before you begin:
- Download the FREE Reflection Activity (fillable PDF) by clicking here.
How to fill this out
1) High-Value Activity (your #1 priority)
What to write: One concrete action you can do next that moves your current #1 priority forward more than anything else.
Format: Verb + object + outcome.
Examples:
“Spend 2-3 hours each week doing business development to build pipeline.”
“Complete the one-pager for the launch meeting.”
“Hold a 20-minute performance management conversation with Alex to unblock delivery.”
Quality checks (must pass all):
It starts with a verb (schedule, draft, decide, call, send).
It’s doable now.
It clearly moves your top priority (not just keeps you “busy”).
2) Obstacles (what’s in the way)
What to write: Specific things that block or dilute your time, focus, or courage to do the High-Value Activity.
Be concrete: Name the exact meeting, task, or avoidance—avoid generalities.
Prompts to help you list at least 3:
Which meeting(s) this week don’t have a clear purpose or decision?
Which low-value tasks or distractions are you saying yes to out of habit?
Which uncomfortable conversation are you avoiding?
What interruptions (pings, email checks, drop-ins) hijack your first 90 minutes?
What’s unclear (goal, owner, definition of done) that makes you stall?
Examples:
“Monday ‘status’ call (20 ppl, no decisions).”
“Manually updating the ops report daily (30 min).”
“Avoiding telling Jordan the deadline changed.”
“Slack notifications on during deep-work block.”
“Not sure who approves the vendor shortlist.”
3) Examples (where your time is going instead)
What to write: The specific time/focus drains you actually did last week that pulled you from the High-Value Activity—name them like calendar items.
Format: Thing + frequency/duration.
Examples:
“Answering non-urgent DMs before noon (45–60 min/day).”
“Reviewing every ticket, even non-priority ones (1 hr/day).”
“Ad-hoc ‘got a minute?’ hallway syncs (3–4/day).”
“Rewriting slides others own (2 hrs/week).”
Why this works
It increases leverage (the degree to which your time and energy impact outcomes).
It makes the invisible visible (exact places to reclaim time).
It’s role-agnostic—works for execs and new hires alike.
Common mistakes to avoid
Writing a project (“Improve onboarding”) instead of an action (“Draft the first-day checklist v1”).
Picking something you can’t do now.
Listing vague obstacles (“meetings”)—be specific (“Tuesday ops sync, 60 min, no agenda”).
What next?
For more information about how to go much, much deeper, click here to learn about our program for teams or click here to lean about our program for individuals.