Get Everything Done

Here is a process to find a solution to any problem.

It may look more complicated than it really is. The whole process typically takes 10 or 15 minutes and really helps clarify problems. In my experience with it so far, solutions often just present themselves spontaneously. It's incredibly useful and simple, and works with problems of many sizes and levels of complexity.

Here is the process:

1. Start with a lined sheet of paper and a pen or pencil.

2. Think of some problem that is really bothering you. Write it down on the first line of the page, and mark it with a cross (+).

3. Starting on the line immediately after the cross (+), write down all the things that are bothering you about this problem. Sometimes it's hard to know which things are "causes" and which things are "effects", so let's just call them "contributing factors" and "undesirable effects", but don't try to get too specific about which is which. Just write. Write them all down, one per line, as many as you can think of. Maybe you'll have three, or maybe you'll have thirty or more! I typically fill half a page.

Side note: As you write, you may want to rewrite or edit to express yourself more clearly. Instead of correcting or editing, just start a new line and write the new phrasing there. Sometimes I even stop mid-phrase and just start a new line immediately. This keeps the flow going. Stopping to correct and edit blocks the flow, and it's not necessary for the process.

Also: don't think about solutions yet. Think only about the contributing factors and undesirable effects. We'll get to solutions later.

4. After you have written down as many items as you can think of, put a "dot" next to the first item immediately after the cross (+). The dotted item is your "X".

5. Scan through the list, FVP-style, asking yourself the question, "What contributes to the problem more than X?" Or perhaps, "What is a greater contributing factor to the problem than X?" If something stands out, then mark it with a dot, and it becomes the new "X". Repeat till you reach the end of the list.

6. Mark the final dotted item with a cross (+), and repeat from step 3.

7. After two or three iterations of this process, you will find that the problem has become very clear, and a solution may suddenly present itself, or at least a direction to a solution. But when this occurs, don't stop, not yet. Keep going for another iteration, and stay focused on contributing factors and undesirable effects. By continuing for another iteration, you will either validate that yes, you've come to the point where you have a potential solution, or no, you need to keep working through the process.

8. If you have reached the point where a solution has presented itself, and you've iterated through the processes at least one more time, and your solution still seems like a solid idea, then draw a line across the page. Write out how your solution will resolve the problem as expressed by the last item with a cross (+).

9. Then scan up the page to find the immediately previous cross (+). Write out how your solution will resolve THAT problem. Repeat by going up the page and doing this for each item with a cross (+), till you have done it for your original problem.

10. Ask yourself, does this all make sense? Will this give me a solid solution, or at least the direction to a solution, for my core problem? If yes, then congratulations! You are done. But if it feels like something substantial is missing, and you need a more complete solution, then start back at step 1. For step 2, write "What is missing from my solution?" on the first line, and mark it with a cross (+). Then continue with step 3. Repeat till you feel you have a substantially complete solution.


Personally, I almost always stop at step 9 the first time through, because I am happy with the results. So far, I've only needed to do step 10 once, and only one iteration. Your mileage may vary.

Step 3 alone is probably the most valuable part of the process. There's something about repeatedly writing the undesirable effects and contributing factors that starts to drive more focus and clarity.

Here's an example. My core problem was "I am tired all the time." Here's how it went. The whole process took about 5 minutes.

Here is how it looked after Steps 1-2:
+ tired all the time

Here is how it looked after Step 3:
+ tired all the time
don't get enough exercise
headaches
too much to do
allergies

Here is how it looked after Steps 4-5:
+ tired all the time
• don't get enough exercise
headaches
too much to do
allergies

Here is how it looked after Step 6, then repeating steps 4-5:
+ tired all the time
+ don't get enough exercise
• headaches
too much to do
allergies
• busy schedule right now
• knee and ankle problems
• eye problem
too busy in evenings
don't get up early enough to walk

Here is how it looked after repeating Step 6 again, then repeating steps 4-5 again:
+ tired all the time
+ don't get enough exercise
• headaches
too much to do
allergies
• busy schedule right now
• knee and ankle problems
+ eye problem
too busy in evenings
don't get up early enough to walk
• don't know any safe exercises besides walking
wake up with headache and don't go for walk
• can't walk anyway right now because of knee
• don't know any safe exercises

At that point, "BING!!", the problem became very clear. Of course! I should have realized. I have an eye problem and can't do any exercises that create internal pressure (such as heavy lifting), and because of the knee problem I can't do my usual walking routine. I really don't have any idea what to do for exercise, and I had simply stopped altogether. It immediately occurred to me that I should go talk to the doctor about this, and ask if he can recommend an exercise regime for my situation.

This is Step 7.

