Simply put, the Personal Sanity Index is a daily checklist and chart that helps you keep track of the behaviors that are desirable and important to you. Pilots use pre-flight checklists to ensure we can fly safely. Visual charts are used everywhere from hospitals to auto plants to provide a quick and reliable way to keep track of what’s happening from day to day.

Once you build your PSI, following the simple steps below, you can begin tracking your progress and, when necessary, making adjustments to stay on track. Step one is identifying the items for your personal checklist. Step two is tracking your score every day and keeping an eye on how you’re doing. That’s it. It really is that simple!

I recommend building your Index with two types of items: (1) the Core Four and (2) Personal Preference Categories (PPCs). The Core Four are: sleep, nutrition, exercise, and personal connections. We all need these to be at our best, so I suggest that you include all four. The PPCs are really up to you, but to help you get started, there are some starter suggestions that you can consider.

A basic Index to get started includes gratitude, learning, and quiet time as PPCs. So the complete checklist looks like this:

And it might look like this if you use a pencil and paper system to keep track each day:

And when you plot the numbers on a chart, it looks like this:

I recommend at least seven items in an Index, though you’re free to include as many as you like. A typical seven-item checklist is made up of the Core Four plus three Personal Preference Categories. Here are some additional suggestions for PPCs based on different areas of interest.

You can pair these PPCs (or any others you’d like to use) with the Core Four (sleep, nutrition, exercise, connection) to get your PSI up and running. You can download the free app HERE or get started with pencil and paper PDF downloads HERE.