DECISION MAKING FOR BEING PRODUCTIVE DURING CRISIS research topic by Aashna Poddar & Niket Bisht
MEET THE FACILITATORS!
AASHNA PODDAR
NIKET BISHT
M.A Design Management Design Researcher & Strategist
M.A Design Management Design Researcher & Thinker
SECONDARY RESEARCH To understand better the area of work we ran a popular media scan research regarding COVID19, lifestyle and issues during crisis to understand the scenario better and finalize the group selection
BUZZ REPORTS The American Time Use Survey showed us that we spend most of our time working (8.7 hours/day), sleeping (7.7 hours/day), and far behind in third place, leisure and sports (2.6 hours/day). When consumers stay at home amid broadly disruptive events, their media consumption rises nearly 60% — and even more in some cases, according to a Nielsen data analysis. Working from home can be daunting so one can use this opportunity to improve themselves by being creative. Reconnect with people and prepare for a new career Just because you are sitting at home doesn’t mean you cannot learn new skills like yoga, planting, learning a language. How can individuals strive for work/life balance as more and more of us find ourselves working in our homes, alongside all of the responsibilities of our home lives? Nearly six in 10 American workers will not be able to meet their basic financial needs in one month or less under quarantine due to the coronavirus pandemic 58% of workers say they won’t be able to pay rent, buy groceries or take care of bills if quarantined for 30 days or less, according to a new survey from the Society for Human Research Management (SHRM) Doctor’s decision whether to stay home or save others, decision making on going outside the house , decision on how to efficiently spend your time at home
PRE-SURVEY TAKEAWAY We conducted a quick survey on decision making struggles during the pandemic asking people to mention some struggle they are facing in everyday during COVID-19. The results from survey helps us narrow your topic and pick activities fro warm-up and workshop. From our Pre Survey analysis we learn that for people decision making is mostly dependent on the situation they face which concludes they do not have a set plan and process to decision making. The “situation� is a factor that play an important role in decision making during crisis 35.7% said they are struggling with deciding how to pass their time efficiently, how to make their day productive during COVID-19
RESEARCH AREA & GROUP SELECTION After our initial research and feedback, we decided to take decision making for being productive during crisis as our focus area. As we start to interview people, we’ll have a better idea of what kind of decision making they are struggling with during the COVID-19 experience.
DECISION MAKING
COVID-19/CRISIS
TO BE PRODUCTIVITIES
WORKSHOP PLANNING After narrowing research space and group selection, we started developing put workshop activity planning. The workshop planning includes activity planning for warm-up and co-creation around the problem. The activities were designed in the manner to activate lateral thinking and gain insights to solve the problem
WORKSHOP PLANNING WORKSHOP TITLE
DECISION MAKING FOR BEING PRODUCTIVE DURING CRISIS
FACILITATOR NAMES
Aashna Poddar (M.A Design Management)
DATE
5/17 /2020
Niket Bisht (M.A Design Management)
TIME
10 AM EST (115 min workshop)
LOCATION
(This includes place or any kind of space needed as computer lab, rooms or classroom table setup) Workstation (Infromal)
WHO WILL ATTENDANT
GOALS AND EXPECTATIONS OF THE WORKSHOP
Computer with a basic mouse
Zoom + Mural
Beginners Software skills: Mural, Zoom
Working professionals and students bound to work/study from home during COVID-19
Observe and understand the struggles in decision making to be productive during the pandemic Facilitate creative thinking to assist in the process of decision making The expected outcome of this workshop is not to find a solution for decision making struggles but to achieve valuable insights for future research and analysis.
FOCUS QUESTION
WHERE
How to imply lateral thinking to assist in decision making? How has this workshop been helpful to assist in decision making for being productive during pandemic?
