• What was the best thing that happened to you this weekend?
• What is your favorite animal? List three adjectives to explain your choice.
• What is your favorite color? List three adjectives to explain your choice.
• It’s a very hot and muggy day. You desperately want something very cool and refreshing to quench your thirst and revitalize your body. What would you drink – either make your own or store-bought.
• What would you leave in your will for the person you care about the most?
• What do you consider to the most valuable thing you own: when you were a child/teenager/now?
• What’s the kindest act you have ever seen done (either to/by you or another)?
• If you could have any job in the world, which one would you want?
• What were your best/worst subjects in school and what subjects would you want to learn now?
• What are you most talented at? What is your worst nightmare today?
• What is your favorite way to waste time at work without getting caught?
• If you could have had the starring role in one film already made, which movie would you pick?
• If you were to perform in the circus, what would you do?
• If you could eliminate one thing you do each day in the bathroom so that you never had to do it again, what would it be?
• You were just given a yacht. What would you name it?
• If you could have been told one thing that you weren’t told when you were a teenager, what would you like to have heard?
• Name your favorite song.
• If you were to get a tattoo, what would it say or what would the graphic be?
• If you could play any musical instrument, what would it be and why? If you already play an instrument(s), what do you play and why?
• What is your favorite memory of Spring Festival/Christmases past?
• If a movie was being made of your life and you could choose the actor/actress to play you, who would you choose and why?
• Paper or plastic?
• What was the weirdest food you’ve ever eaten?
• What do you keep in the trunk of your car?
• When you were in grade school, what did you want to be when you grew up? Why?
• If you were given 24 hrs to live, what would you do?
• What do you think the most ultimate gift of the world is.
• Tell something that nobody in the group knows about you.
• What is your earliest childhood memory?
• What was your favorite TV show when you were growing up?
• If you had one extra hour of free time a day, how would you use it?
• What CD is in your CD player right now?
• Name the most famous person you’ve had a face to face encounter with (“brush with greatness”).
• Name your favorite children’s story.
• If you could spend 15 minutes with any living person, who would it be and why?
• What person in the Bible/Tale do you most closely identify with?
• What article of clothing most closely describes your personality?
• If you were to write a book what would it be about?
• How many rings before you answer the phone?
• What is the first thing you think of when you wake in the morning?
• If you won a million dollars, what would you do with it?
• If you had to, what part of your body would you get pierced?
• Who was your favorite teacher and why?
• What makes you feel the most secure?
• Who do you admire the most?
• Have you ever had a reoccurring dream? What was it?
• What was your nickname growing up or now?
• Who was your hero when you were a child, and what did you do to be like them?
• What is your favorite cartoon character & why?
• Who inspires you and how are you a bit like them
• How did you learn to ride a bicycle
• Based on something you’ve already done, how might you make it into the Guinness Book of World Records
• What’s the closest you’ve come to becoming a pop star/winning an Oscar
• When was the last time you did something for the first time? What was it?
• If you knew you could not fail, what would you do?
• What is your concept of a fruitful day?
• What was your favorite thing to play with as a child? Why?
• If you could be any animal in the world for 24 hours, which animal would you be Why
• Have you ever jumped out of a plane?
• If you could rid the world of one thing, what would it be?
• What is your best personal characteristic
• What is your favorite quote
• If you could be invisible for a day, what would you do
• What is your favorite weird food combination
• If you had to be a flower, which one would you like to be and why
• If you were stranded on a desert island, what three books and three people would you take with you Why
• What was your favorite childhood toy
• What is your favorite commercial What commercial annoys you the most?
• What’s the most interesting “Ice Breaker” Question you have ever been asked?
• If you could be an ice cream flavor, what would it be? Why?
• Name a turning point in your life that makes you smile/cry.
• If there were a holiday in your honor what would it celebrate?
• What clubs were you a member of in High School? Are you still interested in any of the same things?
• If you were to be on a reality TV show which one would you be on and why?
• If you could be anything in the world, what would you be and why?
• If someone rented a billboard for you, what would you put on it?
• If you had to enter a competition for the “Most Uselessly Unique Talent,” what would your talent be?
• What is your worst personality characteristic?
• If you had to be a teacher of something, what would you teach?
• How would you like to be remembered?
• What is one thing that you constantly think about (other than material things)?
• What did you like best about your hometown?
• Something interesting you might not know about me is…
• What do you think is best feeling in the world?
• If you could have written any book, what book would you like to have written?
• What is your most favorite pair of shoes ever? Explain.
• What’s your favorite sport?
• Which member of your family has had the greatest influence on your current way of thinking?
• What dessert describes you the best and why?
• What kind of music do you like?
• What is your favorite animal?
• What do you keep in your wallet aside from money, cards and pictures?
• What punctuation mark best describes your personality? Why?
• If you could plan your ultimate vacation, where would you go?
• What is something you have that is of sentimental value?
• What is your most embarrassing moment?
• Listener or talker?
• Can you comfortably eat in a restaurant by yourself? Go to movie?
• What was the first car you drove?
• What do you miss most about childhood?
• What one thing (modern convenience) could you not live without?
• If you could meet anyone from history, who would you meet and why?
• What was the first live concert you ever attended?
• What was your longest relationship and why did it end?
• Is the glass half empty or half full? What is in the glass?
