Driving Results or Along for the Ride? Where do you sit?

This question and your ability to have an accurate answer is critical to your short and long-term business success. When the question comes up, the typical answer, almost by default, is that you are a driver. Like it’s truly the only answer you can give.

And just like that you’re ready to move the conversation along. But let’s dig in further. Regardless of your position or level of experience, ask yourself the following questions … and be honest.

  • When you wake up for work in the morning, are you psyched to jump out of bed and start kicking ass or do you hit snooze for another 15 before you have to face the day?

  • What percentage of your calendar or to-do list is key to your role and the results you’re actively aiming for? What about the rest – are they someone else’s agenda and interruptions that have nothing to do with your own? Here’s the thing, if you’re spending less than 70 percent of your day on your personal activities, you’re not driving. You might not even be a passenger. There’s actually a chance you’re tied up in the trunk.

  • When you stop and think about your 3 most important activities to meet your current objectives, are you actively moving them forward, or are you delegating the work? Or even worse, are you ignoring it?

  • Do you have a process to review, prioritize and schedule what you want to accomplish each day or do you hope for the best and find your way to frustration most days?

  • Do you have a system or practice in place to recalibrate your day if it seemingly starts to have it’s way with you?

  • Do you feel like you are always “just getting through your day” in constant reactive mode with no time to even consider what it means to be a driver?

  • Do you have a boss or employees with strong personalities that you try to steer clear of?

  • When you go to bed at night, do you consistently feel a sense of accomplishment, or do you add up how many days until Friday?

If you didn’t answer with conviction on at least 5-6 of the 8 questions, then there is work to do to get you in the driver’s seat. I won’t score the passenger seat vs. backseat vs. the trunk, but you know where you are. Next we’ll discuss creating action items that will get the steering wheel back in your hands and your foot on the gas.

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Getting Back Into the Driver Seat of Your Day, Career and Life