MarginQuiz

Posted December 22nd, 2007 by Jeff Wenke in

In preparation for our MARGIN series beginning January 6th, please
take this quiz.
Are You Over-Doing It?
Adapted from Bryan Robinson, PhD

Can you remember the last time you had nothing to do but relax? Take the following quiz and find out just how busy you are. Read each of the following 25 statements and decide how much each one pertains to you.

Use the following scale to answer each question and keep track of your score.

The statement is true of me
1 = Never
2 = Sometimes
3 = Often true
4 = Always true

I prefer to do most things myself rather than ask for help.
I get very impatient when I have to wait for someone else or when something takes
too long, such as long, slow-moving lines.
I seem to be in a hurry, racing against the clock.
I get irritated when I am interrupted while I am in the middle of something,
I stay busy and keep many “irons in the fire.”
I find myself doing two or three things at one time, such as eating lunch and writing a
memo, while talking on the phone.
I over commit myself by biting off more than I can chew.
I feel guilty when I am not working on something.
It is important that I see the concrete results of what I do.
1. I am more interested in the final results of my work than in the process.
2. Things just never seem to move fast enough or get done fast enough for me.
3. I lose my temper when things don’t go my way or work out to suit me.
4. I ask the same question, without realizing it, after I’ve already been given the answer.
5. I spend a lot of time mentally planning and thinking about future events, while tuning
  out the here and now.
6. I find myself continuing to work after my co-workers have called it quits.
7. I get angry when people don’t meet my standards of perfection.
8. I get upset when I am in situations where I cannot be in control.
9. I tend to put myself under pressure with self-imposed deadlines.
10. It is hard for me to relax when I’m not working.
11. I spend more time working than socializing with friends or pursuing hobbies and
  leisure activities.
12. I dive into projects to get a head start before all the phases have been finalized.
13. I get upset with myself for making even the smallest mistake.
14. I put more thought, time and energy into my work than I do into my relationships with friends and loved ones.
15. I forget, ignore or minimize important family celebrations such as birthdays,
  reunions, anniversaries or holidays.
16. I make important decisions before I have all the facts and have a chance to think them through thoroughly.

Now add up the numbers you wrote for each question.

25-49 = You are not overdoing it.
Congratulations! You’ve achieved a balance between getting things done and taking time for yourself. Keep it up!

50-69 = You are mildly overdoing it.
You’re doing really well, but be careful, you have a tendency to become very busy. Take time for the things that are important to you and don’t be afraid to say no.

70-100 = You are highly overdoing it.
Well, you’re too busy, but you probably knew that already. You will need to take significant steps to help create margin in your life.

Use the forum below to post your responses to this quiz.

I just gotta say NO sometimes

On December 23rd, 2007 Arlet says:

I love taking surveys like this, seriously. It’s always great finding another area in my life that is screwed up. However, I was pleased with my outcome! I am only mildly overdoing it (on the upper range of it, but still only mildly). However, if I would have taken this a few years ago…I probably would have bounced off the charts. The word NO was never in my vocabulary. But there was a point when I was so “busy” trying to please people (hence, the reason for never saying no) and running away from my own issues (cause when your busy you don’t have time to deal with them…such a good excuse (said dripping with sarcasm), that I literally one day hit a wall and crashed. And had no other option but to slow down and deal with me. Best thing that ever happened!

One of the hardest things to do was to say NO to some things. I expected to be completely rejected by the people I said no to. How shocked was I when they said, “Okay, that’s fine.” I now (okay, most of the time) ask myself a few questions…1) Is this something I want to do, need to do or feel I have to do? 2) Am I doing this to please or impress another person? 3) Then responding with “Let me think about it and I’ll get back to you? This gives me time to process before I make that spur of the moment decision and the have to follow through since I refuse to be a flake.

I think another option for this survey is to have your friends, co-worker, LTG or family members complete this for you. They are the ones who will tell you whether or not “busyness” is more important than relationships. Or what your reactions to things are really like.

I guess I could write more but I’m too busy to do that right now. ;)

I am really looking forward to this message series!!

too busy

On December 23rd, 2007 Jaclyn says:

I haven’t taken the survey yet - but can’t help but note that my first thought when I saw it was, you’ve got to be kidding - I am really really too busy to take this ‘test’.

Sorry Jeff

On December 23rd, 2007 Jenherbert says:

I’m just too busy to spend 15 minutes on this. Thank goodness that church is permanent in my schedule- sounds like I need this series!

whoo 52 Mildly Over doing it!

On December 23rd, 2007 Danielle says:

I know this and well I am just glad that I am not Overdoing it completely. I tend to put a lot on my plate, like to be in control of many situations and like close to perfection in my daily tasks at work or school. I am really looking forward to this series. I totally need it. I don’t have a hard time saying no, but I have a hard time dealing with the guilt of saying no. Any advice Arlet? Hopefully, this series can help me out!

oops, did I say guilt free?

On December 26th, 2007 Arlet says:

Danielle,
Did I forget to mention that I had tons of guilt saying no at first? Oh yes, tons. But it has gotten alot better. But the guilt of saying no is alot better than the guilt I had of doing something with a bad attitude or resenting doing something. The best thing I have found is that when people ask me to do something, I tell them I need to look at my calendar and think about it. Then get back to them. It works….most of the time. :)

52 and loving it!

On December 25th, 2007 Elias says:

Well I took the quiz and I got a score of 52 which means I am mildly overdoing it. Most of my high scores came from things such as planning to much for the future, multi tasking, and basically just not knowing when to say no to some things. I naturally want to stay busy all the time, so it takes a lot for me to force myself to take a break and slow down for a while.

I feel that if I took this quiz about a year ago I would have been in the highly overdoing it range. During that time I would have trouble even falling asleep because I was still going over everything in my head. Relationships were also affected because of it which was really tough for me. Thank God I have been able to bring myself down to a respectable mid range. Heres to the mildly over doing it peeps! I’m looking forward to this series.

WOW 47 points

On December 26th, 2007 mrs.garber says:

I am shocked, but I should have known. eversince i lost my job in retail management i have been able to foucs on my self and friends and family. I find myself thinking that things can wait or turning my phone off when i take a nap….if you knew me before i was always running around for work and stressed out. Now i am alot less stressed out and can take the time i need for myself….So i guess getting fired was the best thing that could have ever happend to me.

I'm inspired!

On December 26th, 2007 Jenherbert says:

Your story inspires me, Nichole! I am always running around and usually stressed out. I took the test and came out at 68 which is the top of mildly overdoing but I feel like I am always busy and I usually have more things to do than I have time. But, part of me thrives on that.

I am really looking forward to this series! I’ll be taking lots of notes and asking my LTG to hold me accountable. A nap sounds nice.

I scored a 38. I am a

On December 27th, 2007 Lisa says:

I scored a 38. I am a teacher and aside from wrapping up the last week of school before break, I like to keep a fairly low key schedule.

79

On December 28th, 2007 swet says:

these quizzes lie… I’m the most laid back person in the world.

i can see that

On December 29th, 2007 Jaclyn says:

yeah, some of the questions about doing more than one thing at a time are never going to change with me, i just enjoy functioning that way,so that might be influencing your score - I am not laid back, but am very flexable and like a challenge and function best under a deadline so my score of 74 didn’t worry me too much.