• If you could be one kind of beer which one would you be and why?
• Where do you see yourself in ten years?
• What is the worst possible name to call a child
• If you could meet anyone from the Bible who would it be and what would you ask them (Besides Jesus)
• If you could snap your fingers and appear somewhere else, where would you be
• If you could date any celebrity, who would it be and why
• What specific thing have you done that impressed yourself
• If you could switch bodies with a certain celebrity, who would it be and why
• If you could fly to a different time zone, which one would you fly to Why
• What cartoon character best represents your personal philosophy
• What’s your passion
• What does your room look like
• What internet site do you surf to the most
• If you could only where one color for the rest of your life, what would it be and why
• If you could have one super human power, what would it be
• If you could be any color in a Crayola box, what color would you be and why
• Would you rather be really hot or really cold
• What was in your high school locker
• I was once mistaken for …
• What is the best/worst pick up line you have ever heard
• What is the weirdest gift you have ever received
• If there was a whole different concept of reality (like The Matrix) what would it be
• Where would you like to retire and why
• What is one secret that you haven’t told anyone
• What is the craziest (or stupidest) thing you have ever done
• What is your favorite season
• What’s the best dinner you ever had
• Who has been the biggest inspiration in your life Why
• Which of Snow White’s 7 dwarfs describes you best and why (Doc, Happy, Bashful, Sleepy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Dopey)
• If you were attending a Halloween party, what would your costume be and why
• What do you feel is your most attractive physical feature
• If you were on death row, what would your last meal be
• Name 3 things you think will become obsolete in ten years.
• Tell two truths and one lie about yourself to the others in your group. Everyone try and guess the lie.
• If I wasn’t afraid I would _ (What)
• What is a song for which you thought you knew the words and later found out that you had them wrong?
• What was the worst punishment your parents ever gave you?
• What was your worst summer or part-time job?
• If given a chance to get back at something during the past, what will be that time and why
• What mountain would you want to climb someday
• Best or worst experience at summer camp
• Name a pet you have owned and how you came to name him/her.
• Describe an interesting experience you had the last time your power went out.
• What’s your favorite line from any movie?
• What is the best or most interesting class you have ever taken in high school, college or graduate school
• What famous person do you know or have met personally
• If you had unlimited money and space, what one thing would you add to your bedroom
• Who was your first big crush Why did you like this person Did he/she like you back
• What is a fashion trend that you used to wear (in the 70s, 80s, etc.) that you would now be embarrassed to wear
• If you could go only to one restaurant for the next five years, which would it be
• What is something you have lost that you have never found, or were tremendously relieved when you did find it
• Best dessert you have ever had
• What is one of the strangest southern expressions you have heard (or other idiomatic expression)
• What is your favorite breakfast
• If you had the opportunity to live one year of your life over again, which year would you choose
• Do you wake up to a CD, the radio, or a buzzer
• What is set as the background on your computer
• What magazine(s) do you subscribe to
• If you were a professional wrestler, what would your ring name be and why
• On Saturdays, I like to…
• Where would you like to be a missionary to
• What’s better – toilet paper rolled over top or underneath
• Which Scooby-Doo character are you most like (Scooby, Shaggy, Daphne, Fred, Velma, the monster, Scrappy)
• If you had to endure one natural disaster (i.e. hurricane, tornado, etc), what would you pick and why
• What movie or TV show do you take guilty pleasure in watching
• If you had to describe your day as a traffic sign, what would it be
• What traditional stereotype would you classify yourself as
• What “group” did you belong to in high school
• If you wrote a book about yourself…what would it be about
• List 10 items everyone in the group has in common.
• If your house were burning down, what would you take and why
• Describe your favorite pair of PJ’s
• How many handbags do you own
• If this were your last day alive, what would you say to each person in the group
• What is your very favorite part of your day
• What is your best scar Tell the story of how you got it.
• You win a million dollars, but you have to give half to a charity. Which charity do you pick, and what do you do with the rest of the money
• Describe your dream wedding where money is no option.
• What kind of deodorant do you use
• If you were a spy what would your alias be
• Do you have a birth mark Where Does it look like anything
• You are planning the most awesome dinner party of your life. Which 3 celebrities/historical figures (past or present) would you add to your guest list to keep the dinner talk interesting
• What is your favorite sport, and which team of that sport do you cheer for
• Which would you rather have a kiss or a hug Why
• If you could be a pair of jeans what style would you be Why
• You have multiple personalities, describe some of them.
• What is the best thing you have done in your life
• Name three things that this group doesn’t know about you, (and only two of which are true…)
• If you were blind for the rest of your life… what would you miss seeing the most
• What household chore do you hate the most
• What is your most disappointing moment in life
• When have you laughed the hardest Cried
• If you had a “theme song” that played whenever you walk into a room full of people, what would it be
• What is the first thing you notice about the opposite sex
• What time period from the past would you most have liked to live in and why
• What is the best reward anyone can give you
• If you had a band what would you name it
• Do you like fruit Vegetables
• What can someone do to encourage you
• If you could be a film character, who would you be
• If you were a pirate, what would your name be
• Pen or Pencil
• Crunchy Peanut Butter or Smooth
• What is one thing about you people would be surprised to learn
• If you could be any kitchen appliance, what would it be and why
• Would you rather go the short way slow, or take the long way fast if you got there in the same amount of time
