Maintain Happiness With The Only Checklist You’ll Ever Need

5 min readApr 3, 2021

Happiness. We all want it. We all love to be it. Most importantly, we never want to be without it.

Happy people are just fun to be around unless of course, you don’t feel happy.

Happiness doesn’t mean you have to skip up and down the street singling la la la. But it does mean that you are truly content with life at this moment.

A while back I wrote How To Be Happy All The Time. That article is a very detailed look at what’s blocking your happiness and how to change it.

This checklist is a simplified version. When you’re able to complete this checklist, you’ll know that you are living the best possible life you can.

Living the best possible life does not mean you won’t have goals and new experiences you want to try. It means that whether you meet those goals or not, you’re still happy. It also means that there will be nothing stopping you from pursuing more joy.

You will be free.

I just have one question for you.

Would you complete this checklist if you knew it would lead you to ultimate happiness?

The Very Simple Checklist for a Happy Life

I’ve organized my life so that my mornings are happy
I’ve organized my life so that my afternoons are happy
I’ve organized my life so that my evenings are happy
I’ve organized my life so that when I sleep, I sleep well

Happiness Checklist Explained

Just so there’s no mistaking, mornings are from when you wake until noon. Afternoons are from noon until about 5 pm. Evenings are from 5 pm until bedtime. And of course, your sleep time is when you’re sleeping.

This is pretty simple, right?

Yet there are many things at play.

Your morning may be affected by how well you sleep. And your sleep may be affected by your nights.

Each part of your day seems to affect another.

By focusing on one part at a time, you can see the inconsistencies. You’ll see the patterns within your relationships, health, work, and even leisure.

You may even discover that your nights, sleep, and mornings are perfect, but your afternoons aren’t so happy.

In this case, taking action toward improving your afternoons may lead to your mornings declining in happiness.

But that’s what’s great about this. You will start to create holistic solutions so that every part of your life is filled with happiness and not just some.

How To Use This Checklist

Write out your checklist (or use this printable Happiness Checklist)
Purposefully reflect on yesterday
Mark a check next to each section that you experienced total happiness
Count the number of checkmarks to get your Happiness Score for yesterday

Happiness Score of 4 — I’m Happy!

If your score is 4, congratulations, you live a happy life or at least lived one yesterday.

Just in case yesterday did not represent your normal routine, repeat the checklist for a day that does. Then compare the results.

If your score is still a 4, then keep on being happy!

Happiness Score of 3 — I’m Pretty Happy

Congratulations! You may have a few things to reorder in your life, but this is still a great place to be.

Work toward being happy in that remaining area and take care to not take any away from the others.

It’s ok to take baby steps.

Happiness Score of 2 — I Want A Happier Life

Half of your days are happy and if you count weekends, you’re over 50%, which is a good start.

However, it’s time to take inventory, but don’t focus on all parts of your day at once.

Start with one and list out what you think prevented you from being happy.

Work toward being happy in that area. This might involve learning some new skills or even unlearning old behaviors.

No matter where this journey takes you, let it take you happily.

Once you reach a score of 3, follow the instructions above.

Happiness Score of 1 — I Need To Make Some Changes

A score of 1 seems bad, but it’s really a good thing because now you know. And since you know, you can do something about it.

Start by asking yourself, “Do I really want to continue living life like this? Is it worth it? How will I know if it’s worth it? How long have my days been like this?”

If you don’t like the answer to any of these questions, good. You are more aware of your needs than you ever have been.

Start small. Don’t make any big changes yet like quit your job and leave your spouse.

Choose the easiest timeframe to improve. Really go at it.

It won’t take long to improve at all.

Once you get your Happiness Score to 2, following the instructions above for that score.

Happiness Score of 0 — I Need To Make Some Immediate Changes

The good news is, your score is only going to go up from here.

Changes do need to be made. Know that you deserve happiness in your life.

Say this right now, “I’m open to the idea that I deserve more happiness in my life.”

Say it once more. “I’m open to the idea that I deserve more happiness in my life.”

Awesome! The remnants of that phrase are now echoing throughout the universe gathering allies to help you realize this.

I’m one of them. Message me here with the subject “I Got A Happiness Score of 0”. In the body of the message, let me know anything you think I need to know in order to help you.

I’ll respond shortly with some assistance.