The most important questions to ask yourself at work aren’t what you ask your customers, clients, and prospects. The most important questions are the ones you ask yourself. It begins by asking yourself, “What have I learned?”
Check-in With a Checklist
Budget 30–45 minutes at the end of your workweek to review your activities and consider opportunities for improvement.
• Review activities to repeat — Success is not luck; when results are favorable, ask yourself – what did I do and what can I repeat? Seneca, the first century Roman philosopher said, “Luck is what happens when preparation and opportunity meet.
• Identify areas to improve — The first step to improvement is identifying what needs improved. When I was a very young man, I was asked what I wanted to improve about myself. I answered that I hadn’t thought much about it. I was given the assignment of identifying three weaknesses I wanted to improve, jotting them on a slip of paper in my wallet, and looking at them daily. Years later, I consider these former weaknesses to be strengths.
After you’ve identified areas of improvement, consider the best method of improvement. Can you improve through self-help, or is a more experienced person available as a mentor? Are online classes called for?
The 7 Most Important Questions to Ask Yourself at Work
- What was my most successful activity last week and why?
- What, within my control, was my biggest time killer?
- How can my successful activities be repeated?
- What activity didn’t work and why?
- What do I need to stop doing?
- Where is improvement needed?
- What’s my action plan for improvement?
If you ask yourself these seven questions every week, reflect, and act on them — you will improve your work and workplace.
How Can I Help You?
I like to help people and organizations, but I have three criteria I consider before taking an assignment – I believe in what the organization stands for, I know I can help, and it looks like fun. If you have any questions, Contact Me.
So, does your business have a management training plan? Because, if not, many organizations, large and small, use my book, The New Manager’s Workbook a crash course in effective management, as the basis for their leadership development program. Check it out. It might help you stop putting off what you want to do.
Photo by Charles Deluvio on Unsplash