• Where did you live at age five What kind of car did you have How was your home heated
• 2%, 1% or skim milk
• Would you live in space if you could never come back to earth
• Would you rather always be in a crowd, or be the only person on earth
• What was your favorite decade (50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, etc.)
• Would you rather be rich, or famous Why
• If you were God: ___
• Do you squeeze the toothpaste from the top or the bottom
• If you could only have one thing on a deserted island what would it be
• Who was your first love What age, grade, etc.
• Helmann’s or Miracle Whip
• Describe your past week as a type of landscape or a weather forecast.
• Ask the person next to you a question that you have always wanted to know about them.
• If you had the choice between an RV, a sports car, an SUV, or a bicycle, which would you choose and why
• What kind of hat describes your personality
• When you were in elementary school, what was your favorite activity at recess
• If you had to move out of this country, what country would you move to Why
• Coffee or Tea
• Why is your favorite color Why
• How many children do you want Girls or boys
• Describe your ideal romantic date
• Say one nice compliment about someone in this room.
• Who is your best friend Tell us about him/her.
• Have you ever been in love For how long How many times
• If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go
• If you had to lose one of your five senses, which one of them would you prefer to lose and why
• Is there a story behind your name What is it
• What was one of the most fun things you and your college roommate did together
• If you could live anywhere for one year, all expenses paid, where would you live
• What’s your favorite song to karaoke to
• When you were 6 years old, what did you want to be when you grew up
• If you had to paint the whole world only one color what would it be and why
• What was the worst smell you have ever smelled
• What takes you out of your comfort zone
• If you were on the cover of a magazine, which one would it be and why
• If you could be laid to rest anywhere, where would it be Why
• Do you make your bed every morning or do you leave it unmade
• What is your favorite video game
• Name one thing that you couldn’t live without.
• Pool side or beach
• If you had to be one or the other, would you rather be blind or deaf Why
• When you are using the bathroom at someone else’s house, do you leave anything behind different than it was when you got there
• If you were a piece of fruit, what fruit would you choose to be
• Would you rather meet the love of your life, knowing he/she will die within a year, or go without meeting him/her Explain.
• When’s the last time you cried Why
• Sitting alone in a big field, looking at stars, what do you think/feel
• Which one physical feature would you change if you could
• If you could be cat or dog, which one would you be and why
• What is your favorite guilty pleasure
• Name one important characteristic you look for in someone you consider a friend.
• What was your favorite age and why
• What’s one of your favorite things to do when you have a night off
• What��s your favorite way to celebrate an accomplishment
• If you were to perform in the circus, what would you do
• What kind of toothpaste do you use
• If you could be a professional at any sport, what would it be
• What is your favorite holiday
• What was your favorite childhood toy
• Who would you like to play your life story in a movie
• If there was only one left of your most favorite things to eat, would you let your best friend have it or yourself Why or why not
• If you could drive/ride/or fly anything to work, what would it be Why
• What is your favorite candy Explain.
• What scares you the most
• If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be and why
• Which animal represents you the best and why
• If you were the eighth dwarf, what would your name be
• If you could, would you become the President Why or why not
• If you were elected mayor of your city, what would be your first improvement, and why
• What is your favorite way to express yourself and why
• If you were a piece of furniture what would you be Why
• What are you thankful for
• If you had a magic lamp and a genie who granted you 3 wishes, what would the 3 wishes be
• Are there any interesting things your name spells with the letters rearranged
• How many siblings do you have Are you the oldest, a middle child, or youngest
• If you could be any superhero, which one would you be and why
• What are your favorite pizza toppings
• Describe your worst day…
• If you could be anywhere, doing anything right now, where would you be and what would you be doing
• What’s your favorite fabric and why
• What CD(s) is in your radio right now
• What is your favorite pop/soda
• Name the song title that best describes your life.
• You are chosen to make dinner for a very special guest. What will you cook
• What was the best year of your life Why
• If you could ask God a question what would it be
• What’s the worst trouble you got into when you were young What did you do
• What��s more important to you��the ride or the destination
• If you had to give up one food forever, what would it be
• What is the scariest thing you have ever done for fun
• If you could have any super power what would it be and why
• If you could listen to only one CD for the rest of your life, what would it be
• Broken toe or broken finger
• Using only one word, name something significant about your life today.
• Would you rather be rich or famous Why
• If your house was on fire, what one thing would you take (assuming family and pets got out OK)
• If you could go bowling with any three people- dead or alive- Who would you take and why
• Is the milk glass half full or half empty and why
• In a fire who would you save, a sibling or five strangers
• What’s your favorite ice cream flavor
• What are your three favorite smells
• If you were a lip gloss flavor, what would you be and why
• Did you ever consider becoming a teacher Why or why not
• What book has influenced you greatly How
• What is your favorite restaurant and why
• What is your favorite time of day
• What is your favorite season
• If you could bring one person back from heaven who would it be and why
• Who is your favorite actor / actress, and why
• What one rule did you always disagree with growing up
• What would you do if you really really liked someone and after a while of hanging out you discovered that they did not believe in God
• If someone gave you an island - What would you name it Would you live there What would you do with it
• Would you rather live to be 100 and sick, or live to be 50(dying from a freak accident) and healthy
