Organizing a Work Routine

When you progress in your career and you are able to finish tasks faster, the
number of responsibilities may increase. When your tasks start to increase it is
important to organize a work routine to help you stay on track, especially if they
have time restrictions. Your work routine will vary depending on your position,
length of your shift and the tasks that need to be completed.
Having a clear idea of what is a priority and which tasks can be pushed back is
necessary in planning a work routine. An easier way to creating a work routine is
breaking down tasks into smaller jobs, this allows big jobs to not look so
daunting. However, even with a work routine it is important to be flexible to
allow time if any new priorities come up.
Work routines include everyday tasks as well as tasks that are non-routine and
ones that are performed on an unplanned basis.
Work routines may also include the following tasks:
 Interacting with customers.
 Interacting with authority.
 Help other staff members.
 Packaging stock.
 Producing goods.
 Organising the area.
 Meal breaks.

Timeframes
Timeframes are important to almost all businesses. For example if a customer’s
order needs to be received by the end of the week, the supervisors and managers
have a certain timeframe to complete it in before sending it out for shipping.
Supervisors and managers need their workers to be organised and efficient. Most
tasks will have time frames and if you are unsure of how long a specific task will
take to complete, a supervisor or manager should know.
Taking too long to complete a task means less work gets done and could lead to
loss of business.
Problem Solving

Problem solving is a part of everyone’s day, inside and outside of work. Solving
routine problems will be a common duty of your job; problems may be minor or
can be much larger. Often you will be able to solve the problem yourself
however; you may also need to seek assistance from management. Problems can
range from equipment breakdown, running out of raw materials or stock going
missing during transport.

Skills and Competencies in Problem Solving

Problem-solving skills

Psychologist Robert Sternberg identified three types of intelligence, which all

people use at some time or another:

 Analytical intelligence involves the use of logic and reason to maneuver

from A to B.

 Practical intelligence involves finding the best fit between your actions

and the demands of the situation, often by applying skills learned through
experience.

 Creative intelligence involves thinking “outside the box” to come up with

novel ideas.

Solving different problems will require different types of intelligence.

You typically use an analytical approach when a problem is abstract, requires

you to analyze information to find a solution, and is logical in nature, or when a
familiar situation or an expected course of events is disrupted, and you need to
identify the obstacles, address them, and get back on track.
Practical skills are used to solve problems in everyday life, typically involving
material things. They aren’t easy to learn or control, because they draw on the
problem solvers’ extensive knowledge and experience solving similar problems.
The problem solver will most likely find a solution intuitively. “Street-wise”
people and those who have lived a long, rich life often demonstrate practical
intelligence.

Practical problem solving doesn’t involve a high degree of critical thinking, but
it does rely on your ability to set your emotional reactions aside and accept the
way things are.
If your computer deletes your work for the day, reacting emotionally isn’t going
to get the information back. It’s more practical to move on and find ways to
make up for lost time.

Practical skills can’t be acquired or sharpened as readily as creative or analytical

skills can, so organizations can’t encourage people to formally acquire this kind
of intelligence. But they should recognize, encourage, and reward the application
of practical problem-solving skills.
Problems involving unforeseen complications typically require analytical or
practical problem-solving skills to break down the problem and overcome it.
But unusual or unfamiliar problems that don’t come with a lot of information
often require lateral, creative thinking — in other words, creative intelligence.
When you know where you want to be in the future, but don’t know how to get
there, a creative solution may be just what you need.

Creative problem solving starts with being open to the idea that new, fresh
solutions are possible. You put aside your assumptions and suspend judgment of
your ideas while you come up with them.

One method is to ask yourself lots of questions to free your mind from your
usual thinking patterns and kick-start your imagination. You might ask “What
would be an unusual way of doing this?” or even “What would a child suggest?”
Asking “What if…?” as many times as possible can help you escape your own
preconceptions.

Some problems require a combination of the different problem-solving

approaches. If you stay open to the possibility of using a variety of skills, you’ll
have an advantage over people who tend to fall back on the same way of
meeting challenges

Problem Solving Competencies

A skill is an ability to use your knowledge to accomplish a task. Skills can be
inherited, or acquired through training and conscious effort. An example of a
skill knows how to fix a motor or set a broken bone.
A competency is more than this — it’s a combination of knowledge, skills, and
abilities required for achieving results. An example is being a charismatic leader
with the ability and know-how to get people to follow you enthusiastically.

5 Important Problem Solving Competencies

Drive and initiative — To solve problems effectively, you need to take the
initiative, tackling new problems energetically and enthusiastically. People with
drive and initiative feel confident that they can get things done, and don’t get put
off by setbacks. They have clear goals in mind and visualize the outcomes they
want to see. Plus they are outgoing and able to lead and guide others towards
their goals.

Methodical approach — People who are good at problem solving are able to
adopt a methodical, step-by-step approach — and stick to it. They draw on tried-
and-tested problem-solving techniques to help them find solutions.

At any point in the process, they know where they are and have a clear
understanding of what still needs to be done. Rather than trusting subjective
emotional responses, they are committed to using logic and reason to work
through problems.

Teamwork — Effective problem solvers are good team players. They value
different opinions and are able to listen to them with an open mind. They seek
out the collaboration of others, and are able to manage and structure discussions
so that everyone is able to have their say.

When building a team, they counteract the weaknesses of some with the
strengths of others. And they encourage open communication between everyone
involved.

Astute analysis — Good problem solvers dig deeper to the root causes of
problems and reject superficial explanations. They systematically ask probing
questions to uncover new information.
They remain curious and seek out new advice or clues — and don’t discount
these even if they appear to contradict other assumptions. They’re able to spot
patterns or make links to make a situation clearer. Finally, they can describe
complicated situations and concepts to others.
Innovative thinking — Innovative thinking is a key competency of effective
problem solvers — they constantly search for new ways to approach problems
and find solutions.

They try different techniques to determine which are best. They see each
problem as one of a kind, with unique features that require fresh, objective
analysis. Effective problem-solvers also remain open to their own intuitive,
creative thought processes.