FINAL WARM-UP ACTIVITY PLANNING TIME
ACTIVITY
(MINUTES)
10 MIN
PART A / INTRODUCTION HOMEWORK (Let’s meet everyone)
MATERIALS NEEDED
PURPOSE
Part 1 - provide picture via
Introduction to other participants
email id Part 1 - Share the mural link with the participants in the email with workshop invite and consent forms Part 2 - Computer with search Part 2 - Double click on the pin with your name and write your location next to it. Drag the pin to the location on the map.
engine that supports Mural,
Getting familiar to Mural, Zoom interface
Zoom(eg; Chrome, Firefox), a Part 3 - Double click anywhere on your screen for a sticky note and write one crazy thing or activity you did today? It could be anything?
mouse to operate
Talk about yourself and the activity in the workshop
20 MIN
PART B / WARM UP ACTIVITY (Time Machine)
Part1 - Computer with search
Part 1 - Suppose you went back in time and had a chance to redo your activity. What is the new activity you like to do instead? How
Zoom(eg; Chrome, Firefox), a
would you like to change that activity? What factors drive you to change this decision? How others would have done it differently
engine that supports Mural, mouse to operate
Fun and creative idea sharing. Learn to use tools in Mural, Zoom
(20 minutes)
DISCUSSIONS Part 2 - Observe other participants activity. How others would have done it differently?
CLOSING UP A quick break before moving to visual acitivty
Part 2 - Computer with search engine that supports Mural, Zoom(eg; Chrome, Firefox), a mouse to operate
Interaction among participants Building Visualization Explore tools in Mural, Zoom Trigger the question of Decision Making Analyzing the role of Decision Making
FINAL VISUAL ACTIVITY PLANNING TIME
ACTIVITY
(MINUTES)
10 MIN
PART A / LATERAL THINKING (Let’s solve a problem)
MATERIALS NEEDED
PURPOSE
Part 1 - provide picture via
Introduction to other participants
email id Part 1 - The aim of the this puzzle is to draw a path connecting all of 9 dots arranged in a 3×3 grid using 4 continuous straight lines, never lifting the pencil from the workspace
Part 2 - Computer with search engine that supports Mural,
Getting familiar to Mural, Zoom interface
Zoom(eg; Chrome, Firefox), a mouse to operate
50 MIN
PART B / VISUAL ACTIVITY (Rose,bud,thorn) Part 1 - (30 minutes) Rose - Recently, what’s the best decision you took to have a productive day? Thorn - What is the most challenging part of deciding on being productive?
Part1 - Computer with search engine that supports Mural, Zoom(eg; Chrome, Firefox), a mouse to operate
Fun and creative idea sharing. Learn to use tools in Mural, Zoom
Bud - What new ideas can drive you to be more productive?
DISCUSSIONS Part 2 - Affinity mapping and grouping ideas
CLOSING UP Decision making voting session on most impactful and easy to implement ideas
Part 2 - Computer with search engine that supports Mural, Zoom(eg; Chrome, Firefox), a mouse to operate
Interaction among participants Building Visualization Explore tools in Mural, Zoom Trigger the question of Decision Making Analyzing the role of Decision Making
FACILITATING WORKSHOP We conducted two separate test runs before facilitating our final workshop. The test runs played an important role to analyze and work on the missing links to create a better understanding for the participants. We used various layouts to design the activity in Mural. We designed the Warm-up activity in such a way that evokes a sense of decision-making process in the participants and prepare them for later activity.
REMOTE WORKSHOP We tested our warm-up section of our workshop with friends to check if the layout is working. We did that with two participants. Below is Part A of the Visual activity (Let’s solve problem) - Introducing lateral thinking to solve problem
Setting up the workshop in Zoom: Through our test workshops, we were able to efficiently navigate zoom during our final workshop session. We asked participants to join 5 min early so that we start on time. It gave us time for an informal introduction. We had to remind them to keep their cameras on for an interactive session. We instructed them to be muted except their turn to avoid any background sounds. We had participants from two different ends of the globe, 3 in the US and the other 3 in India.
