Before I describe the challenge that I addressed, the reader should know that I am a physical scientist  who decided to take this course for fun. My line of work does not lend itself easily to work on human  centric challenges, so identifying a challenge to address where I could use the tools described in the  course was my biggest hurdle. For this reason, I decided to turn the challenge inward and use a problem  in my life as the challenge and use myself as the subject that data could be collected on.

The Challenge

I have always been a happy and optimistic person.  Lately, I feel myself becoming depressed, negative,  and the person that simply complains. I know that my recent job transition is the primary cause but I  wonder if I could apply the theory discussed in the Introduction to Design Thinking lecture, which  assumes that there are unarticulated needs of a person or customer that the individual might not be  aware of.

Tool Selection and Application

The tool that I used to address this problem was Ethnography tool that was applied in the MeYou Health  example from Week 3. My hope was that this tool could provide insights to uncover any additional  aspects of my life that are causing me to feel this way. I choose this tool because recording observations  is a familiar activity for me, I work a lot with temporal datasets so seeing my observations expressed in a  timeline would make it easy for me to see patterns in the data, and it is a tool that seemed appropriate  to address the question. The application of this tool looked very similar to the MeYou Health Well-Being  Log but with different questions. The fields I filled in were 1) Date/Time 2) What emotion are you  feeling, 3) What triggered this feeling, 4) What time did this feeling end? 5) When was the last time you  ate, 6) Any comments or notes? Question # 5 may seem unrelated but I often forget to eat and already  know that hunger can affect my mood. I performed this exercise for week. The observational time  spanned a weekend, where I did not go into work, and a few weekdays where I did go into work.  During  this time, I recorded any strong emotions that I felt, both positive and negative, and the events that  triggered the emotional state. I also noted when I thought something should have elicited an emotional  response but it did not or when it elicited an unexpected emotional response.

Insight

This exercise was very interesting.  There were two themes that emerged from my well- being log. The  first was expected. This was associated with my job. I was able to identify key aspects about my current  situation that were greatly affecting me. The two biggest ones were the work environment and the job  responsibilities itself. The one that I have identified many times before was the work environment. It is  dark and windowless, the ceilings are low, the building feels dirty, and the lighting is terrible. The second  problem about my job, that was less obvious, was my job function. I identify myself as a problem solver.   In this current role, I am not solving problems. This job leaves me feeling unmotivated, disengaged, and  bored.

Upon reflection, these two items seem pretty obvious, however when I accepted my current position, I  was focused on finding a position in my field that could use the skills that I had developed during my  Ph.D. I was less focused on the environment that I would have to spend time in and on the specifics of  my day to day responsibilities. Instead, my goal was to feel like my education was being used and that I  didn’t waste 6 years of my life become an expert in a field that I would then abandon.

The unexpected finding was that my overall well-being was tightly coupled to how the morning good- bye went with my 1 ½ yr old daughter.  I found that I was much more resentful and negative from the  moment that I stepped into the office if my daughter had to be pulled away from me, crying and  screaming, to get her to daycare. I felt sad about leaving her, I felt resentful and angry that I was  spending my time in a place that I didn’t want to be, and I felt like I was being a bad mom. This feeling  lasted most of the day and dissipated somewhere in the late afternoon. On those days, I felt more  drained and tired at night and I found myself wishing that I had the financial means to just quit my job.  I  vented more to my husband on those days than I did not days where the good-bye went smoothly.

This exercise made me realize that there were really two issues that I need to address. The first and  perhaps the hardest is associated with the job. The second is to figure out why some mornings go  smoothly with my daughter and others don’t and find a way to make the good-byes better. Additionally,  creating a balance between spending time with my daughter and working would be huge. What if I  found a part time job or a job that where I could work 4 days a week instead of 5 days a week? In  today’s world this seems possible.

Approach

The current tool could be improved by extending the observational timeframe to capture a greater  variety of circumstances. It could also be interesting to have my husband record his observations of my  moods to see if his perception aligns with mine. He might be more apt to identify times or circumstances  where I am not happy, that I am not aware of. An alternative tool that could have been used is the Mind  Mapping tool. I could have combined projective/visualization tools to create a drawing of myself now  and in the future and/or a drawing that tags and connects all of the emotional triggers that affect me  during the day. The daily log of emotions coupled with the drawings described above could be used  together for a mind mapping activity.   All of the exercises would complement each other and likely  produce greater insights than using just one type of data collection method.


