The Remix Years
Mixing Board
R · E · M · I · X  —  Where your focus goes

Five areas. Five points in time. One life, remixed.

Set how much of your energy each area gets, from 0 to 10 — a year ago, today, and out to five years from now. It is energy spent, not impact: some of it goes into things that pay off later, and a relationship can take a lot of energy through a hard stretch.

Count energy against the area it feeds for you: a board seat taken to earn money is Economics; one taken to make a difference is Impact; or split it as feels right.

The board adds the five areas together into a total, out of 50, at each point in time. There is no right answer: some people will want to spend just as much energy in their next phase, but with a different mix; others will want to spend less.

Drag a point to move it. Let go to lock it. ↑↓ nudge · REMIX pick an area
Total energy (0–50)
Type exact numbers for every area and point in time. Click a letter at the end of a line to solo that area.

What takes your energy

the activities behind today’s scores

A few words for each area: the real things that take your energy today. They are what you look down when you hunt for harmonies.

Harmonies

one activity, several needs

There is a free lunch in Remix, and we call it a Harmony. A Harmony lets a single activity meet several needs at once: yoga with a friend (R+M), walking meetings (E+M), an impact project you share with your spouse (R+I), paid work that also has real impact (E+I), or a business with a good friend that does good in the world (R+E+I) — join as many areas as the activity truly serves. One activity counted in two or three areas’ scores is still one activity: the total counts it once, and the extra copies come off at the points in time where it applies (never more than the smallest of those areas).

What is my X-Factor?

what did you always mean to get to?

The thing you kept your eye on is still there — a craft, a faith, a place, a passion. Name it, say why it matters, and describe what it would look like to finally pursue it for no reason other than that you love it.

In your future self’s shoes

what you did, and the clear mark it worked

Picture yourself one year and three years from now, with the moves made. For each, two things: what you did to drive the change, and a clear mark that it worked for each area that moves — something you could point to. Walked my son to school two or three days every week. Joined a second public board. Then, for five years out, a line on the direction you hope to take.

Height is energy

0 means the area gets none of your energy; 10 means it gets everything you have. It is energy spent, not impact: an investment that pays off later, or a loved one who needs you through a hard year, can take a lot of energy for a modest visible return.

The total is the tell

Add the five areas for a total out of 50. The labels under each total (Light, Moderate, Full, Heavy, Very heavy) describe how much of your energy is committed; they are not grades. As you look ahead, the question is whether you want to be spending more energy than today, or less.

Harmonies support your Remix

One activity that shows up in two areas’ scores is still one activity, so the total counts it once and the duplicate comes off. Finding more of them is often the whole game.