my rating for 2025 was 0.94

i rate my days on a scale from -2 to 2.

i don’t remember where i picked this up, but it stuck because it solved a recurring problem for me.

most rating systems quietly lie to you.

on a 0–10 scale, an average day almost never becomes a 5. it becomes a 6 or a 7. five feels like failure. seven feels polite. over time, everything drifts upward.

a 1–5 scale isn’t much better.
1 feels bad.
5 feels great.
but 3 also feels good, even though it’s meant to be the middle.

• -2: awful day
• -1: bad day
• 0: neutral. nothing good, nothing bad
• 1: good day
• 2: a genuinely great day. the kind you feel in your body

a 2 is rare. it is reserved for days that feel almost euphoric.
not perfect. just deeply right.

sometimes i use 0.5 steps.

some days are clearly positive, but with friction.
others are good overall, even though a few things went wrong.

the scale allows for texture without adding complexity.

the rating is based on felt experience.

not productivity.
not outcomes.
not how impressive the day looks in hindsight.

just how it actually felt to live inside it.

yes, at first it feels arbitrary.

but over time, that arbitrariness disappears.

you calibrate against yourself.

your -1 becomes consistent.
your 1 becomes meaningful.
your 2 earns its place.

the scale stops being theoretical and becomes personal.

so how do i know my rating for 2025 was 0.94?

because i rated every single day.

when you average those out (thank you, base), you do not just get a story.
you get a signal.

and 0.94 tells me something concrete.

on balance, it was a good year.
not easy.
but clearly on the right side of neutral.

which, honestly, is more information than
“pretty good, i guess”
ever gave me.