6 PARTICIPANTS IN ZOOM+MURAL
MURAL SETUP Setting up the workshop in Mural: After a series of test workshops, we were able to design the final layout in Mural. The entire workshop was designed to be 90 minutes long. There were four different activities including introduction, Warm-up, lateral thinking and Visual activity(rose, thorn, bud). The participants were instructed to use their laptops as Mural is not compatible on iPad.
WORKSHOP AGENDA The workshop finally started at 10 a.m. EST with our introductions as facilitators. We provided them with the following overview:
Decision making is a critical part of everyone’s life in the current pandemic. The biggest challenge is to stay productive while you are quarantined. Goals: Facilitate creative thinking to assist in the process of decision making. Outcomes: It is to achieve valuable insights as a group to come up with possible solutions that can be further developed by researchers.
LET’S MEET EVERYONE Warm-up activity - We had instructed the participants to perform this warm-up activity as homework. We asked them to introduce themselves with their activity. This helped them get familiar with the Mural interface. This activity “Where are we” outlined the following: Location: Every participant has to write their location besides their name and drag the icon to their location in the Map. Unproductive activity: They had mention one unproductive activity they did recently and depict that using a picture. Takeaway: This was a success as we got to know the struggles in India Vs the US during the quarantine.
LET’S GO BACK IN TIME Warm-up activity - “Let’s go back in time” is an extension of the previous activity where participants used their unproductive activity as follows: Redo activity(1min): How would they like to change that activity if they can go back in time? Factors(2min): What factors drove them to change their decision. Picture(3min): Now, considering other participant’s activity along with its factors, they were asked to depict, what activity would they do instead. Takeaway: This was helpful to initialize the decisionmaking process in participants required for this workshop.
LET’S SOLVE A PROBLEM Pre-Visual Activity: Lateral Thinking - We incorporated this puzzle, as a recipe for an upcoming visual activity to drive the lateral thinking approach for idea generation. Activity(2 min): This puzzle aimed to draw a path connecting all 9 dots using only 4 continuous straight lines. Takeaway: It was surprising for us to find that two of the student were successful. The puzzle not only helped in lateral thinking but it also provided a sense of excitement in the workshop
LET’S CO-CREATE Final Visual activity - Finally, we started with our final activity Rose, Bud, and Thorn. We had strategic to divide our role as facilitators one explaining the activity and the other doing affinitization subsequently. We defined them as follows: Rose(2 min): What was their recent best decision for a productive day? Bud(2 min): What was the most challenging part of deciding on being productive? Thorn(4 min): What new ideas can drive you to be more productive? Takeaway: This exercise was very interactive and insightful as we received a spectrum of ideas.
LET’S GROUP OUR IDEAS Final Visual activity - Finally, we started with our final activity Rose, Bud, and Thorn. We had strategic to divide our role as facilitators one explaining the activity and the other doing affinitization subsequently. Takeaway: This exercise was very interactive and insightful as we received a spectrum of ideas.
LET’S DECIDE! Voting session - Most easy to implement idea After showing the participant with the voting results of previous activity we initiated another voting session for the same ideas Voting Session(30 sec):This time we asked the participants to vote for the easiest to implement idea. Result: “Magic sleep cycle” and “read learn new activity” got the maximum 3 votes along with 2 votes each for interesting ideas like”writing letters to future me” and “reward system”
PARTICIPANTS FEEDBACK After the warm-up and visual activity, we asked participants their feedback on the workshop. We also conducted a post-survey after the workshop with all our participant during the test and final workshop to understand the improvements
PARTICIPANTS FEEDBACK After the warm-up and visual activity, we asked participants their feedback on the workshop. We also conducted a post-survey after the workshop with all our participant during the test and final workshop to understand the improvements
OVERALL WORKSHOP The workshop was well managed and the activities were quite interesting. It was a great interactive session wherein I got an opportunity to listen to other people’s experiences and thoughts during this pandemic situation. It was insightful, thought provoking, interactive and there was a lot of positive exchange of ideas.
