Soul accounting, by the numbers

I am given to understand that it is common recommended during the Hebrew month of Elul -- the month that precedes Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur -- for Jews to conduct an "accounting of the soul," or heshbon ha-nefesh, in which one takes stock of the state of one's soul in much the same way that one periodically evaluates the state of one's finances. (Actually, I read somewhere that many Jews also see Elul as an opportune time to do a financial self-evaluation as well)

The problem I have with this is that an accounting of the soul is so, well, nebulous. There are dozens if not hundreds of aspects of my life that might fall under the rubric of "soul traits" or "things that impact my soul," so where do I begin?

For financial accounting, there are hundreds of spreadsheet templates and web tools designed to help you identify and account for your various income and expense categories, to plan for financial goals, and so forth and so on. Why not do the same for soul accounting?

And so, as both a service and a challenge to all of you out there who read this blog, I present my first-ever attempt at a soul accounting worksheet. It's based on a few heshbon ha-nefesh sources I could find at my fingertips, plus a few things that I came up with off the top of my head. I don't even dream that it is complete, so if you have ideas for other things that should be added, leave your suggestions in the comments and I may add them!

Enjoy...and ponder...

Soul Accounting Spreadsheet v. 1.0 (beta)

Soul item This year,
actual		 Next year,
realistic goal
Living up to my potential
Life Goals / "Dreams" / "Callings" I actively pursued 1.
2.		 1.
2.
3.
How I've used my talents to really help others 1.
2.		 1.
2.
3.
Percentage of days I've really enjoyed what I do ___% ___%
Percentage of days I've felt useful/helpful to others ___% ___%
Number of times I've done something to "sharpen my saw" ___ ___
Things I don't like about my life/work/etc this year 1.
2.
3.
Patterns I see:1.
2.
3.
Top three life goals to work on:1.
2.
3.
Taking care of my soul
Things I have done to nurture my soul 1.
2.		 1.
2.
3.
"Bucket List" items I can finally check off 1.
2.		 1.
2.
3.
Religious observances I have added/deepened 1.
2.		 1.
2.
3.
Percentage of days I felt drained of soul energy ___% ___%
Percentage of days I kept up a spiritual/religious practice ___% ___%
Number of times I've done something specifically to refresh my soul ___ ___
Number of times I attended spiritual/religious services/studies/etc ___ ___
Areas where I have "lost ground" in soul care this year 1.
2.
3.
Patterns I see:1.
2.
3.
Top three soul-care goals to work on:1.
2.
3.
Taking care of my relationships
People I need to ask for forgiveness 1.
2.
3.
People I need to work on forgiving 1.
2.
3.
People I need to thank/appreciate more 1.
2.
3.
Ways I have tended to my family 1.
2.		 1.
2.
3.
Ways I have nurtured my friendships 1.
2.		 1.
2.
3.
Ways I have connected with the Divine/the Universe 1.
2.		 1.
2.
3.
Percentage of people in my life I am on good terms with ___% ___%
Percentage of time I am appropriately humble ___% ___%
Percentage of time I carry my weight in relationships ___% ___%
Number of times I've done something as part of a community ___ ___
Number of people I have really ticked off somehow ___ ___
Number of times I have made big demands of others ___ ___
Number of things I do each day to connect with G-d ___ ___
Relationships that went badly this year 1.
2.
3.
Patterns I see:1.
2.
3.
Top three relational goals to work on:1.
2.
3.
Repairing the world
Things I've done to bring goodness/justice into the world 1.
2.		 1.
2.
3.
Percentage of income I've given to good causes ___% ___%
Number of times I've done something charitable ___ ___
Percentage of time I tend to take care of myself first ___% ___%
Patterns I see:1.
2.
3.
Number one tikkun olam goal to work on:

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