High Quality Questions I learned to ask after reading ‘The Bullet Journal Method’ by Ryder Carroll
I was starting to feel overwhelmed by the number of personal and work tasks on my every growing to-do list. I lacked clarity around my priorities and I didn’t feel like I was getting anything done.
I’m probably not alone in this feeling.
Through the practice of my journal set up, daily mind reflection, and migration of tasks I was able to do all the things Ryder Caroll promises. I could see my progress happening before my eyes. I could see that I was leading a social life, and I was making progress on my goals. I could also see the obvious procrastination tactics I was employing for tasks that got migrated day after day and had to face down why I was doing it.
This had such a profound impact on my life in the matter of a month I’ve been texting all my friends and family to get a copy and test this out in their own life. So I thought I would extend my glowing review to my professional network friends and maybe even soon-to-be friends!
Below is a curated list of page references and quotes I found most impactful along with bullet points that call out the high quality questions you can be asking yourself starting today!
Pg 29: If intentionality means acting according to your beliefs then the opposite would be operating on autopilot.
- Do you know WHY you’re doing what you’re doing?
Pg 36: Ray F. Baumeister in Willpower “you can’t make decisions after decisions without paying a biological price. — You become low on mental energy. “
- How can you reduce the # of decisions you make daily so you can focus on what matters?
Pg 37: A daily mental inventory dumps allows us to examine them & declutter our mind.
- What matters this month?
- What are the priorities?
Pg 124: To become productive we must stop to evaluate what we have done. Then look at what's in our control, meaningful, worth our attention & WHY. This is how we define who we are and what we believe in.
- What if you could put your belief into practice, test drive new ideas, measures their impact on your life?
Pg 133: Reflection creates the environment for perspective and asking WHY. It’s the space to check in with ourselves and examine our progress, responsibilities, circumstances and state of mind.
- Am I solving the right problem/ answering the right questions : Why am I working on this? Why am I feeling XYZ?
Pg 157: By creating a plan for goals and pursuing and tracking them via the bullet journal can help answer if we are on the right track? Sometimes through experimentation it can allow us to answer that question and abandon what doesn't suit us and free us to explore other things.
- Is this the right goal for me?
Pg 164: Pause to reflect at the end of a sprint and ask yourself the following:
- What am I learning about my strengths and weaknesses?
- What in this project is working and what isn’t?
- What can I do better next time?
- What value was added to my life?
Pg 194 : Focus on doing everything within your control to help something succeed. There is nothing more that can be asked of us. More importantly, there is nothing more that we can ask ourselves.
Pg 201: Learning is challenging yourself to grow. During reflection ask yourself:
- What am I learning?
- What lessons has X taught me or inspired me to learn?
- What do I want to know more about, How will I go about learning it?
Pg 246: Collections should be helpful in retrospect. Every new iteration of a template should undergo scrutiny. Keep it simple, focused, and relevant.
- What worked, what didn’t? What change will I make?
Pg 253: To avoid analysis paralysis consider time boxing. It gives you a start and end point. Decide on the time needed and schedule it on your calendar. Keep it productive and finite.
Pg 268: In order to make progress you need to understand the effects of your efforts. The WHAT is working and the WHY it’s working. As long as we are tracking the more effective we can be the more progress we can make.
If you haven’t already checked it out you can purchase a bullet journal here which makes getting started very easy because it comes with a pocket guide for reference in your daily practice.