WORKSHOP ACTIVITIES It was quite interesting. The analogy between an idea, the obstacles faced when implementing the idea and ways to overcome the obstacles with Rose, Thorn and Bud was very innovative. It was an insightful activity. Gave me an opportunity to analyze my activities during the last few weeks.
SUGGESTION Introducing more activities like the 9 dot problem would have helped explain Lateral thinking a little more and would have got it to the forefront for all participants. It would enable the participants to think creatively and come up with more unique ideas for the rose, thorn and bud activity too.
ANALYSIS & INSIGHTS Furthermore, we did the post-analysis of all the collected data points by using the Affinity Mapping method. We also included direct quotes from the participant’s feedback as data points. We arranged them for insights and formed principles and then came up with some strong outcomes that can be developed further into prospective solutions
INSIGHTS SORTING “..if I were to go back and try to be more productive. I think I would spend more time exercising more as I feel I’ve been little lazy enough”
“..how to be more focused”
“...Competitive lifestyle”
PROCRASTINATING LIFESTYLE “.So to cope up with the laziness and procrastination.”
“.. talking to people who are you know who are close knit and tapping to the right networks and identifying a clarifying the questions that you have”
INCREASE COMMUNICATION “..Trying to connect with people for inspiration..”
UNABLE TO START THE DAY RIGHT “..Working towards a hobby” ”
“.. Helps others too” “..developing skill ”
“..if I had somebody who knows about like my each and every task or each and every call that needs to be accomplished.”
“..Work towards having a better diet plan and stay fit.”
HAVING A EXTERNAL ASSISTANCE
“...maybe having some constant rewards on the tasks that you’ve accomplished so far, whether they’re small or big and having”
PHYSICAL & MENTAL WELLNESS
“Rewards system”
“..writing letters to future me”
“..Virtual Assistant” “..buddy Assistant”
“..So I would rather going going maybe for a job or maybe two to the gym, instead of just watching a movie..”
“..getting out for a walk to keep myself active”
“.. Yeah, for me, the biggest daydreaming.”
“.. if I had some magic water that word after drinking Diet, you know, we would feel more focused more energized ”
“..not taking productivity as a competition.”
ENCOURAGE PEOPLE WITH MOTIVE
REVERSE PHYSIOLOGY “..Better state of mind”
“..doing yoga” “..maybe budding up with someone before starting something new, so that both of us can keep each other”
“.how much sleep is enough for me? Ideal sleep time??”
LEARN A SKILL
“..getting things done like we decided, a lot of things, but we don’t really get them done.”
“..friend or someone close to start something new with”
“...Work on a project that will benefit me in the future. I can learn something out of it.”
