What Are You Working On

This statement has always felt like the epitome of some kind of corporate invasion and micromanagement. 

I came across it in a management book I was reading and it was phrased in a way that was not so bad…. So I popped it up on my whiteboard and tested it…. On my team and on myself. 

To be clear, our admin and management teams have meetings, some meetings are to give an overview, others to set targets, find pain points, look for ideas to help make us more efficient, and so on.

The team was great – they were already providing this information, it is just that I was possibly not focussed – by asking the right question I was focussing myself as much as anything else. 

If you are managing or leading, it is a great question provided it is framed correctly and delivered sensitively, in a culture that allows for honesty. 

I found that there was also real power in asking this question of myself. 

A couple of times recently as I reflect on this question I found that I was grasping for answers. ‘What am I working on?’ 

This is one of those questions that help to ensure that you don’t just stay stuck in the weeds of day to day grind and business. 

By asking yourself “What are you working on” you help ensure that you are making regular (ideally daily) progress on your bigger picture ideas. I found it refocuses me. 

The very ideas that will grow your freedom, or grow your business, or grow your impact, are the very ones that are the first to get relegated to the scrap heap when you get busy. I am finding that a reminder of ‘what I am working on’ lifts my mind back to where growth happens.