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When dealing with a crisis:

“How can I prevent this crisis from happening again?”

After finishing something:

“What did I do right? What would I do differently next time?” (Brian Tracy)

At the start of the day:

“What are the three most important things for me to do today?”

“What things can I do today that could make a big difference?”

Many times throughout the day:

“Is this the best way to spend my time right now?”

“What is the best way to spend the next 10 minutes?”

“If I had to do this task in half the time, what short-cuts could I take?”

“Why am I doing this?”

Clarifying objectives and priorities:

“Why am I doing this? What am I trying to accomplish? Is there a better way?”

When reading something:

“Is this the best way I could be spending my time right now?”

“How can I use this information?”

When a subordinate raises a problem and asks you what to do:

“What do you think we should do?”

When someone phones or drops by and you want them to get to the point:

“What can I do for you?” (Getting straight to the point.)

“I’m working to a deadline right now. Can I call you later?”

When you’re not doing something because of fear:

“What’s the worst that can happen? Can I handle that?”

When you’re not doing something because it’s difficult or chucky:

“What’s the next tiny step that can get me closer to my goal?”

“How can I break this down into bite-sized pieces?”

“What else can I try?”

“Who can help me?”

While working on a project:

“Is this working out? Is there a better way?”

When you’ve completed one bit of a project:

“What’s the next action?”

When you’re requesting someone to do something:

“Have I spelled out exactly what I want this person to do?”

At poorly run meetings that are not action-focused:

“Before we move on, what have we decided to do  about this [agenda item]?”