If an action does not increase something that matters, it is noise. Use this filter to keep your day pointed at what builds you up. The core gains are creative, relaxing, healthy, tidy, and opportunity building. Add any other category that truly matters to you, then judge every choice by whether it lifts one or more of these.

The core gains

Creative
Moves you from consuming to producing. You make ideas, artifacts, or solutions.
Signals: you ship drafts, sketches, notes, prototypes, code, outlines, or decisions.

Relaxing
Rest that restores attention and mood without harmful residue.
Signals: lower tension, calmer breath, cleaner focus afterward, easy sleep later.

Healthy
Habits that protect and strengthen body and mind.
Signals: better energy, better labs or metrics, improved mobility, steady mood.

Tidy
Order that reduces friction in the next action. This includes physical, digital, and mental.
Signals: fewer clicks, faster starts, clearer surfaces, an empty next step.

Opportunity building
Increases the surface area for luck and results. Learn, connect, and position yourself.
Signals: skill growth, portfolio items, new contacts, public footprints, smart bets placed.

Optional gains you may add

Relationships
Time or messages that deepen trust and warmth.

Wealth stability
Earning, saving, or systems that protect your future choices.

Character
Keeping promises, telling the truth, staying steady under stress.

Skill depth
Deliberate practice that raises competence and confidence.

Choose no more than eight gains total. Fewer is easier to use.

The ten second filter

Ask before you act:

1. Which gain will this raise?
2. How exactly?
3. What will it cost in time, attention, and recovery?
   If you cannot name a gain and a specific mechanism, decline or redesign the action.

The two point score

Score each option quickly from 0 to 2 on relevant gains.
0 means no lift. 1 means small lift. 2 means clear lift.

Keep actions that score 2 in any gain, or 1 across two gains. Cut the rest.

Example:
Scrolling short videos: Creative 0, Relaxing 0, Healthy 0, Tidy 0, Opportunity 0. Cut.
Twenty minute walk while drafting ideas: Healthy 2, Creative 1, Opportunity 1. Keep.

Make it practical

Morning starter
Water, two minutes of breath, one tidy action that removes friction, and one creative block. This combination raises Healthy, Tidy, and Creative before the day scatters you.

Work blocks
Enter with a one line outcome. Protect a 50 minute focus window. Finish with a 5 minute tidy and a one note opportunity nudge, such as a message, a share, or a small publish.

Breaks that relax
Choose breaks that return attention. Walks, stretches, light reading, or short naps. Avoid breaks that require willpower to stop.

Evening closure
Prepare tomorrow’s first move, reset your space, and choose one small creative or relationship gesture. Sleep is a health multiplier, so protect it.

Tidy is a force multiplier

Tidy is not cosmetic. It speeds the next creative move, lowers stress, and keeps opportunity within reach. Examples: rename files clearly, archive or delete, clear desktop icons, batch small repairs, and keep a single capture list for open loops.

Opportunity compounds

Opportunity grows when you learn in public, ship small, and follow up. Daily actions: publish a note, ask one good question, send one thank you, improve one portfolio item, and log one lesson learned.

Redesign low value actions

If an action fails the filter, either discard it or reshape it until it lifts a gain.

Examples:
Entertainment becomes creative by writing a short review or summary.
A commute becomes healthy by walking a segment or doing mobility at arrival.
A meeting becomes opportunity building by arriving with a clear ask and a follow up plan.

Guardrails

1. Do not confuse stimulation with relaxation. Stimulation often reduces attention later.
2. Do not confuse busyness with creativity. Output is the test.
3. Do not confuse sorting with tidying. Tidying removes friction to the next use.
4. Do not confuse exposure with opportunity. Opportunity requires follow up and usefulness.

A one page checklist

Daily:
• Creative: ship one concrete thing.
• Relaxing: take one restoring break that improves your next block.
• Healthy: move, hydrate, eat clean protein, protect sleep.
• Tidy: reset one space or system you will use tomorrow.
• Opportunity: learn in public or reach out once.
• Optional gains you chose: one small action each.

Weekly:
• Creative: complete one finished piece.
• Healthy: one longer session for strength or mobility.
• Tidy: one deep reset of a cluttered zone.
• Opportunity: publish or present one thing, meet one new person.

Monthly:
• Review the gains. Drop what you do not use. Promote what clearly moves you.

The north star sentence

If it does not increase a chosen gain, it is irrelevant. Let this guide your calendar, your purchases, your media diet, and your yes or no. When you make the gains visible and easy to score, you stop guessing and start compounding.