• Where did you meet your mate
• If you could spend your last hours of life with anyone, doing anything, who would you choose and what would you do
• If you could have one thing to drink before you died what would it be and why
• Do you believe in ghosts or evil spirits Why
• If you were a tree what type would you be, where would you be and why
• What was the first record or CD that you bought
• What do you have in your bag/wallet that best describes your personality
• If you were a super hero what would your special power be and why
• What is your favourite cheese
• What was your favourite game when you were a kid
• Who was your favourite teacher at school - why
• Describe a word beginning with the first letter of your name that sums you up
• What is your favorite number
• What is your biggest fear or phobia
• Did you have a nickname growing up What was it and why were you called that
• What is your favorite movie and why
• If you see your Maker at this point, what would You want Him to say as a welcome Why
• Would you rather lead or follow Why
• What is your favorite winter activity
• What is something you can do better than anyone else you know
• I wish everyone would________________.
• What’s your favorite song to sing in Karaoke Why
• If you had to be handcuffed to one person for an entire month, who would it be
• If you could have a child with any famous person alive, who would it be What would you name him/her
• What is your favorite song to sing in the shower
• Ketchup or mustard
• What is your idea of a great dessert
• If you could be a cocktail, what cocktail would you be and why
• What is your favorite smell
• Have you ever had the Police called on you If so - why
• If you had one song to play at your wedding what would it be
• What did you eat for breakfast
• What’s your favorite type of house Describe it.
• If you were a pro wrestler, what would your name be
• Name a major life experience that made you who you are today
• What clubs where you involved in during High School and College
• If you could take back something hurtful you’ve once said to someone, what would it be
• What could you do to improve your life
• If you could ask God one question, what would it be
• The worst lie I ever told was
• If you could have a celebrity entourage with 3 celebrities, who would they be
• If you could go back and change your career path what would you be doing now
• If you could fly or breathe under water what would you prefer
• If you could only take three people in an island on this group, whom will it be
• If you could live to the age of 90 and either retain your looks or brains you had at 30, what would you keep
• If you moved to Sesame Street, who would you want as your neighbor Why
• What is your dream job
• what was the most embarrassing thing you have done while on a date
• If you could change one current event in the world what would it be and why
• If you could have a condiment dispensed from your navel, what would it be (Editor: I can’t stop laughing about this one. How come the poster didn’t also ask Why)
• What’s the oldest piece of clothing you still own and wear
• What do you look for in a friend
• What’s the most important thing to you in life
• What type of music relaxes you the most
• What is the best gift anyone’s ever given you
• How many dates do you go on with someone before you introduce them to your parents
• What TV game show would you want to go on
• If you cold ask Noah one question, what would it be
• Name a favorite sound, past or present.
• What famous line did your parents use over and over
• If you auditioned for American Idol, what song would you sing
• If you could time travel, where would you go, and what would you do
• Why do you (or don’t you) vote
• If you were given the opportunity for free skydiving lessons would you take them Why or why not
• What is the hardest choice you have ever had to make What was the outcome
• If you had to lose one of your senses, what would you choose Why
• Do you prefer sweet or salty snacks
• In what month did you file your tax return this year
• Hit the couch or hit the treadmill
• If you could instantly become fluent in another language, what would that language be and why
• How many languages do you you speak
• What is your favorite “made up” word from your childhood or that of one of your children What does it mean
• What is your favorite Disney tune
• If I could live in any other time period of the past, it would be (and tell us why):
• Number of auto accidents I have been in:
• I’m at my silliest when:
• What do you love most about living in this country
• I still can’t believe I once:
• Of all of the Gilligan’s Island characters, I am most like (and tell us why):
• The furthest I have traveled was to:
• What is the craziest thing you’ve done lately
• What do you dislike about failure What can you learn from it
• Did you ever go against a fashion rage Why
• Once, just to attract attention, I…
• One of the jealous times of my life was…
• Share an experience where you felt out of place.
• What type of partner would you choose for yourself
• Which of your parents rules do you appreciate the most Why
• Tell us one of the worst fights you ever got into
• What childish things do you still do as adult
• What questions would you NOT like others to ask you
• One major problem I had to solve this year was…
• What obstacles do you find when trying to become a close friend to someone of the opposite sex
• What do you do when you’re home.
• Share the biggest argument you had with your parents.
• Tell us about your unusual hobby
• What was the worst advice you ever gave
• One of the worst ways I ever reacted to a declaration of love was…
• If you can give one sentence advice about how to live life, what would it be
• How do you express your anger to your enemy To your best friends To a parent
• One particular day/night that I wanted to last forever was…
• What are your limitations and potentials
• Cite a situation wherein you felt life had been unfair to you
• Once I ran away from home. Here’s the story…
• Would you dare to sleep in haunted house overnight
• What are your goals for living
• Describe the most inappropriate present that you received.
• What fantasy would you like to live out Why
• What is the funniest story your mother tells about you
• Have you ever said something you regretted, but were then glad you said it
• Have you ever said something you regretted, but were then glad you said it
• If you could have any kind of a job in the entertainment industry, what do you think you would do best
• If I asked your high school friends what they thought you would be doing today, what would they say
• My scariest nightmare was:_