“.. Productivity Analytics”
“Constant Rewards”
“Getting rewards can encourage people to be more productive”
“...I just living life is education for me on watching films is like focus educational - we need to see positive side of our activities”
“..did not read extensively on corona”
KEY INSIGHTS The below are the key findings and insights from the synthesis of research data. The research findings are important to the workshop process and can help to create directions and solutions for effective decision making for being productive during crisis
IT’S NOT EASY TO GET OUT OF PROCRASTINATING LIFESTYLE
HAVING A EXTERNAL ASSISTANCE WHO MENTORS YOU THROUGH YOUR SCHEDULE
INCREASE COMMUNICATION WITH FRIENDS CAN BE HELPFUL TO CREATE A COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT
PHYSICAL AND MENTAL WELLNESS IS ESSENTIAL
USING TIME EFFICIENTLY TO LEARN A NEW SKILL
GETTING REWARDS CAN ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO BE MORE PRODUCTIVE
UNABLE TO START THE DAY RIGHT TO BE PRODUCTIVE
REVERSE PSYCHOLOGY TO BE PRODUCTIVE
SAM SAHANI
ABOUT Sam is a chemical engineer working in Boston. He will be completing his two years in the USA this summer. He had a lot of plans to travel this summer with his friends. Due to the pandemic, he had to cancel all his plans. Being an engineer, he’s not used to working on the computer. He wants to stay positive but he’s having a hard time being productive during this crisis. Age Profession Income Hometown
30 Years Chemical engineer 60-80K annually Boston, MA, USA
LEISURE ACTIVITIES
Doing Yoga
Playing Games
Watching Movies
GOALS
FRUSTRATIONS
Wants to learn new skills and make the quarantine productive
Lethargic and procrastinating lifestyle
Needs to stay on track with plans and schedules Needs a better state of mind
Unable to complete tasks as planned Spends too much time thinking about the crisis
MOTIVATIONS
LIFESTYLE Flexibility
Learning
Adaptability
Collaboration
Convenience Technology
JEBA BENISON
ABOUT Riya is a master’s computer science student. As the pandemic has forced everyone to work remotely, her classes are also scheduled online. She’s not used to working from home. She is a very outgoing person who loved to spend time in college working on her projects. She is having a hard time following her schedule staying all day at home. Age Profession Income Hometown
27 Years Graduate Student None Bangalore, India
LEISURE ACTIVITIES
Watching Movie
Cooking Food
Playing Badminton
GOALS
FRUSTRATIONS
Wants to learn new skills and make the quarantine productive
Unable to start the day right, being lazy
Wants to communicate and network with inspiring people
Unable to stick to the scheduled, end up wasting a lot of time
Need a motive to work and complete things
MOTIVATIONS
LIFESTYLE Flexibility
Learning
Adaptability
Collaboration
Convenience Technology
DIRECTION RECOMMENDATIONS The research can be taken forward in the possible direction to create solution and solve the problem. The following directions are recommended to be explored and implemented which can help people to take effective decisions during the crisis to be productive
ASSISTANCE/BUDDY PROGRAM
REWARD SYSTEM
REVERSE PSYCHOLOGY
WHAT IF THERE IS A BUDDY PROGRAM THAT PROVIDES A MENTOR TO ASSIST YOU IN YOUR DAILY SCHEDULE?
WHAT IF WE IMPLEMENT A REWARD SYSTEM THAT CAN HELP PEOPLE MOTIVATE TO TAKE PRODUCTIVE DECISIONS?
WHAT IF WE PROGRAM OUR MIND TO START THINKING REVERSE ABOUT THE PRODUCTIVITY VALUE OF OUR DAILY ACTIVITIES?
To maintain your productivity the biggest challenge is to plan your day right and when you are at home it gets even more difficult to keep up with the schedule. A buddy can not only suggest to you what activities are most productive for you but it can also plan your daily schedule.
We all know that need to stay productive in a day. We all make a list of task we should be doing but we often end up not following that list. The main reason is that there is no reward driving us towards it. For example when we perform at our work we get promotion, a raise and when we perform as a student we get good grades.
A buddy is someone close to you, listens to problems and acts according, therefore there is a higher probability of you following buddy guidance without being forced.
We can introduce a reward platform that people can join with their friends and other colleagues and they get rewarded based on their productivity, it can act as a great driving force for them.
We often tend to lose our confidence when our productive plans for the day fall apart as we couldn’t follow them and ended up on getting distracted with unproductive activities. Using reverse psychology if we program our mind to think of all unproductive activities as productive, it will boost our confidence as we won’t feel like we have wasted our day. This is true and practical and has always been there as the world keep on changing. For example engaging on social media like Instagram can be productive for a researcher as it familiarize them with the latest trends. In that way every individual can find something positive inside the unproductive activity and feel better about themselves.
