Field manual — Tools 5–8
Eight reusable tools
Tool 05 · Ninety-Day Earning-Power Experiment
inspectUse when you do not yet have a marketable identity. The output is able evidence and a better decision—not a motivational score.
Header
| Owner | Experiment start | Day-ninety review | Money / time cap |
|---|
Opportunity and value
| Prompt | Answer | Evidence source | F / A / Fc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Specific problem or opportunity | |||
| Person or organization affected | |||
| Recent evidence the problem exists | |||
| Cost, delay, risk, or value involved | |||
| What competent performance produces | |||
| Who can judge the result |
Safety and permission gates
| Gate | Requirement | Verified by / date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal / licensing | |||
| Health / physical safety | |||
| Supervision / competence | |||
| Employer / contract permission | |||
| Confidentiality / data / IP |
Do not proceed past an unmet critical gate.
Capability stack
Evidence levels: 0 none; 1 studied; 2 simulated; 3 applied; 4 repeated and independently verified.
| Capability | Current level Required proof Practice task | Reviewer |
|---|---|---|
| Reliability | ||
| Communication | ||
| Sales / diagnosis |
| Capability | Current level Required proof Practice task | Reviewer |
|---|---|---|
| Operations / delivery | ||
| Commercial numeracy cap | ||
| Path-specific ability |
The proof cycle
| Phase | Result required | Calendar blocks | Feedback / evidence date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Observe and define | |||
| Practise safely | |||
| Produce real proof | |||
| Review and decide |
Final artifact or field result:
What the artifact will not claim:
Economics and alternatives
| Item | Base case | Downside case |
|---|---|---|
| Money cost | ||
| Full hours | ||
| Foregone income / displaced commitment | ||
| Maximum acceptable loss | ||
| Earliest possible paid evidence |
Day-ninety decision
□ deepen path □ seek paid/supervised responsibility □ acquire required credential □ change target □ stop
| Decision | Reason from evidence | Next action | Owner | Due date | Proof |
|---|
TOOL · Chapters 9–12 · existing complete masterbook Tool 03. Opportunity, evidence-level, safety-gate, and proof-cycle decisions consolidated.
Tool 06 · Personal Investment Policy
Use before selecting investments and after a material life change. Public education does not establish personal suitability.
Header
| Owner | Policy date / version | Next review | Adviser / reviewer if any |
|---|
Purpose, horizon, and liquidity
| Decision | Written policy | Evidence / assumption |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose of long-horizon capital | ||
| Earliest likely withdrawal | ||
| Planned contributions | ||
| Known future withdrawals | ||
| Operations and near-term money kept outside | ||
| Interruption scenarios and liquidity floor |
Risk
| Prompt | Answer | F / A / Fc |
|---|---|---|
| Financial loss or delay the household can absorb | ||
| Volatility I believe I can tolerate | ||
| Income, debt, dependant, and guarantee constraints | ||
| Employment / business / property concentration | ||
| Conditions that would force an early sale |
Use the lower of financial capacity and emotional willingness. Neither is a score.
Permitted roles and boundaries
| Broad claim / regu | Concentration | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| lated vehicle | Job | Main risk | Cost / tax to verify boundary |
Forbidden actions or products I do not understand:
Contribution, review, and sale rules
| Decision | Rule | Trigger / date | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contributions | |||
| Rebalancing review | |||
| Permitted sale | |||
| Policy exception | |||
| Full policy review |
Custody and advice
| Control | Status / location | Last verified |
|---|---|---|
| Legal account ownership | ||
| Nominee / succession status | ||
| Strong authentication and alerts | ||
| Fees, conflicts, and custody explained | ||
| Adviser / intermediary registration checked | ||
| Complaint route recorded |
Never record live credentials here.
Decision record
| Proposed ac | Evidence miss | Proceed / | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| tion | Policy fit | ing | Cost / risk | pause / reject Review date |
Professional review flag: personalized allocation, security selection, tax treatment, retirement modelling, insurance, estate planning, and complex or private claims may require appropriately registered or qualified advice and current official sources.