• What was the worst concert you went to (who and when)
• What was the best concert you went to (who and when)
• If you had your own talk show, who would your first three guests be
• Three things I think will become obsolete in 10 years:
• When people look at me, they would never guess that I: (What)
• My favorite unusual food combination is:
• Favorite Quote:
• What is the furthest you have traveled
• Who was your favorite band, group, or solo when you were in high school
• If you could be invisible for one day, where would you like to be
• What’s the best sound effect you can make Do it.
• What do you miss most about being a kid
• What is your favorite tradition (family tradition, church tradition, whatever)
• Tell about the last time you had to ask for help.
• What CD would your friends be surprised that you own
• Would you ever be on a reality TV show Why/why not If you would, which one
• When was your worst/most recent/dramatic/(whatever) car trouble
• Do you think Jesus will come again in your lifetime
• Where did you grow up (Editor: Simple. No one’s posted this until now!)
• If you were stranded on a deserted island with one book, what would you want that book to be
• Did you have a collection of some kind as a child If so, what was it
• What is your favorite thing to do in the summer Winter
• If you could mix three animals together, which ones would you choose to make the ultimate animal
• You have to wear a t-shirt with one word on it for the rest of your life. Which word do you choose
• What are your three favorite spices
• What is the weirdest (unusual) thing you’ve ever eaten
• How many places have you lived You can share the number of physical residences and/or the number of cities.
• What was your first job where you got paid by someone other than your parents
• What is your favorite memory with someone other than family
• what was the most mischievous thing you did as a child
• when did you last climb a tree
• How many brothers and sisters do you have What’s your birth order
• If you were a shoe, what kind would you be and why
• What’s the funniest thing you did as a kid that your parents still talk about to this day
• If you could be one Disney character who would you be and why
• If you could be a cookie what kind of cookie would you be
• What sub-atomic particle would you be Why
• Has modern technology enhanced or complicated your life Why
• How much do you spend on hair and/or nails each month
• What is your favorite table or board game
• Are you a Country mouse or a City mouse Why
• Name all the vehicles you have owned in your adult life.
• What is your favorite house decor style Traditional, Contemporary, Country, Colonial Why
• Are you a planner or a procrastinator Give an example
• Would you rather plan a party or attend one Why
• If you could attend any college, free of charge, what college would that be and what major would you pursue Why
• List the food items you take at a salad bar.
• How many doors do you have in your house
• What is your favorite soup Why
• Tell about a collection you have now.
• What was the cheapest gas price you can remember What year was that
• Have you ever gone back to the town where you grew up in If yes, how has it changed Is your old house still there
• Name all the kinds of trees in your yard right now
• Do you like silver or gold jewelry Why
• When was the last time you went bowling
• Are you a front seat driver or a back seat driver
• Other than pizza, what is a favorite Italian dish
• If you were handed free opera tickets, would you go or sell them Why
• Do you like the mountains, coastline or the plains Why
• What is the farthest road trip you have taken To where and how long was it
• What was the highest grocery bill you ever had
• What is your favorite kind of pie Describe taking a bite using three adjectives.
• Name two words you always seem to spell incorrectly. Try to spell it now!
• Do you enjoy going shopping for clothes Why or why not
• What was the title of the last self-help book you read Did it help
• How often do you bid on Ebay What was the last item you won
• Do you like store-bought things or handmade things Why
• When you lose electricity in a storm, do you light the candles or turn on the flashlight How many of each do you own
• Have you ever been a participant in a parade What did you do
• Where were you when you had your fist kiss
• What was your last thought before going to sleep
• What is your first thought in the morning
• What would you rather: glasses or contacts
• If you could be permanently one color for the rest of your life, what color would it be & why
• If you can thank God for one thing in your life, what would it be
• If you were to be a natural element, which would you rather be: fire or water
• What is in the trunk of your car right now
• If you were an American Gladiator what would your name be
• What was your favorite 80s movie
• What was the most mischievous April Fool’s prank you’ve done
• Say your first middle and last name with the letters flipped (Example… John Lee Smith— Nohj Eel Htims)
• If they made a movie of your life who would play you
• When was the last time you had a dream What was it about
• If you had to choose between being deaf or blind which would you choose and why
• If you were to die tomorrow, what would your tombstone say
• If you could perform in the Olympics, what would you like to do
• Would you rather spend the rest of your life in love with a rich person or a poor person
• It’s Saturday morning. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up.
• If you could erase one day in history which one would it be and why
• If we Googled your name what would we see
• If you had one free day to do anything you want, what would you do
• Do you prefer eating the frosting of the cupcake or the cupcake first
• If you were a color what color would you be Why
• If you could live in any sitcom, what would it be
• What song most describes your life right now
• Which way do you eat corn on the cob
• What is something unexpected that has changed about you in the last few years
• Would you ever loan a significant amount of money to a friend/relative Why or why not
• Would you ever use a dating service (match.com, e-harmony, etc.) to find someone Why/Why not.
• What can you always be found with
• So you win a pet monkey at a fair, but this isn’t just any old monkey. It can do one trick for you whenever you want from getting a pop out of the fridge to washing your hair. What would be the trick
• If you were a llama, where would you get your hair cut
• If you could invent a gadget what will it be and why
• If you could visit any place in the world where would it be and why
• What is the longest book you ever read
• When did you last write a hand written letter

