Day 5 — Synthesis & Life Compass

Time: ~85 min · Goal: build the artifact, then test it against your actual life — with real numbers, not vibes.

Today you assemble the compass, run it against the five dimensions of your life, and — the rigorous moves — measure the gap with a defined baseline and version the result so future redos can tell growth from drift.

1. Assemble your compass (20 min)

Fill in the template below from Days 2–4. Save it as a dated file (e.g. answers/compass-2026-06.md) — you’ll see why in step 4.

=== MY LIFE COMPASS ===
Last updated: _______

VALUES (ranked)
1. _______ — meaning: _______
2. _______ — meaning: _______
3. _______ — meaning: _______
4. _______ — meaning: _______
5. _______ — meaning: _______

PASSIONS (themes)
- _______
- _______
- _______
- _______

PURPOSE
"To _______ , for/with _______ , so that _______."

NON-NEGOTIABLES (what I won't trade away)
- _______
- _______
- _______

CURRENT 90-DAY REALIGNMENT MOVES
1. _______
2. _______

REVIEW DATES
Next quarterly review: _______
Next annual review: _______

2. Test against the five dimensions (30 min)

For each: Is my current setup aligned with the compass? Where’s the gap?

Career — Does my work let me live my values daily, or suppress them? Use my passions, or just my skills? Serve my purpose, or unrelated? · One change: __

Money — Am I earning/spending for what I value, or for habits/expectations? Overspending on what that doesn’t serve the compass? Underspending on what would? · One change: __

Place — Does where I live support my values, passions, purpose? What would make it a full yes? · One change: __

People — Who amplifies the compass? Who pulls against it? Who do I need more of? Less of? · One change: __

Time — From last week’s calendar, what % of waking hours served the compass? Which recurring commitments don’t? · One change: __

3. ◇ Establish a real baseline (15 min)

“What % served the compass?” only bites if it’s defined and measured, not estimated:

Define “served the compass” before measuring, so you can’t grade on a curve:

A block counts as aligned if it advances a top-3 value, a passion theme, or the purpose. My definition: __
Measure from the Day 0 calendar, not memory → aligned hours: __ / __ = ___%.
Repeat for money → discretionary spend that served the compass: ___%.
Set a target for next quarter so the review has a number, not a feeling → Time target: ___% · Money target: ___%.

4. ◇ Version the compass (5 min)

You saved a dated file in step 1. Never overwrite it. Each annual redo becomes a new dated file, and you diff against the prior one, asking the key question:

Each thing that changed — is it driven by new evidence, or by new rationalization (talking myself into where I’ve already drifted)? Name the cause for each change: __

This is the difference between a compass that tracks your growth and one that just ratifies your drift.

5. Realignment moves (10 min)

From the five “one change” answers, pick the 1–2 you’ll actually do in the next 90 days. Be ruthless — the compass is useless if it doesn’t change what you do.

6. Set your review cadence (5 min)

Next quarterly review (15 min): __ — re-read, adjust what no longer fits, re-measure the baseline numbers against target, pick the next 90-day moves.
Next annual review (90 min): __ — redo Day 5 in full (and any earlier day that feels off), then diff against this version per step 4.
Before any major decision: re-read first.

✓ End of the rigorous track

A completed, dated, measured Life Compass and 1–2 concrete 90-day moves. Now use it: when you feel off, re-read it; when you face a big decision, run it through the five dimensions and choose the option that strengthens alignment across the most of them.