Freedom Scorecard

I came across this snazzy little tool presented by Tag at LifeDoneFree, which he calls a UGS Calculator. (“UGS” stands for “UnGovernable Score”.) Basically, it’s a gauge to determine how free you are based on what you deem is needed to be free.

For a while now, I’ve been trying to keep tabs on taking care of our First- Things-First needs, and thensome, to get as free as we can be. And I really like how Tag has put this spreadsheet together to help monitor one’s progress on achieving freedom in the many aspects of our lives.

How It Works

The main categories he included in the calculator are: Shelter, Food, Water, Security, Medical/Health, Energy, Financial, Transportation, and Community/Mutual Assistance Group, but you can customize it to your own preference. (I’d personally add Waste Mgt., Communications, Education & Recreation.)

Then, there’s a separate section for Negative Factors (such as Chronic Illness, Chemical Dependency, Other Addictions, Bad Habits, & Unresolved Mental Issues), which would lower one’s score.

I think the idea is to first decide which categories are suitable for you & your situation & determine the weight of each category as part of the whole. (Think of a pie that is made up of all the categories. How would you divide that pie up if each category was a slice: bigger vs smaller slices?)

Then each category is broken down into several components and points are allotted for each component. Again, this is customizable — you determine what those components would be for yourself, and then assign more points for what you deem the more important components and less for the not-so-important.

Then, to use the calculator, you simply assess & score yourself on each component in each category identifying however many points you think you deserve, based on how much you have satisfied each of the individual components.

The calculator then determines your percentage of progress for each component, and for each category as a whole. And then ultimately you can reach an overall score to see how free you are.

Check it out for yourself…

I like this tool because it can be personalized on several levels, and once you score yourself in each of the categories, you can get a quick glance at which areas need attention.

Essentially, this is a checklist of all that we determine for ourselves needs to be done in order for us to be totally free. And then it provides a method to gauge our progress & gain some guidance on where to focus our attention, time & energy next.

What do you think of this idea?

(The above video lays the tool out on a digital spreadsheet, but given my old school ways I just drew it out on a few 3-column ledger sheets and use my noggin & backup handy-dandy solar-powered desk calculator to calculate our scores. 😉 )