What Matters/Daily Practice Checklist: Focus on What Matters
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Here’s a “What Matters” daily practice checklist, grounded in the framework from Wikiversity’s What Matters course.[1] It’s structured to help you intentionally live in alignment with what truly enriches your life—from basic needs to higher purpose.
1. Morning: Clarify Your Priorities
[edit | edit source]- Reflect on core areas of meaning: Which of these matter most to you today?
- Surviving: Physical needs like health, safety, nourishment.
- Thriving: Inner growth—dignity, flourishing, authenticity, learning, love.
- Recreation: Play, pleasure, and moments of joy and flow.
- Success: Skills mastery, creativity, recognition, purposeful work.
- Significance: Compassion, integrity, community, values-guided action.
- Transcendence: Wisdom, altruism, global goodwill.
- Choose 1–2 focal themes to prioritize today (e.g., Inner Peace and Creativity or Health and Community).
2. During the Day: Engage with What Matters
[edit | edit source]Use this mini-menu of practices aligned with the themes above:
| Theme / Need | Daily Practice Suggestions |
| Surviving / Health | Eat nourishing meals; move or stretch; take moments to rest and check in with your body. |
| Thriving / Authenticity | Choose actions aligned with your true self; pause to notice moments you feel congruent and authentic. |
| Recreation / Play | Build in a playful pause: dance, doodle, daydream, laugh, or explore a light activity. |
| Success / Mastery | Spend time refining a skill, starting a creative project, or crafting purposeful effort. |
| Significance / Community | Offer kindness, deepen a connection, or volunteer time in service of others or shared values. |
| Transcendence / Wisdom | Notice a moment of insight, gratitude, or connectedness—embrace the bigger picture. |
3. Midday Check-In
[edit | edit source]Ask yourself:
- Am I honoring what matters today?
- Does anything demand a course adjustment?
- What small shift feels meaningful in the moment?
4. Evening Reflection
[edit | edit source]Journal or reflect using these prompts:
- What did I genuinely invest time in today?
- Which mattering activity felt most fulfilling?
- Where did I get caught in distractions or “dead ends”? (Ego, superficial tasks, lounging without purpose.) (Wikiversity, Wikiversity, Wikiversity)
- What intention will guide tomorrow’s focus?
Example Daily Template
[edit | edit source]| Time | Practice |
| Morning | Choose 1–2 themes (e.g., Health and Creativity); set your intention. |
| Daytime | Engage in aligned actions: nourishing your body, creating something, allowing play. |
| Midday | Pause briefly to reassess and realign. |
| Evening | Reflect on what mattered, what diverted you, and plan tomorrow’s focus. |