1. The Personal Process Strategy
   A personal software process is something that you use to guide your work.

2. The Baseline Personal Process
   A defined process can help you understand your performance as a software developer and to see where and how to improve.
   With PSP0, you measure the time spent in each development phase and the defects you inject, find, and fix.
   Use a support tool to record time and defect data.

3. Measuring Software Size
   Reason in measuring software size: planning use. The size measure should correlate to development effort, be precise, and be automatically countable.
   Typical size measures are database elements, source program lines of code, pages of design or text, and function points.
   Counting logical lines by using a coding standard and a physical counter.
   For each program version, you need to know the number of added and deleted elements or lines.
   A practical way is to use a line counter program to compare the current version and its predecessor.
   Well-defined and consistently used size measures can provide the data needed to make accurate size and development estimates. Size data are also useful for comparing defect rates among programs.

4. Planning
   Planning is the first step in the PSP for three reasons:
   Without good plans you cannot effectively manage even modestly sized software projects.
   planning is a skill you can learn and improve with practice. If you don’t learn how to make good plans now, it’s almost impossible to pick up on the job.
   good planning skills will help you do better software work.
   In software engineering, as in other fields, the role of the developer is to devise economical and timely solutions to the employer’s needs. Making plans that accurately represent what you will do.

5. Software Estimating
   Estimates are generally required before you can being development.
   At early stage, you may generally understand the requirements but know little else about the project.
   A proxy is needed to relate product size to the required product functions.
   The criteria for a good proxy are that its size should be closely related to the effort needed to develop the product and that it can be automatically counted.
   It should be easy to visualize at the beginning of the job and be sensitive to language, style, and design differences that might affect the development effort.
   In using proxy, divide data into ranges that correspond to the sizes of the proxy items in database, label them VL, L, M, S, VS.

6. The PROBE Estimating Method
   The quality of plans will depend on the quality of estimates. The accuracy, in turn, will depend on the quality of the data and the soundness of the estimating method you use.
   The PROBE method provides a statistically sound way to make estimates.
   When using PROBE, you gather estimated and actual size and time data for each project. Then you divide the data into categories and size ranges. The estimating process starts with a conceptual design followed by an estimate of the PROBE method shows you how to estimate program size and development time.
   Two sources of error: estimating accuracy will fluctuate around some mean or average; the estimate will typically have some bias.

7. Software Planning
   Once you have estimated the size and development time for a project, you can produce the project schedule.
   With an estimate of the hours you will spend on project tasks each week, you can spread the estimated development time over the project schedule.
   Weekly task hours are usually 50% of the working time.
   You can calculate when each task will start and end, and also get dates for the key point milestones.
   Earned value provides a way to measure and track job progress. It establishes a planned value for every week based on the task’s percentage of total project development time.
   Earned value provides a common measure for the value of every task, regardless of the type of work involved.

