4 Steps in Simplifying Life’s Most Difficult Situations

Adulting and Life is hard.  Really hard. 

How did we so quickly get ourselves into a situation that we have to make real-life, important decisions.  Decisions about jobs, houses, families, finances…planning for our future.  It can be overwhelming and scary.  And unfortunately we do not have the option to just not.  We can’t just NOT face these decision making situations.  So what can we do?  We can gain the confidence and competence to move forward and decide.  To face each situation with faith in ourselves that we are fully capable of tackling life’s next curve ball.  So here are 4 steps in simplifying life’s most difficult situations.

The circle of life-

Or as referred to in my risk management world-  the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) model originally developed by a statistician and engineer named Walter Shewhart then popularized by W. Edwards Deming.

This strategy is broken up into four stages that can truly be applied to every day life scenarios.  You probably already use parts of this model without even realizing it.

1. Plan: You want to accomplish something, and the first thing you need to do is plan it out. Envision what improvement you are seeking. Self-reflect on why you want this end result. Learn how you can accomplish the task at hand.
2. Do: Got it? You know what you want to do and how? Move forward and take steps to get it done. Get yourself motivated and moving one step at a time to tackle this project.
3. Check: How did it go? Did you accomplish what you wanted? If not, why not? Were you close, or really far off that goal? Were you able to play out all of the planned steps? Did you learn enough about the task or project to really know what you needed to do?
4. Act: Did the planning, doing, and check phases go well? – then what more do you want to accomplish? Let’s build on that. OR – Nope, that was horrible and not what I intended to happen. After evaluating what happened in the check phase, determine what additional changes are needed and what your action is going to be here.

I’m telling you – you do this. Think of any basic situation you encounter throughout the day and go over it with the steps listed above.

Here’s mine for the day:

• Plan:  I’m going to wake up early to get a workout in
• Do:  I set my alarm for 1 hour before my normal time.
• Check: My alarm sounded, I snoozed it umpteenth times and did not get up and workout.
• Act: Fail.  But that’s ok.  I was too tired to actually get up and my new plan is to get to bed earlier so I can actually get up with the earlier set alarm.

Practice makes perfect.  Using this strategy in day to day activities strengthens this skill so it can be applied to bigger/difficult items.  Start flexing your risk management muscles.  You will then know you can work through the next life changing challenge you face by applying this simple model because you are an expert at it.  You do it every day.

So when should you use PDCA in your Life?

This strategy can be applied to any situation in life that you are seeking improvement or looking to change. 

Here’s another example that is more high risk than waking up early:  You are unhappy in your current place of employment and looking to improve your situation through a change in jobs. 

Plan

-Plan what job will be a good fit.  What type of work do you think will make you happy?  Which jobs are you qualified for?  Decide on a salary range you are willing to take.  Refresh yourself on the necessary steps of job finding, including resume building and interview processes. 

Do

-Do a job search to see what is available.  Revamp that resume and start to apply.  Interview for roles.  Accept a new job when it’s offered.

Check

-Check on your status.  This step determines how that ‘Act’ step will play out.  Maybe you aren’t getting calls for an interview.  You may need to act, and seek advice on your resume.  Start all over and really put some time into it.  Or maybe you got so far as accepting a new role and you are still unhappy.  The action here requires self-reflection to find out what exactly you’re unhappy about –are you still doing a similar type of work?  

Act

– And finally the Act phase.  You have to be willing to make a change.  As you move through the PDCA process, if things don’t work out, you may need to make several changes.  That change can either be to let the failure roll off your shoulder and go with it, a grin and bear it mentality.  Perhaps you re-evaluated and decide to stick with your current job, because although it wasn’t your passion, it allows the flexibility in schedule you needed with your family.  You could make a slight change to have the situation become something tolerable.  You may have realized you weren’t feeling invigorated but still like the company overall, so you look within for a change in roles.  Or you can decide to go all in, start the process all over and make a necessary drastic change.  Start the resume from scratch using available resources, apply to areas that are completely different and say yes to every interview even just for practice.  Don’t stop until you land your dream job.

Those are your options, choose one that will bring you happiness.  Either option you choose requires change, and change is hard. 

But with a simple tool like PDCA, it’s doable.

If you are in the ‘check’ phase and realize the life change you made is not working, you may decide that the situation is not worth the time or effort to push forward.  That is ok.  If the goal you were originally seeking is simply not that important to you anymore, your efforts could be more beneficial elsewhere.  You gave it a shot, now you know, and you are ultimately ok with how things are.

However if the end result is not what you pictured, and is still so important to you, then you have to keep on.  Keep working the process and making the changes, because it will be worth it.  Start back in the beginning phase and really plan it out so you have a clear vision.  Use all of your resources in the ‘do’ phase to ensure you are giving it everything you’ve got.  There will be a point when you get to the check phase and have achieved your goal!

Clearly identifying your goal and what improvement you are trying to achieve is half the battle. Then continue with the steps to implement, and re-evaluate. This is a proven process that works, and you will succeed.

• Instagram
• Facebook
• Pinterest
• Twitter