Every day of our lives presents each of us with a new opportunity to be bold and try new things, yet often we find ourselves defaulting to our to-do list or hanging by our Outlook calendars. Or worse yet, we jump immediately into the email “black hole” and spend hours crafting and sending responses to messages—ultimately responding to other people’s priorities.

To help break free from the day-to-day grind, I start each day by asking myself a provocative question.