What’s Making You Crazy

Albert Einstein once said “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”.
The greatest portion of my workday is focused on processes. How are we doing it now? Can it be done differently? What are the steps involved.? What do we need to do to get different results? The Methodology used to evaluate processes is the Deming Cycle, or PDCA Cycle which is a continuous quality improvement model consisting of four repetitive phases and seven steps for continuous improvement and learning: Plan, Do, Check and Act. The PDCA cycle is also known as the Deming Cycle, the Deming wheel of continuous improvement.

I learned this model in 1992 as a brand new nurse fresh out of school but did not think to apply it to my own life. It has just been in the past three years I have applied this model to my life. I began to ask myself what am I doing on a daily basis that is making me crazy (doing over and over again and expecting different results). As I began to apply this to my personal life and began to tweak those daily tasks in my home that suck the life out of me things began to change.

Another area I applied this model to was my Spiritual life…Perhaps someone or something pushes my buttons and I find myself reacting the same every time and in return I get the same results… frustration, anger, dissappointment…I am sure you are getting the picture!

First I had to identify the root cause of the negative emotion, pray, read my Bible, and seek God’s guidance on what I need to do differently to obtain a different result. Then develop a PLAN of action to ensure I do the right thing at the right time. Next, I need to DO the plan! Then, I need to CHECK to see if the plan is working…if yes–> then Yeah!!! Way to GO…If No then I need to ACT. I need to go back to the PLAN phase…Key to the success of this in my personal life is to include God in every phase SEEK His guidance and PRAISE Him for every success!!!

Life is full of opportunities for PDCA’s. So I ask…

What is making you insane?

The Deming Cycle:

PLAN

Define the issue/problem that you are addressing
Understand the root cause of the issue – why is it happening?
Develop the detail of what needs to be done
Prioritize, to ensure that you do the right things at the right time

Do it! – implement your solution to the problem.
You might do a test first or a pilot, or you must just ‘go for it.’

CHECK

This is really the crucial step in PDCA. Check on the results of your actions. Are you getting the results that you expected? If not, why not?. What else can you do?
If you’re online, this may involve using Google Analytics to measure your performance.

ACT