3 Questions We Can Ask To Be Sure We End Today Smarter Than We Started It

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3 Questions We Can Ask To Be Sure We End Today Smarter Than We Started It   Do you ever feel like you are just stuck on the hamster wheel of life? Running the same circle, doing the same tasks, even making the same mistakes?   When our days are as busy as they are, it can be so easy to feel caught in a rut. When we don’t take time to reflect on our work, it can be hard to see how much we’ve grown, how far we’ve come, or how to avoid making the same mistakes over and over again.   This constant motion without reflection can wind up having a negative impact on our job performance and even our morale, which can then adversely impact those around us. Research is showing that by taking time to reflect, and to be more mindful of what we’ve learned and how far we’ve come, we can end each day smarter than we started it, and let that renewed sense of progress keep propelling us forward.   Here are 3 questions to help us do just that.  1. “What did I learn?” Arguably, the biggest question of all. It can seem so daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. Simply take 2 minutes at the end of each day to pause, reflect, and jot down something you learned that day.   It could be something you learned through an accomplishment or through a mistake, something you learned from someone else, or from something you read or observed. Either way, acknowledging things we’ve learned each day will help us remember them a little better, and make us more likely to put those learnings in to practice moving forward.    2. “What will I do differently?” If any of our answers to question 1 were mistakes, here is our chance to really grow from them. We are all human. We aren’t perfect. But if we come up with a specific plan for the next time we encounter a similar situation, we can prevent ourselves from making the same mistake again.   Maybe it wasn’t a mistake so much as an “I tried this and it didn’t work” kind of moment. Even there, we can make a note of what we learned and how we will adjust for next time. Try framing up a sentence like “The next time I encounter ‘A’ (situation/conversation/project/challenge), I will try ‘B’ (a different approach) instead of ‘C’ (the thing that wound up not working) so that ‘D’ (what you hope will be the outcome).”   3. “Who should I tell?” Our shared knowledge makes our team stronger. If we learned something that would make our team stronger, better, or more efficient we should share that knowledge with them. Likewise, if we learned something “the hard way”, we could make the world a better place by helping someone else learn some easier way.   Whether it was one of our accomplishments, something we learned by making a mistake, by trying something that simply didn’t work, or whether we came across new information that would be helpful to others, we should share what we learned. Spend a few minutes thinking who should know what, and then make a plan for spreading the knowledge.