Step 4 in the Bright IDEAS system is to act out your choice. After you have made your choice, create a detailed action plan in your head. In the action plan, you can include the details of how you will implement your first-choice solution.
Problems are often complex. That means the solutions are likely to also be complex. Breaking the solution into sub-goals or smaller steps can help you reach your larger goal of solving the problem. Once all the steps or sub-goals are thought through, it is time to put your problem-solving plan into action. See the case study below for an example action plan and the result of putting that plan into action.
Case study: Maya acts out her choice
Maya has decided to try taking away Eva’s cell phone if she does not get up in the morning and go to school. She creates a detailed action plan for this possible solution.
Action plan
Each night after dinner, I will remind Eva that if she doesn’t get up and go to school in the morning, I will take her cell phone for the day. If she doesn’t get up the next morning and go to school, I will immediately take her phone and keep it in my desk until the next morning. I will try this plan for one week of school.
Maya put her plan into action. Here’s what happened.
Action tried
On Sunday, I told Eva that if she didn’t get up the next morning and go to school, I would take her cell phone for the day. She wasn’t happy and slammed her bedroom door. Monday morning, Eva didn’t get up for school. My husband and I argued about who would go into her room, wake her up and take her cell phone. I had to do it. Eva cried and yelled at me but did go to school on the bus. She was still angry at me when she got home from school. Tuesday morning, Eva got up but said she had really bad pain—an 8 or 9 out of 10 pain level. My husband and I argued about whether she had to go to school. Eva didn’t go to school, and we didn’t take her cell phone. Wednesday morning, I woke up late, and my husband had to wake Eva up but didn’t take her phone away. We argued about taking the phone away—I was so tired; I gave in and let Eva keep it. I didn’t even bring it up on Thursday or Friday.