Why I have a list of questions I ask myself everyday

Chris Ankobia
Aug 28, 2017 · 4 min read
https://flic.kr/p/SWe4vJ

This Harvard Business Review article tells us we should manage our energy well if we want to get the most out of our time, well to be efficient with your time and energy how do you set your priorities? For me this starts with a simple set of questions I run through first thing in the morning everyday.

Everyday I ask myself the below questions as part of a daily habit of self-evaluation to arrive at a place of self-awareness, and improved planning. By beginning with the end in mind you can achieve a much clearer definition of what is important to you in that day. Without absolute focus and a clearly defined scope you can be guaranteed the demands of unplanned tasks and distractions can easily to you off course.

  1. What tasks do I need to complete today in order to have a successful day? This is type of planning can be helped by preparing the days tasks the night before, which can give you a boost in time savings and focus on a set agenda. By writing a list of set actions based on what you must as a minimum ‘do’ before the day is done you can make your day a success by following through with the a set of actions to complete each task.
  2. What actions do I need to take to complete the most important tasks? Having a strategy is crucial so that you ensure you balance your energy levels and focus to complete your daily tasks that require the most effort at the optimum time. Be specific about the actions as this will help to motivate and keep you on track.
  3. Do I have enough time to complete all the most important tasks I have set? If you keep a diary and have time slots in it this helps to visualise what you’re doing and when. You have to be realistic but how do you avoid underestimating the time you need if we often operate with an optimism bias? How about keeping a diary and committing to set times for task completion? If that proves to be ineffective you can monitor yourself with a stopwatch, establish an awareness of how long it actually takes to complete a task, and begin to plan from that basis.
  4. Who do I need to speak to? Often I need to make calls in my day linked to specific tasks, so having the details ready saves time and also promotes the good habit of preparing for those conversations to ensure you get the best out of the time spent.
  5. What can I do to help someone else? Doing something to help someone else is most likely part of most people’s day. So I think carefully about the simplest way to do just that without taking away more time than is needed from my day or having a negative impact on my priorities.
  6. When is a good time to call it a day and start preparing for tomorrow? With the next day in mind and an awareness of your own limitations you can think ahead in setting yourself up for the next right, by allocating time in the current day.

There’s a lot going on in my mind constantly, as is undoubtedly the same for many of us. What helps me get through the day is trying to develop a clear vision for what I hope to achieve within the day.

What asking and answering these questions does is really bring you to a place of self-awareness by highlighting the times when you haven’t clearly defined what you want to get out of your day, which eventually makes you feel rubbish but in reality was a poor plan to begin with.

The process of thinking through your day might sound obvious but often I get up in the morning and go with the flow that is being controlled by external factors and not myself, which means it’s almost impossible to get the right things done because I haven’t taken control of my day at the earliest opportunity.

When the process of asking these questions is repeated over and over again you will begin to form the habit of setting realistic expectations of yourself, improve your time management and build confidence around completing the right tasks. Stephen Covey’s best seller ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’ speaks clearly about focusing your efforts on what is within your control, so asking these questions helps to align your actions with where you can have maximum efficiency, the tasks you can control and your own plan for the day.

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Chris Ankobia

Written by

Co-founder of @ACCESSUK_ORG. Sharing employment tips and labour market trends.

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