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One page, printable, designed for a 20â30 minute reflection session:
It's not a five-minute exercise. Set aside at least half an hour and a separate notebook for thoughts that don't fit.
Write down five concrete activities you do (or have done) where time disappears. Not 'reading' â more specific: 'reading non-fiction essays on Sunday morning'. Specificity is where useful information lives.
Ask yourself what colleagues or acquaintances regularly ask you for. What's obvious to you isn't obvious to many. Write down five specific skills â verbs, not labels.
Which problems feel intolerable to you when you see them unsolved. It doesn't have to be epic â it can be concrete and small. Write down three.
Look at the previous answers and ask what market exists for some combination of them. Be honest: there are passions the market doesn't compensate. This doesn't disqualify your ikigai â it just clarifies whether it lives inside or outside work.
If the template helps you start, these three resources are for going deeper:
The Japanese concept, the diagram, the research behind it, and the nuances the template alone can't capture.
An interactive version: answer questions on your computer or phone and get a profile with career matches.
If your profession pillar is where you get stuck, this guide adapts the four circles to the workplace.