what did you discover / learn in the project
Through daily measure project, I have learned that little changes in our behavior will bring the huge difference in long term. By just tracking our grocery buying habits, I found myself I became more aware of my consumptions. By just noticing that I tend to over-consume groceries than I thought, I started to buy less and was able to not only save money, but also to think how they are processed and to make a decision to buy products that are more sustainable (the way they are grown or raised, how it is packaged etc.).
I think through my project, I was deeply able to understand how others are currently dealing with problem and what current methods they are using. I also was able to hear about how they feel about over-consuming. It was quite interesting that people had different feelings toward being sustainable. Most of the people tend to recognize being sustainable is important, however most of the people feel that being sustainable requires too much action.
what were you challenged by
My biggest challenge was to find groceries in a right portion. Because the way it is packaged and sold, I felt that I did not have much choice to choose in a right size. For the most of time, even though I knew that I will over-consume groceries I ended up buying more than I needed. Also it was pretty challenging for me to interview people, because I had to find people in different age range to get unbiased results. It was quite hard to approach them and ask a lot of questions, so I had to have the interview as simple as possible.
what did you question
Because I did a lot of researches in order to find out if this problem is also a problem for others before I state it as a problem, I felt that I was not focusing enough on myself measurement. Here are the list of questions that I questioned myself:
- Do I have enough knowledge and data to come up with possible ideas?
- How does current manufacturing process works?
- What would be the right boundary to change people’s behavior without having a huge change?
how successful was your project
I think my project will be more successful in longer term. Through measuring and grocery shop for several weeks I am assuming that I will have better possible ideas for the project through understand the current situation better and have opportunities how other grocery stores offer items to customers.
I am not sure if my possible solutions would drive people to naturally gain sustainable habits but it was definitely a great experience for myself to reflect my habit and always aware of my groceries.
what would you do differently
Because the grocery consumption isn’t a daily thing to do, it was pretty challenging for me to develop the idea based on 1 week tracking. If I have a chance to do this project differently, I would change to focus on daily use of my groceries based on what I have consumed.
Ji young Ahn 