Activity 4 Β· Find your way

Good Time Journal

The work that fits you leaves clues. This journal helps you catch them β€” by noticing which activities engage you (pull you in) and which give you energy (leave you charged, not drained).

Why do this?

We're bad at remembering how things actually felt. By logging activities and rating them in the moment, patterns emerge that you'd otherwise miss β€” the meeting that quietly drains you, the task that makes time disappear. Those patterns are gold for designing work that suits you. Ideally you'd log for a couple of weeks; even a few days reveals a lot.

How it works

For each activity, rate two things from 0 to 10:

Engagement β€” how absorbed were you? (10 = lost track of time; 0 = watching the clock.)
Energy β€” how did it leave you? (10 = charged up; 0 = wiped out.)

An ↑ marks the highs (7+) and a ↓ marks the lows (3 or under) β€” those extremes are the most useful clues.

An example

A Tuesday might look like:

Budget meetingEngage 3 ↓Energy 1 ↓
Teaching a classEngage 9 ↑Energy 9 ↑
Office hours with studentsEngage 8 ↑Energy 10 ↑

The pattern is loud: this person comes alive around people and teaching, and drains in abstract admin. Design more of the first, less of the second.

The AEIOU lenses

When you review, look closer with these five questions β€” they tell you why something engaged you:

A β€” ActivitiesWhat were you actually doing? Leading or joining?
E β€” EnvironmentsWhere were you? How did the place affect you?
I β€” InteractionsWith whom or what? People or machines? Formal or casual?
O β€” ObjectsWhat tools or things were involved?
U β€” UsersWho else was there, and what role did they play?

Your log

What patterns do you notice?

Look closer with AEIOU

Pick your most engaging activity and run it through the five lenses.

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