Not sure how to score this?
The CDC says adults need 150 minutes a week of moderate activity- that is about 22 minutes a day- plus muscle-strengthening work on 2 days a week. Count what you actually did last week, not what you meant to do.
How to score it:
- 2 points for each day you did strength training of any kind (max 4 points)
- 1 point for each day you moved your body enough to raise your heart rate for at least 30 consecutive minutes (max 5 points)
- 1 point if you did both
Scored a 0? That is a 1.
And if you are asking, "What's a moderate heart rate?"- use this as a guide: you breathe faster, but you are not out of breath, and you can talk, but you can't sing.
Source: CDC, Physical Activity Guidelines for Adults
Not sure how to score this?
Not sure how to score this?
Not sure how to score this?
Your number in other units: 11.5 cups is about 92 ounces, or 2.7 liters. 15.5 cups is about 124 ounces, or 3.7 liters.
Remember, that total includes what you get from your food and your other drinks, not just plain water.
Not sure how to score this?
A 2 looks like: you are running on caffeine and adrenaline, and your body wants to crash the second you stop moving.
A 5 looks like: mornings are fine, afternoons are a slog, and you have accepted that as 'normal'.
A 9 looks like: steady energy most of the day, and the dips are predictable, not debilitating.
Not sure how to score this?
A 2 looks like: stress shows up as anxiety and/or in your body- jaw, shoulders, stomach, sleep- and you just keep pushing through.
A 5 looks like: you have coping tools. You think about them AFTER you are already fried, not before.
A 9 looks like: you catch stress early and you intentionally do something that actually works (and is healthy), before it wrecks the day.
Not sure how to score this?
A 2 looks like: if someone asked how you feel right now, you would say fine but won't stop long enough to check in with your body, mind & spirit and you don't have the bandwidth to tend to what they need.
A 5 looks like: you might be able to name the big ones- angry, sad, anxious- but you don't manage them in a healthy way.
A 9 looks like: you can name what you are feeling while you are feeling it, and you say it out loud to someone, and address its needs and impact.
Not sure how to score this?
A 2 looks like: you re-read the same email three times. Decisions pile up because choosing feels impossible.
A 5 looks like: you get the work done, but your thinking is fogged by fatigue, frustration or a general feeling of imbalance & unhappiness.
A 9 looks like: you can hold a complicated problem in your head, think it through, and land on a decision without spinning.
Not sure how to score this?
A 2 looks like: you regularly say and think unkind and unhealthy things to yourself that you would never say to a friend.
A 5 looks like: mostly neutral, until you make a mistake- then the knives come out.
A 9 looks like: you talk to yourself the way you would talk to someone you love. Honest about the mistake, not cruel to yourself.
Not sure how to score this?
A 2 looks like: a setback takes you out mentally and emotionally for days or even weeks. You may react irrationally. You have to white knuckle your way to any semblance of peace.
A 5 looks like: you recover, but it takes longer than you would like and life often feels like a grind.
A 9 looks like: you feel the hit, you name it, and you are moving again within days- with your supports still intact.
Not sure how to score this?
A 2 looks like: you are going through the motions. If someone asked why you do what you do, you would have to make something up.
A 5 looks like: you know what matters to you in theory. Your calendar does not reflect it.
A 9 looks like: you can say what your life is for in one sentence, and your week shows it.
Not sure how to score this?
A 2 looks like: the connection is something you used to have, or something you never really built.
A 5 looks like: you believe it. You just do not practice it. Days (or weeks) go by without thinking about it.
A 9 looks like: it is a regular practice, not an emergency measure- and it anchors you when things get hard.
Not sure how to score this?
A 2 looks like: you could not list your top three values right now without stalling.
A 5 looks like: you know your values, but you regularly sacrifice them for convenience or approval.
A 9 looks like: you have said no to something you genuinely wanted, recently, because it conflicted with a value.
Not sure how to score this?
A 2 looks like: your mind does not stop. Silence feels like something to escape, not something to sit in.
