— Problem-Solving, Skills — 4 min read
The first step to problem mining is to realize that you have a problem. It's easy to follow a pattern of just going through our days at work as though work is dictating all our actions. Constantly in firefighting mode, it's hard to take a step back and ask how we can stop the fire from happening in the first place.
When running on the hamster wheel, it's hard to see if there is a better way. There is always another fire to put out, and the "to-do" list will never be empty. What if you could solve problems that made life better for you, your colleagues, your boss, and your organization? Is it worth taking a moment to step back and assess what's causing you problems?
Problems can be simple and only affect you. For instance, I would get emails requiring no action from me daily. I would receive dozens of emails every day. My routine was to delete them manually. I did that for months. I took some time off, and upon coming back, there were over a thousand emails. Not wanting to go through all of them, I added filters to my email so I wouldn't see those emails again. If that saved me 10 minutes a day over a year, that is around 2500 minutes or about 41 hours. What could you do with an extra work week? What if you solved that problem for 50 others in your organization with similar results? That would be like adding an entire person to your team.
Engaging your critical thinking, analytical skills, and creative thinking keeps the mind sharp. Challenging yourself adds to your self-confidence and satisfaction. We can find where our limitations and assumptions are and generate more self-awareness. All of that allows us to grow and improve as individuals.
For your career or business, problem-solving is a crucial skill to develop. The impact in identifying issues only sometimes directly affects the bottom line, but it can lead to improvements in efficiency, getting time back, or customer satisfaction.
Right now, many organizations across the globe are in the middle of a review cycle. When we fill out our review, do we want to be assessed based solely on the tasks we've completed or how we impacted ourselves and others through problem-solving? "I stamped 24 TPS reports" versus "I automated the stamping process for TPS reports for the team, and now we have doubled our TPS stamping output." Which one sounds better to you?
You may need help finding meaningful problems in your personal or professional life. The first step is to change your mindset that you will look for problems. We can tell our brains to focus on something that interests us so it stands out more. This mental hack is called the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon, or its street name of "frequency illusion." For example, when I'm interested in buying a car, I notice that model everywhere I go.
Pay attention to details and feedback from those around you. Get into the habit of asking "why" something is painful or difficult and "what if" we changed how we operate.
Not all problems need immediate solutions, but identifying a potential issue and raising awareness can also be valuable. We can cultivate a curious and proactive mindset, always seeking improvement opportunities.
Once you switch your mindset to problem-hunting mode, you'll start noticing more opportunities to problem-solve around you. It is often hard to see problems in your own life, especially when fighting fires all day at work. One trick to identify issues in your life is to journal the activities you do and how much time you spend on them throughout the day. Also, you can add a mood tracker along with those to detect patterns.
If you notice you spend 15% of your day on a task that usually puts you in a bad mood, there might be an opportunity to improve your life by reducing the time spent on the task or finding a way to improve your mood.
Not a day goes by that you don't hear colleagues complaining about something. Taking note of those vocalizations might reveal a pattern and a problem for you to solve.
Next time you speak to your boss, ask them what they are struggling with. Your boss's challenges could lead to a good problem to solve for you or an opportunity to make something less of a challenge.
After a few days of looking for problems, you might have more than you can solve. You'll need to categorize them. There are three categories:
I recommend not jumping into a complex level problem. Starting with a few personal ones would be the best place to start. Something you are in control of has a high impact and aligns with your personal or organizational goals should be at the top of the list.
Problems are easy to find once you mentally shift to look for them. Identifying problems creates opportunities for improvement in your life. It allows you to address issues, make necessary changes, and enhance various aspects of your life.
Turn your problem-hunting mindset on today and start recording all your problems. Over a few days, you should have a list of personal and professional issues to prioritize.
For more formal methods of prioritization, there are many available options for you to choose from: