OurFutures
Alcohol and Cannabis
Module Lesson 5
Worksheet: Decision-Making / Problem-Solving
When we think about making changes, most of us don’t really consider all “sides” in a
complete way. Instead, we often do what we “should” do, avoid doing things we don’t
feel like doing, or just feel confused or overwhelmed and give up thinking about it at all.
This often leads to poor decisions. Decision-making/problem-solving skills can help you
to make the best decisions by considering all the options and the potential
consequences.
Instructions:
Think about something you want to change in your life and complete the steps below.
It could be anything from starting to exercise to giving up chocolate!
1 Define the problem or the decision to be made.
For example: “I want to get fit”.
2 Consider all the possible options / alternative solutions to achieve this stated goal.
For example:
• I will join the gym.
• I will try to walk to school each day.
• I will jog up and down in the classroom.
Remember, when you brain-storm solutions, write all solutions down, no matter how
ridiculous they seem! Try not to judge the options / solutions at this stage.
OurFutures
Alcohol and Cannabis
Module Lesson 5
3 Write down all the positives (good things) and negatives (not so good things) for
making or not making the change.
For example: I will join the gym.
Positives: That will be fun. I will be taught how to exercise.
Negatives: It may be really expensive. How would I get there?
Option 1
Positives
#/10
Negatives
#/10
Option 2
Positives
#/10
Negatives
#/10
Option 3
Positives
#/10
Negatives
#/10
4 Weight the positives and negatives for each of the different alternatives in the table
above.
Give each positive or negative a score out of ten for how important it may be.
A score of
1/
10
w
oul
d
mean
it
w
as
very
unimportan
t
and
a
sc
ore
o
f
10
/
10
w
oul
d
mean
it
w
as
vital
in
making the decision. There are no right or wrong
answers.
For
example: “That will be fun” - you may give a score of 7, because this is
important to you. “It may be really expensive” – you may give a score of 10
because you can’t possibly think of where you would get the money from.
OurFutures
Alcohol and Cannabis
Module Lesson 5
5 Select the best alternative
Consider all the alternatives and the weighted positives and negatives
associated with each alternative. Now decide which alternative you choose.
For example: You may choose the option of “walking to school each day”, as
you realise you could walk with your friend, have fun on the way and it would
cost nothing.
6 Implement the solution
Now that you have chosen the alternative that suits you, the next step involves
making
a decision about when and how you will implement the decision/solution.
It will involve creating a plan.
For example: If a person has decided to get fit and chosen the option of walking to
school, they may say; “I am going to start this from tomorrow. First, the night before,
I will ring my friend to arrange to meet them at the corner. To ensure I get up in
time, I will set an alarm for 7.00am. I will pack my water in my bag the night
beforehand. If it rains, my back up plan will b
e to text my friend to cancel and I will
do some indoor exercises such as 5 sit-ups, jogging on the spot for 15 minutes, etc.
Now write down a plan to implement your decision.
OurFutures
Alcohol and Cannabis
Module Lesson 5
7 Monitor progress
Set a date when you will review your progress and reassess how well you are
managing to
implement your solutions or whether the problem is closer to being
resolved.
8 Review and learn from your experience
On the date you wrote down, review your progress.
Assess how well you stuck to the decision or whether you need to go back
and reassess the decision. If it hasn’t worked out, don’t be hard on
yourself.
Just start the decision making/problem-solving process again! The only
time
things won’t work, is if you give up trying! Most worthwhile things in life
don’t happen the f
irst time, so keep trying.
