The weekly review is one such thing. Countless times I’ve said, “I’m gonna do it.” And finally, I think I’m getting somewhere. Each Sunday—for the last two months or so—I’ve completed what I’ve termed “RPR”—review, plan, reflect.
- I review the previous week, my priority, my projects, my processes and what’s on the periphery.
- I plan the upcoming week, making sure everything is in its place and that there’s a place for everything.
- Finally, I reflect.
“Reflect” is the hardest. I’ve tried disconnecting and writing in my notebook. I’ve tried answering the same questions every week. Nothing. So last week I tried a different approach and slapped together a list of questions from various sources. The idea: I choose two or three that grab my attention, then meditate on them. I can sit and think about the answers, or write them out on my laptop or in my notebook, or I can just jot down points which help me craft or explore a response.
So far, it’s working. For example, this week, I chose the following questions: “How am I complicit in creating the conditions I don’t want?” “What are the craziest things I could do, and what are the consequences?” and “What do I not do because I’m scared?” The answers yielded were interesting and I obtained them by asking myself the questions repeatedly through the day.
So, because this procedure and bank of questions has released some value for me, I thought I’d share them with you.
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THE QUESTION BANK
From Ryan Holiday:
– What do I spend my time/attention/energy on?
– Is this in my control?
– What does my ideal day look like?
– To be or to do?
– If I am not for me, who is? If I am only for me, who am I?
– What am I missing by choosing to worry or be afraid?
– Am I doing my job?
– What is the most important thing?
– Who is this for?
– Does this actually matter?
– Will this be alive time or dead time?
– Is this who I want to be?
– Life is a question; am I answering with my words, deeds and thoughts?
From Peter Thiel:
– What’s my 10 year plan? Why can’t I do it in six months?
– How do I become less competitive in order to become more successful?
From Robert Greene:
– What are my weaknesses? How can I turn them to strengths?
From Taylor Pearson:
– Can I create more demand without creating more supply?
– How can I leverage technology to gain more control and/or autonomy?
– Define life as a collection of systems; where are the limits in my respective systems? What’s the obvious and/or non-obvious way to improve the limit?
– Am I working on something that is unconventional, which will multiply, not add, results?
– What do I find interesting and easy that others find difficult?
From Tim Ferriss:
– How am I complicit in creating the conditions I don’t want?
– What are the craziest things I could do? What are the consequences? How would my life be re-shaped?
– What do I spend a silly amount of money on? How might I scratch my own itch?
– What are the worst things that can happen? How could I get back here?
– If I could only work for 2 hours per week on my business, what would I do?
– What’s the least crowded channel?
– What if I couldn’t pitch my product directly?
– What if I created my own real-world MBA?
– Do I need to make it back the way I lost it?
– What if I could only subtract to solve problems?
– What might I put in place to allow me to go off the grid for 4 to 8 weeks, with no phone or email?
– Am I hunting antelope or field mice?
– Could it be that everything is fine and complete as it is?
– What would this look like if it were easy?
– Define, Eliminate, Automate, Liberate: can I unlock progress with any of these concepts?
From Naval Ravikant:
– Naval said, “Earn with your mind, not your time.” Am I doing that? If yes, can I do it better? If no, why not?
My Own:
– What narrative(s) am I selecting? Should I choose differently?
– What am I filtering for?
– Where are my blindspots?
– What excites me?
– What don’t I want others to ask me? Why?
– When was the last time I changed my mind?
– If resources (time, attention, energy, money) weren’t scarce, what would I do?
– Two circles: my skills and what the world needs. Where’s the overlap?
– What do I not do because I’m scared?
– What would I do if I was completely free of obligation–no friends, family etc.?
– Do I have skin in the game in everything I do?
– Who do I admire, and why?
– What small change could I make that would have a disproportionately large impact on my life?
– What do I most criticise others for? Why? Do I make the same mistake?
– What secrets do I have, but refuse to share?
– What am I risking? Am I too risk averse? Do I need to take more chances, or less?
– What do I know to be wrong, and what does that reveal that I think to be right?
– What if my strengths are actually weaknesses? What if what I think is my best asset is actually my worst?
– I have six monhs to live and a billion pounds to hand: what do I do?
– What do I want? Why do I want it? And do I want what I think I want?
– What’s my A? What’s my B? How do I bridge the gap?
– What’s the one thing?
– Do I have the full complement of PACE plans (primary, alternative, contingency, emergency)?
– Am I seeing complexity where this isn’t any? Is it simpler than it appears? Or more complex than I’ve come to believe?
– Do the possible joys of life outweigh the inevitable suffering?
– Which domain(s) in my life do I have a fixed mindset and a growth mindset? Could I be mistaken about them?
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Oh, if you have any questions that help you reflect and explore, send them over. You might receive a GIF expressing my gratitude.
Swell & Cut 