How Would You Grade You?
What grade are you getting in your life?
Since I teach psychology and counseling at a local university, I do a lot of grading. Much of this is based on a grading rubric that makes my grading quick and tells the students exactly what they need to do to get an A.
But one of the best personal surveys you can use is to ask the following question about each part of your life:
What am I getting an A grade in? What am I getting a B in? etc.
But what do I mean by 'areas of life'? And how do you grade them?
The areas of life are anything that takes a considerable amount of time or effort.
And we can’t excel in more than two – or three at most – areas of life.
Hold off on thinking, "Oh, the areas I should be prioritizing." Not yet. This is a current assessment of what is taking your time, not what should be taking your time (though it might help you rearrange priorities at the end of this exercise). These might be priorities, but they might just be time drains.
Here are some areas that you might name:
Marriage
Work
Friendships
Kids
Church/Ministry/Community Groups
Family/Parents
Home Repairs/Upkeep
College or Education
Scrolling/Instagram/TikTok
Youtube/TV
Finances
Reading
Gaming
Side hustle/Part-time job
Hobby (gardening, photography, thrifting, etc.)
What are some other areas of your life that take up time?
And now, if you were to say, "I am getting an A in ________," which ones would it be?
Unfortunately, for many of us, I think we'd say, "I’m getting an A in Youtube." Or maybe some of us would say, "I’m getting an A in Gaming, a B in Marriage, and a C in Church attendance." Or, "I’m getting an A in my side hustle, a B in my regular job, but a C in my Relationship with Kids and an F in my marriage."
So, go through and think of all the areas of life that take your time, but you’d rather other areas get the A. It also may mean you recognize that some things that are time drains give you something else (like dopamine or downtime) and are hard to choose to get an 'F' in.
But if you want to restructure which parts of your life get As or Bs in them, this is a good starting point to help you identify what you’re actually excelling in versus what part you'd really like to excel in.
Do you need more specific help? Send me a message!
