Plan, Do, Check, Act

Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA) this is a carry-over from my days in Continuous Improvement / Kaizen. At that point in my life, it was targeted at manufacturing processes, but the concept has a lot of application across all aspects of life.

So often we just "do" - or at the very best, "plan, do, " but it is in the last two pieces that the power lies.

Quick terms definition:
Plan: Pretty straight forward. Plan is the plan. Who, what, why, where, when (or by-when) and how. All of these components together create a complete plan. When you are in "plan" take the extra time to create a complete plan.

Do: Also pretty clear. Work the plan. Do what you outlined that you would do.

Check: This is the reflection time once you have worked the plan. Did the plan work? If not, why not? What can be tweaked to make the results even better? Go through the plan, step by step and make sure that you did actually work the plan. Which parts worked and which parts didn't? Dissect the both the plan and the results.

Act: Implement the changes that you came up with in "Check." Keep in mind that Check and Act are basically a loop constantly tweaking and making the plan better (hence the Continuous in continuous improvement).

So now, let's take a quick look at this. It is pretty easy to figure out how one would use PDCA in manufacturing: you want to decrease the defects produced in a widget, so you make a complete plan, work the plan, check the progess and act on the information - but how do you make the jump from making parts on an assembly line to loosing weight, or getting your dream job?

The process is completely transferable. Let's take a look:
The goal is reduce the stress in your life:
Plan: First of all, how are you going to know that your stress is lower? Determine what you see as "lower stress" and write it down. Now, who, what, why, where, when and how: Who is pretty straight forward, YOU want to reduce YOUR stress right? So it is primarily an internal process. What: This is where you would insert your definition of "lower stress" - what is the measurable result (when I say "measurable" it might just be "sleep better" or "be less cranky"). Why? This is important because it is what puts the gas in your engine. It is your motivation behind "less stress". When: in this example, when is both when you will start, and when you will measure your progress along the continuum. Finally we get to "how". How is the specific things that you will do to reduce your stress. I will meditate for 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes in the evening. I will take 5 deep cleansing breathes when I feel myself getting angry or stressed. I will read one book that I WANT to read.

Be careful to find the balance between a complete plan, and planning paralysis. A good plan well implemented is a lot more powerful than a GREAT plan never implemented.

Do: work your plan. It is that simple. Just DO what you outlined in your plan.

NOW comes the good stuff.
Check: your checkpoints should be in your plan. So you know that after 3 weeks, you are going to check in with yourself and your progess. Are you doing what you said you would? Why or why not? What obstacles can you remove? How do you make it easier to do that which you want to do?

Act: Implement the changes. Set a new checkpoint.

Check. Act. Check. Act. Check. Act.

Before you know it you have created a new normal.

Give it a try. Start small. Let yourself get a feel for this and build some success at it.
Most importantly believe that you can.

I'll check back in later.

Mark and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Do you remember "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day?" by Judith Viorst? Well today I can relate. Among other things, I was late for a meeting this morning because of snow/traffic, and I think its entirely possible that I broke my toe at noon when I dropped a big glass bottle of milk on it...right on the edge of the bottle too. Those are just two of the highlights (or would they be low-lights). Nothing horrible or earth-shattering (toe shattering maybe - but still) just enought to make me crabby.

The topic for today is not my bad day. You can read a million (literally) blogs and posts about why somebody's day sucked. My challenge today is how to get out of it.

We all have crappy days. Sometimes for good reasons, sometimes for no reason at all - but here is the big question - how do you get past it? How do you set about turning your day around, not by chance or fate, but by intention?

Sometimes you can just forget about it and move on - other days just seem plagued (today would fit that description). I have mentioned my mentor - the late Bill Sauer - in this blog before, and days like today remind me of him. Bill's advice to me would be to just observe how I am feeling and what it happening, not to label it as "good" or "bad" but just as "is". He used to say "rocks are hard, water is wet" it is not something to dwell upon - it just is.

Perhaps a "bad" day can be viewed through the same lens. What if we were able to view a bad day as a day - neither good nor bad, but rather part of the experience that makes us who we are. I think that it is entirely possible to not "allow" yourself a bad day - to push through it and ignore the fact that you are off or cranky, but I also think that if you simply dismiss how you are feeling that you miss an opportunity.

I'm not suggesting that you wallow in self pity, or partake in wanton crabbiness, biting the heads off of friends, family or co-workers - not at all. Rather, what I am advocating here is an observational self-awareness. The process of watching my moods and thoughts as though I am a disinterested third party. Imagine yourself floating above yourself and just watching, without judgment. Merely being in a state of awareness of thought, feelings and moods. Step back for a moment and say to yourself "boy, that seems to have struck a nerve. Interesting." Notice it, and then let it go. You can gain some great insights on your "triggers" and, at the same time, diffuse the emotion of the event.

Interestingly, I am having a better day already - even if my toe still hurts.