Busyness Inventory
Is your level of busyness working for you? Does your busy schedule allow for a full life? Below is an inventory that takes less than 5 minutes to complete. It will give you a sense of how well you’re meeting the full range of your needs. The answer is unique to you: one person’s healthy busyness level and another’s can be very different. Moreover, what might feel healthy for you at one point in your life might not be at another point.Meeting Your Physical Needs
- How optimal is the time, energy and attention that you typically give to your physical needs (diet, sleep, exercise and health), on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being most optimal?
- How aware and accepting are you of the full range of your feelings, whether negative or positive, on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being most aware and accepting?
- How often do you maximize your good feelings, thoughts and experiences by focusing on them, on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being most focused?
- How aware are you of the unmet needs underlying your negative emotions and how often do you focus on meeting them, on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being most aware and focused?
- How skilled are you at setting healthy boundaries and limits with yourself and others, on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being most skilled?
Meeting Your Intellectual Needs
- How satisfied and stimulated are you by your current work, educational, and/or volunteering situation, on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being most satisfied?
- How clear and activated are you by your learning/growth goals, short and long term, on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being most clear and activated?
Meeting Your Spiritual/Larger Connection Needs
- How engaged, inspired and supported are you by your community, on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being most engaged, inspired and supported?
- How balanced do you feel in regularly meeting the full range of your physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual needs, on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being most balanced?
- How balanced are you between meeting your own needs and supporting others in meeting theirs, on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being most balanced?
Total = Your Busyness Index
- 80-100 points: Congratulations! You appear to have a very healthy busyness index and are really taking charge of your life. You’re not letting your busy schedule prevent you from attending to the full range of your needs. You’re well set up to be most fulfilled and successful in the short and long-term. You could likely benefit from monthly check-ins and reflection on how you can continue to optimize your busyness index to allow for a full and well lived life.
- 60-79 points: You likely have a relatively healthy busyness index and are on the way to being fully in charge of your life. You’re meeting some important needs but could likely benefit from weekly check-ins and reflection. You may want to examine what is allowing you to meet some needs and what is getting in the way of meeting others. Additionally, you may want to consider incorporating regular support, whether informal (such as having a busyness buddy) or formal (a coach, therapist or other partner) to develop strategies to take better care of yourself and live most fully.
- Less than 60 points: Your busyness index may need immediate attention! You’re likely not adequately meeting some important needs and could benefit from both informal and formal daily check-ins and reflection in order to more fully step up to the plate of leading yourself. You may want to consider incorporating regular support, whether informal (such as having a busyness buddy) or formal (a coach, therapist or other partner) to develop strategies to take better care of yourself and live most fully. It’s critical that you explore what is getting in the way of meeting your needs, whether it’s a temporary situation (for example, a big work project that will end) or a more long-standing issue and what tools, skills and attitude shifts would be effective in supporting you to take more leadership of your busyness index.