Scenario your degree in two (2) years.

Scenario 3: You havetwo jobs—one during the week from 9: 00 am to 6: 00 pm, and one on Saturday from3: 00 pm to 11: 00 pm. You are taking two classes—one that meets from 6: 00 to10: 00 pm, and one class online. You have two kids—one who plays soccer, and onewho is in a band. You have two elderly parents who no longer drive. You havetwo siblings—one who lives two (2) miles away, and one who lives in anotherstate. You have two (2) papers due in your classes the same week that one (1)of your children has a soccer tournament, and the other child has a bandconcert. You are coaching the soccer team, and you are in charge of fundraisingfor the band. You have a goal to complete your degree in two (2) years.

Yourdoctor tells you that your blood pressure, your cholesterol, and your weightare too high and recommends several medications that cost you nearly $200 permonth after your insurance co-pay. IntroductionWhen faced with aproblem, I use any of many problem-solving strategies to guide myproblem-solving process. Problem-solving is a relatively complicated process. For this reason, the problem-solving process is usually divided into a sequenceof steps that when followed allow one to move from a problem definition to aclear and specific solution to the problem. In this paper, I illustrate theusage of one such method by examining a sample scenario and attempting toidentify and solve the problem therein using the technique.

For this paper, Iuse Einstein’s method of problems solving. Analyzing the ProblemEinstein’s method ofproblem-solving is unlike most methods of problem-solving in that it focuses ontrying to understand the problem and spends very little time on theproblem-solving part of the process. According to Einstein, with one hour tosolve a problem, a person should spend the first 55 minutes trying tounderstand the problem and then spend the last five minutes implementing asolution. Following his line of reasoning, the problem-solving process becomesdivided into two broad stages – defining the problem and solving your problem. Since more focus is laid on the first stage, several methods are available fortrying to analyze the problem.

The article inlitemind. com provides a variety of tools and strategies for analyzing theproblem. For my purposes, I use the two strategies of chunking up and chunkingdown.

Chunking up involves getting a general view of the problem. It entailsasking general questions such as “ What do I intend to do?” For mychosen scenario, the general problem is relatively easy to understand. I needto organize myself so that I can accomplish most – if not all – of the tasks inmy schedule. I have many things to do and too little time to do them.

Once I’veestablished this, I chunk down, that is, I try to identify what specificproblems constitute this larger more general problem. The particular problems Iidentified were that I had two jobs, one which I went to every weekday from 9am to 6 pm and another which I worked on Saturdays from 3 pm to 11 pm. Additionally, I had classes every day from 6 pm to 10 pm and another one I didonline. These were the tasks with which I could not compromise especially inregards to the time in which I did them. However, I also had to manage afundraiser for my son’s band and coach for my daughter’s soccer team. Mydaughter has an upcoming soccer tournament, and my son has an upcoming bandconcert. I also have two assignments to deliver the same week as the twoevents.

I need to consider my parents’ transportation as well as mydeteriorating health. Gathering additional data would be useful in the nextstage. Useful data would include, the constraints and opportunities I have atmy disposal Solving the ProblemThe methodillustrated in litemind. com does not focus very much on the problem-solvingaspect of the process. However, the last strategy mentioned states that aftersuccessfully analyzing the problem any of the nine problem definitionstrategies, we could then proceed to problem-solving. This stage would involveidentifying and implementing the most suitable solution using the informationthat is now available. Since my goal is to do the most with the little time andhelp I have, I would have to assign each task a particular time slot.

Additionally enlisting help would help lessen the burden on me and my health. One solution would be to study my online coursework, do my assignments andengage in some exercise in the period between 5 a. m. and 9 a. m.

Then, whengoing to work, I could pick up my parents and drop them off wherever they needto be. I could then ask my husband or my closest sibling to pick them up laterin the day since I would be occupied till 10 o’clock. Afterwards, on theweekends, I could coach my daughter’s football team and do the fundraising formy son’s band concert. Any time left would be spent relaxing. AlternativesWhen attempting tounderstand the problem, I could choose to rephrase my problem question. Forinstance, instead of trying to find out how to do the most with the little timeI have, I could choose instead to ask how best to ask what areas should I prioritizeand what should I consider dropping entirely or at the very least delegating? Reframing the question like this would result in a different set of solutionsaltogether. One solution would include prioritizing family finances, familytime and my health respectively. Following this line of thought, the mostimportant tasks would be my paid jobs, spending time at home and supporting mychildren’s hobbies.

This method, however, involves letting go of my plans toget a degree in the next two years. Discussion of Methods UsefulnessThe methodillustrated above would be suitable for many situations. It would be especiallyuseful in cases where the problem in question is open-ended and very vague. Interestingly, most real-world problems fall into this category. Most problemswe encounter in the real world have a variety of tenable solutions. Dependingon how one looks at the problem, it is possible to arrive at a differentconclusion regarding how to go about solving it.

This method is thereforeapplicable since a great deal of effort and time is spent attempting tounderstand the problem with a little time being given to the actual executionof the solution. ConclusionThere are severalways to go about solving a problem. Most of these methods involve going througha series of steps, from identifying the problem right through to finallysolving the problem. In trying to solve the problem in my chosen problemscenario, I used Einstein’s method of problem-solving. This technique involvesfocusing on understanding the problem and evaluating solutions and spendingonly a little at the execution stage of problem-solving. Using this method, Isuccessfully analyzed and solved the problem presented in the problem scenario. I found that the method could be used for a variety of other situations one islikely to encounter in the real world.  ReferencesEinstein’s Secret toAmazing Problem Solving (and 10 Specific Ways You Can Use It).

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(n. d.). Trident University Writing Guide. Retrieved June 20, 2016, from Trident University: https://mytlc.

trident. edu/index. phpThe Problem SolvingProcess. (n. d.).

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