To validate this solution, I did one more iteration. But it was fast, and it did validate the solution:
+ tired all the time
+ don't get enough exercise
• headaches
too much to do
allergies
• busy schedule right now
• knee and ankle problems
+ eye problem
too busy in evenings
don't get up early enough to walk
• don't know any safe exercises besides walking
wake up with headache and don't go for walk
• can't walk anyway right now because of knee
+ don't know any safe exercises
• don't know where to look to find good exercises
don't trust my judgement in evaluating online sources for this
that would take too long anyway

OK, so at that point, the line is drawn (Step 8), and you apply your solution in reverse to make sure it solves the problem (Step 9):
+ tired all the time
+ don't get enough exercise
• headaches
too much to do
allergies
• busy schedule right now
• knee and ankle problems
+ eye problem
too busy in evenings
don't get up early enough to walk
• don't know any safe exercises besides walking
wake up with headache and don't go for walk
• can't walk anyway right now because of knee
+ don't know any safe exercises
• don't know where to look to find good exercises
don't trust my judgement in evaluating online sources for this
that would take too long anyway
----------------------------------------------------------------
+ don't know any safe exercises -> Talk to doctor about exercise regime
+ eye problem -> He should have some ideas that are safe for my eye and knee
+ don't get enough exercise -> This should help me to get more exercise while my knee is recovering'
+ tired all the time -> This should help my energy levels

Yep, sounds like a solid solution! Time to call the doctor.

But if it didn't seem solid or complete, I'd proceed to Step 10 to try to find a more complete solution.

I would be glad to hear how it works out for you!

Chris - I am glad you've found it useful!

Has anyone else tried it? Has it been helpful?

I've been getting a lot of use out of it. It almost always gives me a good solution. But even when the solution doesn't work out, it always yields new insights, and gives me a good, fruitful direction to pursue.

I've thrown some pretty heavy problems at it -- things that have been bothering me for years. I've never had to spend more than half an hour working through it before a solution appears. I'm kind of getting addicted to it!

Michael B. -

Let us know how it works out for you!

And thanks for the introduction to Doctor SOROC. :-)

The most effective problem-solving model I've run across is Eli Goldratt's "Thinking Processes", especially the Current Reality Tree, Future Reality Tree, and Transition Tree. They are really effective but can take a really long time to work through. I've been a bit obsessed with these lately. :-)

The Current Reality Tree takes a bunch of Undesirable Effects and maps out a cause-and-effect relationship between them in order to identify the single root cause behind them all. The idea is to assess each cause-and-effect linkage for "necessity" (is this really a contributing factor?) and "sufficiency" (are there other required contributing factors?) and therefore get a real solid logical cause-and-effect sequence.

The Future Reality Tree restates the core problem as its opposite, and then works through the logical outcome to see if you would really overcome all the Undesirable Effects. It also identifies any new Undesirable Effects you would create as side effects, and helps you think about how to eliminate those, too.

The Transition Tree helps you craft a plan to transition from the Current Reality to the Future Reality.

Like I said, it's really powerful, really useful, and tends to get fast results, but only AFTER you've worked through this process. It gets fast results because it brings your focus to the Core Problem at the root of all the Undesirable Effects, rather than trying to tilt at each Undesirable Effect in isolation.

The problem is that it can easily take an hour or two to create a Current Reality Tree -- not even counting the other trees. And it takes a LOT of mental effort -- I always feel drained afterwards. In a team setting, it can take a DAY or more, and has a reputation for making grown men cry. :-)

I was trying to find a way to shortcut the process, in the hope that I could achieve maybe 80% of the effectiveness but get there in 20% of the time. It seemed like the FVP algorithm was a natural fit for this! After some trial and error, I arrived at the process I posted above, and it seems to do the job pretty well!

Goldratt's "Evaporating Cloud" conflict-resolution model is also a quick process (can be done in 15 minutes), and incredibly useful, but seems to give the best results if you've already identified the core problem behind your conflict.

Mark -

I'm glad you've had some success with it!

As to how it would work with the No-List FVP algorithm -- in fact, I think it already does something similar, but I can think of a small modification to make it VERY similar. Let me think on it for a bit.

Mark -

OK, here's a modified version that makes it a lot more like No-List FVP.

This might be faster, but perhaps more importantly, it provides a way to find a more complete solution.

But I haven't tried it yet... You never really know how these things will work till you try them!

You will need two sheets or pages -- one is your "Problem Page", and one is your "Solution Page".

