You often hear people say things like “I want to get 1% better each day”, but then how many people do you know who actually do this? Do you yourself improve every day?

In the past I have asked young, talented employees how they know if they have won on a daily basis. A few responses that I have received were things like “If my boss is happy” and “If I have checked a lot of things off of a to-do list”. Neither of these is a healthy, helpful measurement of success in the workplace. The boss could have stubbed a toe walking in the door and then been unhappy at everyone for the day. The to-do list could be filled with busywork that is not truly moving the ball down the field.

One of the biggest issues that I have observed over the past 10+ years while managing hundreds of folks in their early 20s is that a desire to get better is not enough. People must have a way to focus the inputs of their effort in a way that is measurable. There are different ways to do this, but one that I have seen prove effective is simply creating a daily self scorecard. This kind of system helps to focus your energy throughout a day and then provides the feedback needed to then make adjustments moving forward.

Example: Daily Self Winning Scorecard

Today I:

1. Taught 1 person something new

2. Read something that will help me grow

3. Encouraged 3 people with specific praise

4. Was curious and asked thoughtful questions of 2 others

At the end of the work day, you can just take 3 short minutes to fill this kind of scorecard out and check YES or NO on each item. This will start to show trends and will highlight specific areas that you can then focus on the next day. Once you have gotten a good grasp of the items listed on the current scorecard, update it and add in new things and raise the difficulty level.

This kind of simple but effective system can allow a person to move the needle from desired improvement to actual measurable inputs each day that will then add up day after day to produce true improvement. Put together a simple scorecard and try it for one week and see what the results are!

One tangible action:

Stop right now and write down 2-3 basic things that can start a daily winning scorecard for you. Use it for one week, then update and improve it.

Pro Tip:

Focus on values and who you want to be to start, as opposed to just things that you know you need to get done.