Motivation
Mapping

Assessment & Discovery Tools

A one-week activity inventory that shows where your energy goes,
and whether that matches where your attention goes.

Where This Tool Helps

Most people working through a stuck period know, in the abstract, what energizes them. Ask them and they can list it. What the list rarely surfaces is the gap between what energizes them and what gets the bulk of their time and attention. This worksheet closes that gap by working from concrete events — specific tasks, conversations, and decisions from a recent week or month — rather than from memory or self-concept.

Two patterns show up regularly when stuck clients complete this map. The first: a cluster of high-energy activities that gets very little time, usually because the work feels risky, uncertain, or hard to justify. The second: a cluster of neutral or low-energy activities that gets most of the time, usually because it is familiar and safe to keep doing. Neither pattern appears on a values list. Both appear immediately on a completed map.

A third pattern takes more looking: activities that feel like they should energize but do not, and activities that drain on paper but actually produce something useful once you are inside them. The "Deceptive Draws" section near the bottom of the worksheet is there for those.

The map is most useful when you resist the urge to interpret while filling it in. Record first. Look for patterns after.

How to Use This Worksheet

Pick your window. Capture the last five to seven business days, or the last month if your work runs in longer cycles. Stick with one window; mixing them blurs the picture.
Fill in the activity rows first, before touching the columns. List 10 to 15 specific activities — a meeting with a particular person, a document you wrote, a decision you made, a conversation you had. Concrete enough that you can picture doing it. Skip categories like "email" or "strategy work"; those are buckets, not activities.
Rate energy direction (↑ ↓ →) from memory, not aspiration. How did it actually feel while you were doing it, not how you think it should feel. If you are unsure, pick the direction that was true more often than not.
Estimate time honestly. Include prep, follow-up, and recovery time, not just the meeting or task itself.
Rate avoidance (1–5) for each row. 1 = started without resistance. 5 = delayed it as long as possible before starting. Avoidance is data about the activity, not a character assessment.
Complete the Deceptive Draws section last. Look back at your rows and identify any activity that surprised you — rated differently than you expected.
Then read the pattern prompts at the bottom. Do not skip to them first. The observation questions are more useful after the map is complete.

Motivation Map

Your activity window:

Last 5–7 business days

Last month

Other:

List 10–15 specific activities from your selected window — concrete tasks, conversations, or decisions. Rate each row honestly.

Activity specific task, conversation, or decision	Energy Direction ↑ gives ↓ takes → neutral	Time Spent hours incl. prep	Avoidance 1 = no resistance 5 = delayed
	↑ ↓ →		1 2 3 4 5
	↑ ↓ →		1 2 3 4 5
	↑ ↓ →		1 2 3 4 5
	↑ ↓ →		1 2 3 4 5
	↑ ↓ →		1 2 3 4 5
	↑ ↓ →		1 2 3 4 5
	↑ ↓ →		1 2 3 4 5
	↑ ↓ →		1 2 3 4 5
	↑ ↓ →		1 2 3 4 5
	↑ ↓ →		1 2 3 4 5
	↑ ↓ →		1 2 3 4 5
	↑ ↓ →		1 2 3 4 5

Deceptive Draws

Some activities feel like they should energize but do not. Others feel like they should drain, but there is something in them that works. Complete this section after filling in all rows above.

Activities that felt like they should energize but did not:

Activities that felt like they should drain but actually worked:

Pattern Observations

Look at your completed grid before answering.

What surprised you?

What was unsurprising?

The Gap Question

Where does your time go most heavily — into ↑ activities, ↓ activities, or → activities? What does that ratio tell you?

The Avoidance Question

Which high-avoidance activities (rated 4 or 5) also rated ↑ energy? What has been in the way of doing them more?

The Investment Question

Which low-avoidance activities (rated 1 or 2) also rated ↓ energy? How much of your week do they account for?

Before Your Next Session

Prompt 1

Look at the column showing highest time investment alongside lowest energy direction. What is one thing that keeps that investment in place? What would have to be true for it to shift?

Prompt 2

If the high-avoidance / high-energy row exists on your map, write down what specifically makes that activity feel risky or hard to commit to. Not the abstract version — the specific one.

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MotivationMapping