What are your thoughts on a “questioning exercise?”
I started doing this questioning exercise yesterday (see below). Not exactly sure where the idea came from, but it was likely born out of the fact that I’ve come to realize the immense value in asking lots of questions.
You know the saying “there are no bad questions?” I really do think it’s true. When we question things, it’s because we’re missing knowledge about something. And if we’re missing knowledge on something, can that possibly be our fault? And if it’s not our fault that we’re missing that knowledge, aren’t we better off trying to figure it out?
Anyways, I realize that stream of thoughts sounded pretty abstract and probably didn’t make much sense, but the point is, I think asking questions is super important.
The exercise
The exercise I started yesterday was setting a timer for 5 minutes and writing down questions as they appeared in my mind. The only real rule I set for myself is that I have to try my best to keep writing throughout the 5 minutes.
I just finished the exercise again this morning, the 2nd straight time in two days. I’m really enjoying the exercise so far, so we’ll see if it sticks.
Here’s what I’ve come up with each time, in case you’re curious.
Feb 10, 2019
* What drove me to try out this exercise?
* Have other people in the world done an exercise like this before?
* How long will I keep up this exercise for?
* Will I find value in this exercise?
* How will I know for sure if I’m getting value out of this exercise?
* Do I want to allow myself to pause during the 5 minute exercise? Or have to try to keep pen on paper (per se)?
* Is 5 minutes the appropriate amount of time for this exercise? Should it be more or less?
* Should I do this exercise every day, or less frequently?
* Should I share these questions publicly?
* Should I ever look back on these questions to see if I eventually developed satisfactory answers to them in my mind?
* Could I make a startup out of this?
* What would that startup look like?
* How would users on the platform interact?
* Would they have to interaction, or could they just use this for their own personal benefit?
* New train of thought; when is the best time to ask a question vs. say a statement?
* Would conversations with people be best if they were always question and answer?
* New train of thought; how come I had some much difficulty coming up with questions for most of my life?
* Do I have difficulty coming up with questions when I’m nervous or lacking confidence? Why is this? How can I improve that?
* Why did I have so much difficulty asking questions at info sessions during consulting recruiting?
Feb 11, 2019
* Why did I decide to reduce the time of this exercise down to 3 minutes today?
* Is 3 minutes enough?
* Is there a “right” amount of time?
* Did I ask this question yesterday?
* Should I be concerned that I can’t remember whether I asked the same question yesterday?
* Was this a form of unconscious procrastination since I had planned to be at the gym right now?
* When should I do this activity? Before the gym? After the gym? Right after brushing teeth when I wake up?
* Is there a way to tell whether or not I actually need more sleep?
* Can I finish early if I feel I’ve run out of questions?
* Where do dreams come from?
For those reading, what do you think of the exercise? Is it something you’ve tried before? If not, is it something you think you’ll try? Why or why not? :)