TOOL · Chapters 13–16 · SEBI investor education · existing complete masterbook Tool 08. Purpose, horizon, risk, policy, custody, and review controls consolidated; no allocation is prescribed.
Tool 07 · 168-Hour Time Budget
Use from two representative weeks before accepting a new commitment. Capacity is what remains after reality and a chosen buffer.
Header
| Owner | Weeks audited | Plan week | Review date |
|---|
Actual and planned week
| Weekly use | Recent actual hours | Energy / constraint Next-week hours note |
|---|---|---|
| Sleep and recovery | ||
| Health, food, and personal care | ||
| Family and ments relationship commit | ||
| Employment or core delivery | ||
| Commute and transitions | ||
| Household work and administration | ||
| Learning and deliberate practice | ||
| Unstructured rest and play | ||
| Other | ||
| Total committed | ||
| Nominal discretionary hours = | 168 − total committed = | . |
| Chosen interruption and recovery | buffer = . | |
| Schedulable capacity = nominal | discretionary hours − buffer | = . |
Attention map
| Work type | Credible hours Best window | Environment / boundary |
|---|---|---|
| High-focus creation or learning | ||
| Customer or collaborative work | ||
| Routine administration |
| Work type | Credible hours Best window | Environment / boundary |
|---|---|---|
| Recovery after high-load work |
Commitment gate
Use the full time cost: preparation + execution + travel/transition + follow-up + recovery.
| com | de | |
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Keep / defer / | |
| mitment | Result / due | Full hours Calendar block lete / delegate |
This week’s one must-win:
Protected relationship, health, or recovery commitment:
Operating mode
□ Protect □ Standard □ Expansion
| Mode reason | What pauses | Warning signal | Mode review date |
|---|
Persistent exhaustion, anxiety, pain, impaired sleep, or reduced function is not a spreadsheet problem. Seek appropriate support.
Close the loop
| Decision | Calendar action Owner | Due date | Proof | Week-end review |
|---|
TOOL · Chapters 17–19 · existing complete masterbook Tool 02. Capacity, attention, full-time-cost, buffer, and mode decisions consolidated.
Tool 08 · One-Year & Ten-Year Map
Use annually and after a real life change. It is a direction and evidence map— not a prediction or age-based quota.
Header
| Owner | As-of date | Version | Next annual review |
|---|
Define enough
| Dimension | What enough means | Evidence | Boundary that changes a decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety | |||
| Responsibility | |||
| Choice | |||
| Time | |||
| Contribution |
Anti-goals—status games, risks, or ways of working I refuse:
One-year evidence
| Account | One-year observable state | Next ninety-day proof | F / A / Fc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Money visibility and margin | |||
| Debt and obligations | |||
| Protection and continuity | |||
| Earning capability and proof | |||
| Productive ownership | |||
| Relationships and reputation | |||
| Health and energy | |||
| Time control | |||
| Family and responsibility |
| Account | One-year observable state | Next ninety-day proof | F / A / Fc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contribution and meaning |
Ten-year evidence gates
| Stage | Evidence that would permit the next stage | Current gap | Reversible next action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Control | |||
| Transferability | |||
| Ownership | |||
| Autonomy | |||
| Stewardship |
The next freedom
The next freedom I am building is:
It will be real when this evidence exists:
Action due this month:
Assumptions and pre-mortem
| Assumption | Evidence today | If false, what changes? | Check date |
|---|
Imagine the one-year plan failed. Name the three most plausible causes and the early warning signal for each.
| Failure cause | Early warning | Prevention / response | Owner |
|---|
Close the loop
Commitment to schedule Opportunity to decline Uncertainty to investigate Review date
Professional review needed for any legal, tax, investment, insurance, estate, ownership, health, or employment commitment?
TOOL · Chapters 4 and 20–24 · existing complete masterbook Tool 01. Enough, evidence-gate, freedom, assumption, and pre-mortem decisions consolidated.