Tips and Techniques to Improve Your Problem-Solving Skills
Assessment
Please indicate whether the following statement is true or false. Games such as Scrabble and Chess can enhance your problem-solving skills.
That's right, good job!
The correct answer is: True
Not quite!
The correct answer is: True
One of the most important life skills we can acquire is problem-solving, which includes critical thinking and asking the right questions. Having good problem-solving skills can improve our decision-making abilities and enhance our creativity, career and personal growth opportunities and brain health.
10 Ways to Improve Your Problem-Solving Skills
- Book it. Read as much as possible, absorb the details, look up new terms and question what you’re reading. To improve your critical thinking, you’ll need to continually challenge the status quo and look for new perspectives and ways to look at the world.
- Observe. Tune into your environment — while you’re at work, taking a walk, shopping at the farmer’s market or biking around the neighborhood. Practice mindfulness throughout the day by engaging all of your senses.
- Ask questions. Doing so can increase learning by helping you better process and retain information. Whether you’re attending a meeting, taking a course or reading a book, commit to asking one question per session.
- Consider both perspectives. When you’re evaluating an issue, try arguing both sides. Not only is it persuasive, but it also improves your critical thinking, gives you a new perspective and demonstrates that you have been diligent in drawing your conclusion.
- Play games. Playing brain games, like Sudoku, Scrabble, crossword puzzles and chess, is an enjoyable way to pass the time and a great way to improve your problem-solving skills and keep your mind sharp.
- Make journaling a habit. In addition to reducing stress and anxiety, journaling also allows you to take a second look at the day’s events. Doing so will help you analyze how you made your decisions, why you came to certain conclusions and how you can make better decisions going forward.
- Debate with others. Many of us shy away from debating with colleagues and loved ones, but when done constructively and respectfully, it’s a highly effective way to improve your problem-solving skills, because you’re forced to see different perspectives. You can even join a debate club.
- Take a course. AECOM University offers a variety of courses and pathways to help you improve your problem-solving skills. You can also try one of these apps.
- Exercise. Getting regular physical activity can improve your cognitive abilities. In fact, running is one of the few exercises that improves executive functioning — a set of mental skills that helps us operate at our best through focus, critical thinking and memory.
- Find a mentor. Mentors play an important role in providing social support, in addition to helping identify and develop areas of opportunity for professional growth. A good mentor will challenge you to take a different perspective and look at things in a new light, helping you develop your problem-solving skills.
Assessment
Of the following activities, which one does NOT enhance problem-solving skills?
That's right, good job!
The correct answer is: Eating
Not quite!
The correct answer is: Eating
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