8. Software Quality
   To improve the quality of your software, focus on the process required to consistently produce quality products. Seek the most effective methods for finding defects and the most effective ways to prevent them.
   The cost of finding and fixing defects escalate rapidly the longer the defects remain in the product.
   The most cost-effective strategy is to ensure that all program elements are of the highest quality when first produced.
   Defects are rarely the user’s top priority, but they are an essential focus on PSP. This is because defects are most economically and effectively handled at the individual level.
   Software quality is an economics issue. You can always run another test or do another inspection.
   PSP provides the data needed to calculate measures for yield, cost of quality, rates and ratios, and the process quality index (PQI).
   The software process can be viewed as the combination of two competing processes: defect injection and defect removal.

9. Design and Code Reviews
   The purpose of a review is to efficiently produce a high-quality program. The principal kinds of reviews are inspections, walkthroughs, and personal reviews.
   Reviews should be done for the requirements, the design, the documentation, and all other product elements.
   Design and code reviews are much more effective than testing for finding and fixing many defects.
   Reviews find defects directly, while testing provide symptoms.
   Reviews provide a greater return on your personal time than any other single thing you can do.
   Read each program, study it, and understand it. Then fix the defects, the logic, the structure, and the clarity.
   Learn to rewrite programs. When areas are not unclear of confusing, add comments, or better yet, do a complete rewrite.
   To determine whether reviews are helping to achieve goals, measure them. Use a Pareto distribution to establish review priorities and to develop a review checklist. Re-examine the Pareto distribution periodically.

10. Software Design
    Many of software development’s historic problems have stemmed from a misplaced expectation that development should start with firm and complete requirements. History demonstrates, however, that for a new software system, the requirement will not be completely known until after you have a working product, and possibly not even then.
    The design phase of large-scale software systems typically start with a high-level system design effort that subdivides the product into components. And each components are separately developed and system is integrated.
    A well-founded development strategy is built on the natural structure of the planned products.
    Although there are many possible development strategies, they are all different forms of divide-and-conquer.
    There are two aspects to software design: how to produce the design and how to represent that design once it is produced.

11. The PSP Design Templates
    In PSP, designs are described with the aid of four templates:
    The Operational Specification Template describes the program’s operational behavior via one or more scenarios.
    The Functional Specification Template describes the functions performed by a program, a class, or a procedure.
    The Logic Specification Template uses pseudo-code to precisely describe a program’s logic.
    The State Specification Template describes the program’s state behavior.
    You can use these templates to specify the internal and external behavior of both large systems and small systems, as well as the behavior of their parts.
    The intent is for developers to produce designs in whatever methods work best for them and record these designs in the PSP templates.

12. Design Verification
    The objective of design verification is to determine whether a design meets its requirements and is correct.
    Methods: trace table, state-machine analysis, analytical verification.
    Using these methods saves time because when your designs are complete, clear, and correct, the implementation will be faster and the finished product will have few design defects.
    Although trace table is time-consuming, it is much faster and more effective than verifying all possible cases with testing.
    Conditions for a correct state machine: all state transitions should be complete and orthogonal; the machine must be able to reach a program return state from every other state.
    Verifying design correctness is simple in concept, but it takes time to build sufficient skill to do it quickly and effectively.

13. Process Extensions
    Software process development is much like software development, in artifacts, disciplines, and methods.
    Steps: define needs, establish goals, define quality criteria. Next, characterize the current and target processes and establish a development strategy. Finally, define and validate the initial process and establish means for its enhancement.
    It’s practically impossible to produce a usable process the first time you try.
    The perceived process is what you think you do; the actual process is what you actually do; the official process is what management thinks you do; and the target process is the process to which you are evolving.
    Process development should be planned, measured, tracked, and improved.

Good nutrition is essential to maintaining our energy and productivity levels each day. While research onhow foods affect our brains is still young, there are some tried-and-true ways to get the most out of what we eat, including making sure we reach first for the best foods for daily alertness.
Leo Widrich discusses on the Buffer app blog the science behind how our nutrition influences our productivity. Essentially, food is converted to glucose, which is like fuel for our brains, keeping us focused and alert. The best foods, like oats, give us a slow and steady supply of glucose, keeping up focused for longer than bad foods like donuts, which only offer 20 minutes of alertness before we crash and become easily distracted. (We’ve seen this concept before, with Massive Health’s fullness and sugar crash infographicmapping out different foods’ effects on our energy.)

The best foods to eat for productivity, according to the World Health Organization, are nuts, seeds, chocolate (especially dark chocolate), fish, blueberries, avocado, whole grains, and raw carrots.

