Measure to ensure there are no surprises.

Identify the Measurable

At this point,  you know what you need to be looking for from your problem statement.  Now you need to begin collecting information to indicate:

1) What events are causing you problems,

2) When do the events occur, and

3) How sevear are your reactions to the event. 

You can collect the information in a journal or make a stress worksheet similar to the one below.

 (This example was made in Microsoft® Excel® and I will be glad to send it to you for you to use.  If you would like a copy of this spreadsheet, please complete the Feedback form, including your e-mail address and version of Excel you are using and I will be glad to send it to you.  The file does not contain any macros and is virus-free at the time it is sent.)

The example above is broken down into hourly increments, but can be broken down into half or quarter hour increments just as easily.  We don’t recommend in breaking it down below the quarter hour increments since then you spend all your time filling out the worksheet and makes it harder for you to focus due to information overload.  The example shows the date for which the information is collected (you may want to include the day of the week, this could be important later).  The top-left section of the worksheet is contains how you react to stressful events (or stress signals).  The top-right section shows the time measurement as to how sever of a reaction you noticed when the events occur.  The bottom-left section shows the causes of your stress and the bottom-right section indicates when that stress event occurred.  The severity scale is shown as a reminder that not all events cause the same level of stress and these are the numbers you assign to your reactions by event.  The amount of your stress levels will also determine the level of improvement you need to make.

Why is monitoring your stress important?

Monitoring your stress gives you a means to measure your current stress state and to show you how much improvement is being made when you begin implementing your improvements at the Improve Stage.   You should monitor your stress levels each day for at least 2 weeks before making any long-term changes.  This will give you time to establish a baseline for how much improvement you are getting from your improvement efforts later.  Next we need to analyze the information collected.

Figure 1—Stress Monitoring Worksheet Example—Measure Stage

Using the Six Sigma Approach

Measure Stage

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