Am I Doing My Best?

I did my best once. It worked out fine but then everyone started expecting me to do my best all the time which became a lot of work of which I never wanted in the first place.

Now I just do good enough to pass unless of course I can get by on less than that.

Doorman has got it in one.

When you are asked/told to do something that is inapproriate (over complex, unreliable, not what the customer really needs, without proper test etc) it's hard to stay motivated to do all of the above.
Del

-Is what I am doing needed?

**YES

-Is this the simplest and best way to do it?

**YES

-Am I using the time, tools and materials effectively- and at their highest and best use?

**PREFERABLY, YES, SOMETIMES NO TOOLS ONLY TALENT.

-Am I proud of what I am doing?

**NOPE, THERE STILL SOMEONE WHO CAN DO THIS MORE THAN i do

It just sucks when other higher people with authority than you are restricting you to do the best way that will work.

I might add a fifth - do I generally enjoy my work to the extent that I feel that it is rewarding and, as a result, I enjoy coming in to work most everyday (well, nothing's perfect!).

I always try to do my best. But "best" is subjective, especially if company goals are vague and / or resources are inadequate.

-Is what I am doing needed?

I hope so. I assume it is, or they wouldn't pay me. But loose specifications or quotas or even company planning makes this murky.

-Is this the simplest and best way to do it?

As far as I know, or at least as far as I've been instructed. Just about any process can be improved, but some companies or bosses demand certain procedures no matter what and deviating (experimenting and improving) may be punished.

-Am I using the time, tools and materials effectively- and at their highest and best use?

This is the same question as "Is this the simplest and best way to do it?" It demonstrates that too often management splits hairs about processes that it does not fully understand, probably because it has never performed those processes. The company would be better served if it both solicited and followed suggestions from workers who are competent and familiar with the process in question, or required managers to spend time actually performing that process before badgering employees with redundant questions.

-Am I proud of what I am doing?

This is a two-pronged question: am I proud of the individual contributions that I make, and am I proud of what my employer does? Both do not necessarily have to be answered the same by a productive worker.

What questions would you add, if any, to these 4?

Am I comfortable with my understanding of my job and its role in the company?

Am I part of the growing (or at least, sustainable) business of this company?

Am I versatile, so I can handle added duties if a coworker is absent or workloads temporarily increase?

Am I adding value to my employer (and my career) by adding skills that the company can utilize?

Yeah I'm doing my best, it's the vendors of software development systems and 3rd party support software who aren't.
Del