A 5 looks like: you find peace on vacation or after a long walk, and lose it again by Tuesday.
A 9 looks like: you can be still without needing a reason, and it does not take a crisis or a plane ticket to get there.
Not sure how to score this?
A 2 looks like: gratitude is something you would say you believe in but seldom practice intentionally.
A 5 looks like: you feel grateful when something good happens. There is no practice behind it.
A 9 looks like: you name specific things on a regular rhythm- and you could name three right now, without stalling.
Not sure how to score this?
A 2 looks like: there are rooms, closets or drawers you avoid. Finding things takes real time.
A 5 looks like: the spaces guests see look fine. The closets, the garage and the junk drawer tell a different story.
A 9 looks like: you can find what you need in under a minute, and putting things back is automatic instead of a project.
Not sure how to score this?
A 2 looks like: you walk in the door and feel worse because of the environment you're stepping into.
A 5 looks like: your space is neutral. It does not hurt, it does not help.
A 9 looks like: there is at least one spot in your home that genuinely refreshes and restores you, and you actually use it.
Not sure how to score this?
A 2 looks like: you reach for your phone without deciding to. It is the first thing in the morning and the last thing at night.
A 5 looks like: you know your screen time number is higher than you would like, but you have done nothing about it.
A 9 looks like: your phone has boundaries you actually keep- and you can leave it in another room without an itch or twitch.
Worth knowing: there is no official adult screen-time recommendation from the CDC, the WHO or the American Academy of Pediatrics. The numbers people quote are for children. So score this one on the behavior, not on a number.
Not sure how to score this?
A 2019 study in Scientific Reports, covering nearly 20,000 UK adults, found that people who spent at least 120 minutes a week in nature reported significantly better health and wellbeing than people who spent none. Two hours a week.
Note: this is an observational study, so it shows a link, not proof that nature caused it. It is still a useful yardstick.
Source: White et al., Scientific Reports, 2019
Not sure how to score this?
A 2 looks like: you say yes when you mean no, and most of the time, you resent it (and yourself) for not saying No.
A 5 looks like: you hold boundaries with some people and fold completely with others- usually family, close friends or your boss.
A 9 looks like: you can say no without a paragraph of explanation, and you do not spend the next three days feeling guilty or justifying it.
Not sure how to score this?
A 2 looks like: nobody in your life knows what is actually going on with you right now.
A 5 looks like: you have close people, but you keep the conversations surface-level.
A 9 looks like: there is at least one person who gets the unedited version, and you talk regularly.
Not sure how to score this?
The U.S. Surgeon General's 2023 advisory on social connection found that loneliness and isolation are linked to serious physical health risks, not just emotional ones. There is no standard for how many people you need- but having nobody to call is a risk factor, not a personality trait.
A 2 looks like: if something went wrong at 2am, you would handle it alone. Not because you want to, but because there is no one else or you don't feel good/safe/worthy of asking for help.
A 5 looks like: you have people, but you never ask. You are the one who helps.
A 9 looks like: you can name three people you would call, and you have actually called one of them in the last month.
Source: U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory on Social Connection, 2023
Not sure how to score this?
A 2 looks like: you either do not say what you need, or it comes out sideways after you have held it too long.
A 5 looks like: you communicate well at work and badly at home. Or the other way around.
A 9 looks like: you can say a hard thing directly (and kindly and respectfully), and you can hear a hard thing without defending yourself.
Not sure how to score this?
A 2 looks like: you do not belong to anything. Not a church, a team, a group, a neighborhood. Nothing.
A 5 looks like: you are on the roster somewhere, but you would be surprised if anyone noticed you missing or reached out.
A 9 looks like: there is a group where you would be missed if you did not show up, and you know it.
Not sure how to score this?
A 2 looks like: you give constantly and you cannot remember the last time you let someone do something for you.
A 5 looks like: you receive when it is offered. You never ask.
A 9 looks like: you ask for help before you are desperate, and you let people show up for you without apologizing for it.