Before I describe the challenge that I addressed , the reader should know that I am a physical scientist who decided to take this course for fun . My line of work does not lend itself easily to work on human centric challenges , so identifying a challenge to address where I could use the tools described in the course was my biggest hurdle . For this reason , I decided to turn the challenge inward and use a problem in my life as the challenge and use myself as the subject that data could be collected on . The Challenge I have always been a happy and optimistic person . Lately , I feel myself becoming depressed , negative , and the person that simply complains . I know that my recent job transition is the primary cause but I wonder if I could apply the theory discussed in the Introduction to Design Thinking lecture , which assumes that there are unarticulated needs of a person or customer that the individual might not be aware of . Tool Selection and Application The tool that I used to address this problem was Ethnography tool that was applied in the MeYou Health example from Week 3 . My hope was that this tool could provide insights to uncover any additional aspects of my life that are causing me to feel this way . I choose this tool because recording observations is a familiar activity for me , I work a lot with temporal datasets so seeing my observations expressed in a timeline would make it easy for me to see patterns in the data , and it is a tool that seemed appropriate to address the question . The application of this tool looked very similar to the MeYou Health Well - Being Log but with different questions . The fields I filled in were 1 ) Date / Time 2 ) What emotion are you feeling , 3 ) What triggered this feeling , 4 ) What time did this feeling end ? 5 ) When was the last time you ate , 6 ) Any comments or notes ? Question # 5 may seem unrelated but I often forget to eat and already know that hunger can affect my mood . I performed this exercise for week . The observational time spanned a weekend , where I did not go into work , and a few weekdays where I did go into work . During this time , I recorded any strong emotions that I felt , both positive and negative , and the events that triggered the emotional state . I also noted when I thought something should have elicited an emotional response but it did not or when it elicited an unexpected emotional response . Insight This exercise was very interesting . There were two themes that emerged from my well- being log . The first was expected . This was associated with my job . I was able to identify key aspects about my current situation that were greatly affecting me . The two biggest ones were the work environment and the job responsibilities itself . The one that I have identified many times before was the work environment . It is dark and windowless , the ceilings are low , the building feels dirty , and the lighting is terrible . The second problem about my job , that was less obvious , was my job function . I identify myself as a problem solver . In this current role , I am not solving problems . This job leaves me feeling unmotivated , disengaged , and bored . Upon reflection , these two items seem pretty obvious , however when I accepted my current position , I was focused on finding a position in my field that could use the skills that I had developed during my Ph.D. I was less focused on the environment that I would have to spend time in and on the specifics of my day to day responsibilities . Instead , my goal was to feel like my education was being used and that I did n’t waste 6 years of my life become an expert in a field that I would then abandon . The unexpected finding was that my overall well - being was tightly coupled to how the morning good- bye went with my 1 ½ yr old daughter . I found that I was much more resentful and negative from the moment that I stepped into the office if my daughter had to be pulled away from me , crying and screaming , to get her to daycare . I felt sad about leaving her , I felt resentful and angry that I was spending my time in a place that I did n’t want to be , and I felt like I was being a bad mom . This feeling lasted most of the day and dissipated somewhere in the late afternoon . On those days , I felt more drained and tired at night and I found myself wishing that I had the financial means to just quit my job . I vented more to my husband on those days than I did not days where the good - bye went smoothly . This exercise made me realize that there were really two issues that I need to address . The first and perhaps the hardest is associated with the job . The second is to figure out why some mornings go smoothly with my daughter and others do n’t and find a way to make the good - byes better . Additionally , creating a balance between spending time with my daughter and working would be huge . What if I found a part time job or a job that where I could work 4 days a week instead of 5 days a week ? In today ’s world this seems possible . Approach The current tool could be improved by extending the observational timeframe to capture a greater variety of circumstances . It could also be interesting to have my husband record his observations of my moods to see if his perception aligns with mine . He might be more apt to identify times or circumstances where I am not happy , that I am not aware of . An alternative tool that could have been used is the Mind Mapping tool . I could have combined projective / visualization tools to create a drawing of myself now and in the future and/or a drawing that tags and connects all of the emotional triggers that affect me during the day . The daily log of emotions coupled with the drawings described above could be used together for a mind mapping activity . All of the exercises would complement each other and likely produce greater insights than using just one type of data collection method .