Questions to Self-Evaluate
Sharpen your behavior by taking some time to reflect on these questions. Then take the next action step.
Productivity:
- What are 3 things that give me the most payoff on your job?
- How much time do I spend on those 3 things?
- Do I have written goals in these payoff areas? How often do I regularly evaluate them?
- Do I set deadlines for self and others in these deadlines?
Purpose:
- Why did I get up this morning?
- Do I revisit my purpose and vision and have those closest to me holding me accountable to fulfilling it?
- Am I passing the torch to those who are coming behind me?
- What am I trying to accomplish this year?
With others:
- Are those under my lead growing and well cared-for?
- What is my life communicating to those around me?
- Is my love for people increasing?
- Who needs to be thanked/encouraged?
- Who do I feel out-of-touch with? Do I need to re-connect and how?
- What partnerships am I forming to achieve my goals and expand my network?
Energy:
- Am I living and serving within my God-given boundaries?
- Where is my spiritual health?
- Do I carve out time for thinking creatively?
Conflict resolution:
- What is bothering me? What am I going to do about it?
- How can I get feedback about potentially-unnoticed problem issues?
- Is there any person I am avoiding or feel uncomfortable around? Why?
With spouse:
- When is the last time I got my spouse a thoughtful gift? Went on a date with him/her?
Strengths:
- What are my biggest strengths, and how am I leveraging them?
- Who do I need to complement my strengths?
Personal/professional development:
- What books am I reading and what is the big thought in them?
- What “a-ha’s” have I gotten lately from people or resources? What step do I need to take to follow up those discoveries?
Time management:
- What did I do for the last 15 minutes?
Blowing Bugles
Numbers 10:10 says to “blow the bugles…; they will keep your attention on God”
Every waking moment is spent focusing on something–even when daydreaming! Focus can be undisciplined (roaming from one target to another) or disciplined (actually choosing priorities as targets). It’s so easy to shift that attention to personal pain/issues or reacting to someone else’s comments/decisions or anything but what our #1 focus should be in this life: God.
I think bugles in our lives are people who give us godly advice from the outpouring of their walk with God, and bugles are habits/thought patterns that regularly drive thoughts to Him.