How do you make sure you prioritize those kinds of foods? Reorganize how your food is stored in your cupboard (and fridge):

One of the most interesting aspects about eating is that we are extremely likely to eat what is in close sight. In fact famous researcher Brian Wansinkmentions that

“You are 3 times more likely to eat the first thing you see in your cupboard than the fifth thing you see.”

Make sure you organize your food in way that brain powering foods get more exposure. It’s an incredible trick to start eating better food that will give you more daily alertness.

You’re thinking of jumping ship. Maybe it’s your job, a relationship, a degree, or some other commitment that’s both so hard to keep doing and so hard to leave. Should you stay or should you go? Here’s how to decide.

You Know It’s Time to Quit When…

There are certain sure signs that quitting is better for you in the long run. While many of these are common sense tips, it’s often hard to look at the situation objectively. Change can be frightening, there are always some positives to hold you back, and quitting often feels like failure—especially if you’ve invested a lot of effort or time into an endeavor.

Still, if it’s come to the point where you know something has to change, take a step back and see how many of these ring true for you:

You’re consistently experiencing more frustration than reward.

With any situation, you have take the bad with the good. But if your experience is overwhelmingly negative for a long period of time, you have to consider leaving or some radical change. One unmistakable sign: You breathe a sigh of relief and your life feels instantly better with the mere thought of quitting. Photo by Samuel Mann.

You can’t envision a possible solution or continuing this way.

After trying to resolve the issues that have been dragging you down, you still have no confidence things will change. Maybe you’ve been promised a promotion (that’s always fallen through) for years; maybe you’re waiting on others to change their habits when it’s the last thing they want to do. For some situations, like when you’re stuck with a bad manager, you might not have any choice but to quit.

Spending time on this keeps you from more rewarding endeavors or seriously damages your well-being.

Ignore the fear of quitting and consider: Do you think you could achieve a better life for yourself if you quit? Is staying on with a project or social commitment causing you to over-extend yourself?

On a similar note, it’s a huge red flag if your current situation is taking a toll on your mental and/or physical health. Get out of toxic relationships where a partner, client, or boss doesn’t appreciate your value. (By the way, it’s not normal to lose all your hair or take up drinking at 10am because of your job.)

You’re staying for the wrong reasons.

If your decision to stay is based more on fear than on faith, you’re probably in it for the wrong reasons, says Psychology Today in an article called Contemplating Divorce. Are you afraid to hurt someone’s feelings? Staying solely out of a sense of responsibility? Afraid to admit you just made a bad choice or start over (e.g., a wrong career move and now you have to quit a job you just started)?

Don’t think of quitting as either good or bad in itself or a reflection of your self-worth.

Many of us have a hard time quitting. For others, change is everything and quitting comes probably too easily. Don’t stay or quit just for the sake of it. Photo remixed from an original by Ienetstan / Shutterstock

One thing that often holds people back is what economists call the “sunk-cost fallacy”: The belief that you can’t quit because of all the time or money you spent. Beware of falling victim to that kind of thinking.

Your friends keep telling you to quit. While others’ advice alone shouldn’t be what you base your decision on, your friends want the best for you and may see what you need to do more clearly than you do.

Before You Call It Quits

By now you may be nodding your head, ready to quit. While there’s an upside to quitting (especially if done often), you still want to make sure you’re making the right decision.

Make sure you’ve identified the real causes of your unhappiness.

Sometimes it’s other areas of our lives that are making us miserable and affecting everything else. Maybe you’ve just had a series of bad days due to other causes like poor sleep. Or perhaps you’re just missing the right tools or skills to finish a job. Identify the real issues before you proceed.

To make an objective evaluation, keep a diary of events and problems.

Tools like the Career cheat sheet can help you figure out if this is really the right job for you. For relationship help, consult this problem-solving framework from UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center.

Give it a chance.

Many things, like diets, require time to work out. If you just started a job, don’t let the newness of it scare you off. If you’re an aspiring artist (or someone else who needs to be creative), know that it’s normal for your work to disappoint you. “You just gotta fight your way through it,” This American Life producer Ira Glass says. Or in the words of Pixar animator Austin Madison, persist.

Try other solutions.

Similarly, make sure you’ve tried several solutions. If you and your partner are always fighting over the same things, try looking at the situation from his or her perspective, try to communicate differently, read books on the subject, or seek help from a trusted friend or therapist.

Have a backup plan. Know what you’re going to do if you quit and what you need to do to prepare for that. The Quit-Your-Day-Job Checklist, for example, is a 7-point checklist of the stuff you should do before you take the leap to working for yourself.

After weighing the above, hopefully you can quit or stay on with confidence.

If you still don’t know what to do, find out what you really want with the coin tossing trick: Designate heads or tails for each of your two choices and flip the coin. What did you secretly wish for while the coin was mid-air or when you covered it?
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