A pantry feeds ten today. Worthwhile work means fewer come back tomorrow. Both have a place. Put your things on the grid and see where your weight actually sits.
Step 1 · Add your things
What do you give your time, attention, or money to?
A cause you donate to. A job you do. A volunteer commitment. A side project. A way you spend Saturday. Anything that pulls at you — add up to 8.
Unplaced · drag to a quadrant
Things you add will land here first.
Before you place — be honest
Which one of your things would you be most embarrassed if a friend saw you place in Performative?
Step 2 · Drop them on the grid
Where does each one sit?
Y axis is self-eliminating — top is "if it works, it stops being necessary." Bottom is "this kind of work will always be needed." X axis is immediate impact — left is slow, right is fast.
Note the gold quadrant. Your instinct will be to drift items there. Resist it. Place where each truly sits.
Self-eliminating ↑
High
Low
Immediate impact →
Slow
Fast
Slow burn
0
Compounding
0
Performative
0
Rescue
0
Your distribution
—
Add and place at least one thing to see your distribution.
Compounding
0%
Slow burn
0%
Rescue
0%
Performative
0%
Let Aurelius read the grid.
Not a verdict. A description. What did you choose? What did you not? Pick one thing on your grid and ask: could it move up? The goal isn't equal quadrants. It's to grow the top right.
reading…
Marcus Aurelius · reads the grid
Where the frame comes from. The four quadrants are Dan Heath's argument in Upstream (2020), descended from John B. McKinlay's "A Case for Refocusing Upstream" (1979) — the original river parable. The talk's variant: "A pantry feeds ten today. Worthwhile work means fewer come back tomorrow. Both have a place."