Quiz – Productivity Pathfinder

#1 – DRIVE TO THE PARTY

You’re invited to a surprise birthday dinner for an old friend in another city. The restaurant is a 2-hour drive away. You’ve never been there before. Everyone must arrive by 6:00 PM for the surprise.

Select up to 3:

You look up the address, print directions, and leave 30 minutes early just in case. You lose 10 minutes getting gas because you didn’t fill up earlier. Then you get a speeding ticket. Roadwork forces a detour. It’s almost 6:00 PM and you’re lost. No one answers your call. You pull over and feel like crying. You ask for directions, but feel overwhelmed when two people give different answers. You pull over to clear your head. You leave late because you waited until the last minute to wrap the gift and kept putting off the long drive. On the drive, you second-guess spending so much on the gift. You leave very late because you couldn’t find the invitation. You feel down thinking about how much older everyone is getting. Feeling you’ve achieved little since the last time you saw them, you almost decide not to go.

#2 – TAXES

It’s one week before the deadline to file your annual tax return.

Select up to 3:

You’re frustrated with yourself for not starting earlier and feel you deserve the late nights of work ahead. Your partner has always handled the taxes. Having to deal with this yourself feels impossible. You have no patience for taxes. You put all your paperwork in a shoebox and drop it off with your accountant. It’s worth paying extra to avoid working on it. You tried to start a month ago, but spent so long looking for receipts and statements that you gave up. You’ve avoided calling your accountant because last year he seemed impatient about missing paperwork. You’re ashamed that you struggle with this more than other people. Your taxes were mailed a month ago. It’s already done. You put it off until the last minute again, resentful to spend time on such a boring task. You delay gathering tax documents because it feels overwhelming. There are too many websites and statements to sort through.

#3 – PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION

You’re on the Board of your professional association. Another Board member, Jack, sends an email to all the Board that sounds critical of how you managed a project.

Select up to 3:

You call a friend and vent about dealing with difficult people on the Board. The email feels like a punch in the stomach. It ruins your day. You dread the next meeting and wonder what everyone thinks of you. You’re shocked and unsure what to do. You stay silent and hope others didn’t notice. Your mind is overwhelmed with defensive thoughts and arguments you want to make. You feel the criticism wasn’t fair, though the project did get off to a rough start when you sent the wrong date in an email. You immediately reply to the Board with your side of the story. You ask someone neutral how they would interpret Jack’s wording. You dwell on Jack’s nerve to criticize you, especially since his own projects haven’t been perfect. You make notes about his past mistakes.

#4 – PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

You work for a large company that takes annual reviews seriously. You must complete a long self-evaluation form online by the end of the week.

Select up to 3:

Completing this feels like too much when you’re already busy. You block 30 minutes to outline your projects and an hour to complete the form. You’re irritated by the process, especially since raises will be small. You start the night before it’s due, zip through it and give yourself mostly 4’s (out of 5). The form feels intimidating. You’re unsure how to evaluate yourself and struggle to focus on anything else. You carefully consider each rating. You don’t want to overrate yourself but want to give yourself fair credit. You spend extra time on the written section. It takes a long time to find your project notes. Some are missing, and it’s hard to recall your accomplishments without the records. It’s painful thinking about being evaluated. Judging your own performance feels uncomfortable, especially in areas where you didn’t improve. You rush through the form to get it done quickly. It gets returned because you missed sections and skipped the written portion.

#5 – HOLIDAY DINNER WITH THE IN-LAWS

You go to your in-laws’ large family Thanksgiving dinner every year. Everyone brings a dish, and yours never seems quite right. Each year someone makes a negative comment about your profession and political views. Work has been stressful, and you dread going.

Select up to 3:

You prepare by reviewing political facts so you can counter the family’s predictable arguments. You find a simple recipe online that requires little effort and decide to stay pleasant no matter what’s said. You’ve been tense all week. Time with your spouse’s family leaves you feeling upset and defensive for days. You argue with your spouse about going and make sure you arrive late. An overdue work project is weighing on you. You don’t have the mental space to think about Thanksgiving. You meant to bake that morning but didn’t have the ingredients. You buy dessert on the way instead. You search for an impressive recipe and sacrifice sleep trying to cook and finish work. You secretly wish you had an excuse not to go. You buy a frozen sweet potato casserole and barely leave enough time for it to thaw.

#6 – TECHNICAL GLITCH

You’re an entrepreneur launching a new online course with a 24-hour sale price. Orders are coming in. Then you receive angry emails. Your e-commerce provider has double-charged at least 50 customers.

Select up to 3:

You feel so distressed reading the angry emails that you shut down the shopping cart and begin apologizing individually, offering the course for free. Your good mood disappears. You avoid dealing with the issue and let the sale continue. You stop the sale and send a strong email to the e-commerce provider detailing the cost of their mistake. You feel frozen and helpless. You stop the sale and can’t think of what to do next. You send a short email explaining the glitch and that it will be corrected. You automate it to all buyers and tell Tech Support to void the charges. Your brain feels overloaded as complaints increase. You stop the sale and lie down, planning to handle it later. You draft an automatic email promising to correct any double charges, then call Tech Support to fix the issue. You fix the problem for future orders with Tech Support but forget to address customers already double-charged.