Many of us measure our life’s progress by one or two elements: the number of years gone by or a span of achievements/events. But as we awaken to an era where we practice mindfulness and appreciate the importance of living in the now, we too must migrate our measure of progress to a more immediate time-frame. One such way is to ask ourselves, “Was I effective today?”
Nobel Laureate Winston Churchill, one of our foremost orators and statesmen said, “Every night, I try myself by Court Martial to see if I have done anything effective during the day. I don’t mean just pawing the ground, anyone can go through the motions, but something really effective.”
Reportedly, Churchill could not sleep until he provided himself a satisfying answer . To be able to take every day and measure it on its merit is a deeply satisfying, efficient, and disciplined approach. Further, a single day is a period that we can remember and easily analyze!
What then is the measure of our effectiveness? These five questions, with related alternative questions in parentheses, will help you get started.
Five Questions Guaranteed to Make You More Effective
- Did I communicate what I wanted to communicate today?
- Was I decisive today or did I let things linger unnecessarily?
- Did I set a task for myself and complete it today? (Have I produced or created anything new today?)
- Did I value my co-workers and/or loved ones? (Have I heard any feedback given to me today?)
- Was I aware of what needed to be done today? (Did I follow through with it? Did I learn something new today?)
To be able to stay sharp, our daily life must constantly be in focus. We are more effective when we can communicate with clarity and measure our results to show progress. When we combat indecision, we resolve issues that can be dealt with today vs. tomorrow, making us more effective in reaching our goals.
If we listen to the feedback loop that our close relationships provide, we maximize our ability to be effective. And most importantly, when we maintain our awareness of ourselves and our surroundings, giving us the ability to change and be adaptive, we are more effective than our actions alone can be.
Pull out a magnifying glass to examine your activities at the end of every day! Track your responses in a notebook or journal for a highly productive way to look back on your (daily) effectiveness. Immediately, you will gain greater control over areas that are working well vs. ones that need some attention.