Three Problems, Three Solutions, and the First Step

If there was a technique that might improve your life in just 5 minutes, would you use it? If so, why not give this one a try?

Step 1:

Write down a list of the three most significant problems in your life right now

Example:

The three biggest problems are –

(1) I don’t feel rested when I wake up

(2) I worry too much

(3) I need to make a difficult decision at work

Step 2: 

Choose the problem from Step 1 that you think it would be easiest to make improvements in, given how much effort it would take.

Example: The problem of “not feeling rested when I wake” seems to have the largest potential impact on my life, and is relatively easy to make improvement in compared to the others.

Step 3: 

Write down three solutions that might help to address that one problem you selected.

Example:

Three potential solutions to this problem are:

(1) Waking up at the same time every morning no matter when I go to sleep

(2) Meditating for 10 minutes each night immediately before sleep to lower stress and make my mind less active 

(3) Requesting a “sleep lab” test from my doctor (to investigate my poor sleep quality further)

Step 4: 

Select one solution (from the three you wrote down) that you think is most likely to help with the least amount of effort involved.

Example: The easiest thing to try first that might help my sleep quality is meditating 10 minutes before sleeping each night

Step 5: 

Identify the very first step to implementing the solution from Step 4 (it should be simple and straight forward)

Example: Search Google for simple meditation techniques to try

Step 6: 

Take that first step immediately, or plan the exact day and time when you will take that step (e.g., by putting it on your calendar)

Example: Put ‘search on Google for meditation techniques’ into your calendar for this Monday at 8 am.