1. On the first line of your Problem Page, write down a problem that is really bothering you.
2. Mark it with the letter X in the margin.
3. Ask yourself, "What is a contributing factor to X?"
4. Write that down on the next line.
5. Ask youself, "Is there anything that is MORE of a contributing factor to X?"
6. Write that down on the next line.
7. Repeat the process until you get “No” as the answer to the question.
8. Mark the last item on the list with the letter X in the margin.
9. At this point, you may find that a solution presents itself to you. If that happens, then proceed to Step 10. But if a solution has not yet presented itself, then repeat from Step 3.
10. Think about how the solution solves X. If you feel it is a solid, complete solution, then proceed to Step 11. Otherwise, repeat from Step 3.
11. On your Solution Page, write out X, then write " <== solved by " and then write out your solution.
12. Go back to the Problem Page. Put a line through the last item with an X (it has been solved).
13. From there, scan up the Problem Page, and for each item ask yourself, "does my solution provide a solid answer to this item?"
14. If the answer is "yes", then put a line through the item and keep scanning up the page.
15. If the answer is "no", then mark that item with an X, and proceed from Step 3.
16. Repeat until everything on the Problem Page has a line through it.

I forgot a step!

17. Implement your solutions! :-)

Michael B. - If Goldratt's Thinking Processes interest you, I'd recommend his first two business novels:
- The Goal - great book, introduces the Theory of Constraints
- It's Not Luck - sequel to The Goal, introduces the Thinking Processes. Makes a lot more sense if you've read The Goal first.

The best non-fiction book I've found so far on the Thinking Processes is Lisa J. Scheinkopf's Thinking For A Change: Putting the TOC Thinking Processes to Work. It's straightforward, thorough and helpful.

If you want an _exhaustive_ book on this topic, then try William Dettmer's The Logical Thinking Process. It's a full textbook, very thorough, very well written; but frankly, I didn't find it as useful as Scheinkopf's book.

Great interviews with Goldratt, Dettmer, and others at http://www.rolls.rocks/podcasts-video/?offset=1433337544172

It's really a book about systems thinking. Goldratt illustrates the key message that every complex system that is trying to achieve some kind of throughput will always have one primary bottleneck that limits the throughput of the whole system. If you increase the throughput of the bottleneck, you will thereby immediately increase the throughput of the whole system.

It does touch on problems of cost accounting, but only insomuch as cost accounting is a local measurement that fails to provide any useful information on managing the operational cost or throughput of the whole system.

Many of these concepts can be extended to personal workflow management.

Michael B. - I wish I had Mark's no-list and dynamic lists and unique applications of Colley's Rule (on which FV and FVP are based), and Goldratt's Theory of Constraints and Thinking Processes, when I was in my twenties! We expect great things from you. :-)

(BTW I am Gen-X. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_X )

Mark - Let us know how it works for you!

Regarding The Goal - yes, I've read it three times in the last year, and got more and more from it each time. The sequels, too.

Will:
<< It all comes down to, "make the slow kid walk in front". >>

That's only Step 2 out of the Five Steps. :-)

1. Identify the slow kid.
2. Make the slow kid walk in front.
3. See what you can do with your current resources to help the slow kid go faster.
4. Consider material improvements to help the slow kid go faster.
5. If the slow kid isn't the slow kid anymore, then repeat from (1.)

But for me, the core insight was the fact that every throughput system will have a single bottleneck. The more complex the system, the more likely this is to be true. That core concept is what leads to the Five Steps above, and it's the thing that makes bottleneck management so powerful:
(1) If you improve the bottleneck, you immediately improve the whole system.
(2) (Maybe even more important!) If you improve a non-bottleneck, you will not have any impact at all on the whole system.

Will wrote:
<< The general best problem solving method I know, especially for messy problems, is the KJ diagram (now known as "Language Processing (TM)". >>

Thanks for this! I will look into it some more.

Will wrote:
<< I instinctively prefer the original method. Problem solving without a brainstorm feels just... wrong. >>

That was my immediate feeling as well. No-List FVP never worked for me, for the same reason, it lacked the brain-dump aspect. I need to get all the stuff on my mind out on paper so I can evaluate it. It's even more of a necessity in this problem-solving method.

The thing I do like about the second method is the completeness of it. I'm trying to rewrite it again to include the brainstorming of the first, simpler method; but also bring it full circle to completion; and see if this actually improves on the first version.

Will wrote:
<< Just making the slow kid walk in front has an effect >>

Yes, it does! I wasn't trying to argue against that. I was just pointing out that there is more to the book than just that one principle (which alone made the book worthwhile!).

Mark,

<< That sounds very elegant - which of course doesn't necessarily mean that it works. But I must try it out - and soon! >>

Did you ever have a chance to try out the No-List-FVP version of this method?

Like I wrote above, it didn't work out for me. And the more comprehensive method that I was proposing, was too time-consuming -- I was never able to finish the process. So I am back to using my original method.