DIRECTION / BUDDY PROGRAM WHAT IF THERE IS A BUDDY PROGRAM THAT PROVIDES A MENTOR TO ASSIST YOU IN YOUR DAILY SCHEDULE? Buddy is someone you look up to when you need the advice to make the right decisions. Buddy makes your life easier by planning a schedule for you as he knows about your needs. Buddy listens to your emotional needs and helps you get out of loneliness during the quarantine. Buddy helps and motivates you to execute your plans efficiently by reminding their value and impact on your life. Buddy connects with your colleagues and friends and highlights their productivity levels to induce a sense of competitiveness inside you. Buddy takes your feedback and keeps updating your data profile on its system. He gets better with time and provides you with better alternatives based on your data history analysis. Buddy system keeps your personal data secured without any violation.
DIRECTION / REWARD PROGRAM WHAT IF WE IMPLEMENT A REWARD SYSTEM THAT CAN HELP PEOPLE MOTIVATE TO TAKE PRODUCTIVE DECISIONS? A reward is the essential driving force of people’s life. They provide us with a sense of fulfillment. Rewards can be a digital currency that people can exchange. Rewards can be a social benefit that people get when they outperform at their work, academics, etc. Rewards can also be in the form of coupons or gift cards. Rewards form can vary with people of different ages, professions, lifestyles, etc. Individuals can use a digital platform to rate their productivity and get rewarded in the platform and share their achievements with friends. A digital platform can create a competitive environment like a school, office during the quarantine. Individuals earn rewards which convert to a salary hike, promotion, grades, etc With a digital reward system, it is easy to evaluate where the individual is lacking in productivity and plan accordingly.
DIRECTION / REVERSE PSYCHOLOGY WHAT IF WE PROGRAM OUR MIND TO START THINKING REVERSE ABOUT THE PRODUCTIVITY VALUE OF OUR DAILY ACTIVITIES? Reverse thinking is a powerful technique to make yourself feel better even when you are unproductive. It brings a change within an individual rather than tackling the problem externally which is long-lasting. It can also be induced by a sense of urgency which eventually leads to an increase in productivity. Individuals can assign time every day to evaluate their daily activities. They can take notes on what was positive they gained out of unproductive activities like watching TV, streaming Netflix, gaming, sleeping, etc. When an individual can find positive out of their leisure activities they don’t feel they are lacking behind in life. It also mentally prepares them for the worst. It changes their personality entirely and they get the ability to maneuver their thoughts, always seeking positive out of their life events.
REFLECTION We as factors took time to do a reflection on the workshop. We questioned ourselves on the following questions - What are your thoughts on Rose, Thorn, and Bud’s activity? What do you like about the workshop? Are there any suggestions? In a short sentence describing your overall experience from this workshop?
REFLECTIONS This workshop was facilitated to understand the decision making struggles to maintain a productive lifestyle during COVID-19. We started the workshop by introducing the current scenario of the Pandemic and how people are finding difficulty to take the right decisions. We did a pre-survey analysis to understand the particular pain points as Decision Making itself is a broad topic. From our Survey, we concluded that the most important thing for individuals is to stay productive while they are quarantined in their home environment.
OVERALL WORKSHOP The unpredictability of the workshop as it was conducted on-line was a learning experience We learned to operate Miro, Mural, and Zoom simultaneously and it will be a great asset for our future projects The interaction with a variety of participants and understand the difference in their struggles, their decision making process to be productive with respect to their location and profession was very insightful and informative to conclude our research
ROSE,BUD,THORN Conducting the test workshop made us realize, it is vital to introduce the lateral thinking before Rose, Thorn and Bud activity as it was difficult for nondesign participants to understand the concept of idea generation
SUGGESTION Make sure every participant understand the goals and expected outcome of the workshop. As a facilitator maintain a quiet background It might be helpful to do a quick survey with the prospective participants to analyses what softwares they prefer other than Mural, Miro Stay prepared for technical issues occurring during workshop and help participants to complete their activities Improvisation is good, but avoid any last minutes changes that can create confusion
THANK YOU