Before I describe the process of writing an action plan, and how we use them in our peer-support group, I need to put in a word of caution. The book, Self-Management of Long-Term Health Conditions was written for patients with chronic health conditions. I think there are some overlaps in the kind of adjustments that we all need to make if we are coming to terms with a chronic illness and when we are figuring out what it means to live in this stage of the climate crisis. These include: dealing with an uncertain future, disruption to our way of life, needing to build new habits or find new ways of doing things, rethinking some of our assumptions and beliefs, and coping with emotional ups and downs. However, the book wasn’t written to be used in this way. It is important that you think about whether you think this is a reasonable approach and something you want to try out yourself.
Creating a plan
In Self-Management of Long-Term Health Conditions an action plan is described as a way of focusing your energy on what you can do next. The authors say,
“The secret is not to try and do everything at once. Instead, look at what you can accomplish within the next week. We call this an Action Plan: something that is short-term, is do-able and sets you on the road toward your Goal (sic). The Action Plan should be about something you want to do. It is a tool to help you do what you wish.”
Self-Management of Long-Term Health Conditions by Kate Lorig and others
The emphasis on choosing something you want to work on feels really important. I don’t think it means the goal you decide to work toward, or the solution you try out, will necessarily be easy, but it does mean it will be something that matters to you.
- The process of writing an action plan:
- List some specific goals – the outcome you would like to see.
- Choose one specific goal to work on.
- Generate a list of all the different ways you could accomplish your goal.
- Choose one option.
- Think about what one step you could take in the next week (or fortnight) towards accomplishing your goal.
- Write an action plan that is specific and doable, and include how you’ll remember to actually carry it out. Say what you’ll do, where, when, how much and how often.
- Score the likelihood of you completing your plan in full (and adjust your plan if needed)
- Keep it where you’ll remember to follow it.
There’s a more detailed description of the process and guidance on putting plans into practice in the book, which is available in Manchester libraries and from other libraries (WorldCat).
Being realistic
“Once you’ve made your action plan ask yourself the following question: On a scale of zero to ten, with zero being totally unsure and ten being totally certain, how sure are you you can complete this entire plan. If the answer is below seven you should think again.”
Self-Management of Long-Term Health Conditions by Kate Lorig and others
I really appreciate this part of the process. As a chronic illness sufferer I am constantly making unrealistic, overambitious plans. This built-in reality check is so helpful in making me take a more careful look at what I have in mind. It’s much better to adjust a plan before I start and improve my chance of success than to attempt something that was never really possible. With my action plans for climate change the reality check helps me remember that however big and urgent the problem is, I can only do one thing at a time. And it’s a good idea to do thing that thoughtfully and well.
Action plans for the climate crisis
We introduced action plans in to the peer support group as a way of trying to manage the sense of being overwhelmed by the scale, complexity and urgency of the climate crisis. Feeling overwhelmed and stuck had been a recurring theme when we talked about how we felt. We thought personal action plans could be useful when we are thinking about how we want to adapt and apply what we’ve learnt or thought about to our everyday lives. The way the process of going from a problem that feels too difficult and overwhelming to starting to do something about it is laid out, step by step, in the book seemed like it could be really useful.
In the peer support group we read the section relating to action plans together. Pausing to write and then share our own goals, lists of ideas and action plans. Working on action plans in this way lets everyone go at their own pace, choosing goals and actions that suit them and their circumstances, while we still benefit from the support and encouragement of working in a group. It’s still early days, and we don’t know how our experiment with using action plans for our personal responses to the climate crisis will turn out. But it’s been a good experience so far.
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