After every time you provide an answer, ask why again. Do this up to 5 times to really dig into what the underlying problem is. Your surface thoughts are probably much deeper than you realize.
This technique is used in the Toyota Production Systems, and is now part of Lean and Six Sigma. The intention is to provide improvement in an industry or business. Since this technique has been proven time and time again to be effective, let’s apply it to the most precious industry of them all, our lives.
Here is an example of a trivial problem I have and how I can ‘5 Why’ it to determine the underlying issue.
My Problem: I can’t seem to get to work on time. I’ve been running late recently.
Why? Because I don’t get up when my alarm goes off.
Why? Because, I am just so tired and I hit the snooze button one too many times.
Why? Because I stayed up too late the night before and now I’m exhausted.
Why? Because instead of going to bed at the time I wanted to, I was watching shows/scrolling on my phone, doing who knows what, for hours.
Why? Because I like to have some time to decompress at the end of the day.
There it is- I have identified my underlying problem.
I enjoy having time to decompress at the end of the day, but then get sucked into whatever it is I’m watching on my phone, and I lose track of time. Before I know it over an hour has passed and I’m way passed the time I had liked to get to sleep. I cut into the sleep time I know my body needs, so the next morning will be a struggle to get up. So if ultimately I know I need this ‘decompressing’ time, then I need to at least set some boundaries on it. Because I know what the underlying issue is, I can be more mindful of the amount of time I spend on my phone(set timer/reminders). Or try to avoid the phone altogether and read a book instead. That will surely knock me right out!
This example was pretty trivial. But this method can be used for even bigger scenarios. It’s truly a self-reflection tool to dig deeper into your thoughts and actions. So whether you play it out in your head, or even better jot down your answers- keep asking why, until you find the true reason.
Here is another life example.
Problem: I’m not happy at my job.
Why? Because although I love my team, I have this feeling of dissatisfaction.
Why? Because I don’t feel like I’m making a difference with my work.
Why? Because I identify issues, and guide people but I’m not always sure change occurs.
Why? Because I cannot actually implement the necessary change.
Why? Because my job description is not a manager role, but more of consultation services.
Ok, I found it. Although I am so happy with my team and place of employment, I am still not fully satisfied in my work. Through the ‘5 Why’s’ I realize it’s because of the type of role I am in. I enjoy my job, but yet left with this feeling of not being satisfied and fulfilled because I get so far in a process and it ends. I personally like to follow through on things to see a positive outcome. That’s what keeps me thriving, engaged, and motivated to work. After this exercise, I will take steps into entering a leadership program offered at my place of employment to work towards a leader/manager role. This will allow me to be more hands-on in change implementation. I could even implement the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) method from my previous blog, to start the journey of finding a role that will fill my bucket.
Use the ‘5 Why’s’ exercise to take that moment to pause and evaluate something in your life that you would like to improve. By getting to the root of the issue, you can start to make some positive changes for the better. I know life is hectic, but your happiness shouldn’t be an oversight. That’s one thing we HAVE to make time for.
I really like this. It seems so easy but it gets to the root cause of the problem. Nice!
Glad you like it. Thank you so much for reading!
While working at Victaulic, we implemented “Lean manufacturing” which was modeled after the way Toyota motors operated their manufacturing plants worldwide. We often used the “5 why’s” exercise as a tool to get to the bottom of a problem within our manufacturing process.
IT WORKS !!!!!
Then you’ll also enjoy an upcoming blog- ‘Time to get Lean’. Stay tuned!
Thank you for reading!
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