I have some free time right now. Should I read or should I write? I’ve learned to choose by checking in with my body. Do I feel an appetite for absorbing new information? Or do I feel a need to express myself in some way? In other words, am I feeling

?

Classifying my mood by that simple criterion has helped me a lot. When I’m feeling productive, I know I’ll have a hard time quieting my mind to read. And when I’m feeling absorptive, I know it’s a great time to make progress on a book.

Recently it occurred to me I could do more binary tests like this one. After I determine I feel like consuming rather than producing, I might ask myself whether I feel like doing something active or something passive. Watching TV for example can be active or passive depending on whether you watch a documentary about an unfamiliar topic or rewatch your favorite sitcom.

By adding a second axis, we upgrade our binary test into a matrix. And the more criteria we add, the more precisely we can chart our moods.

Are you in a mood to expend energy or do you need to refuel? The same answer will have different implications for different people. For introverted people, having “expensive” capacity at a given moment offers an opportunity to socialize. For extroverted people, it might be a good chance to attend to personal chores.

After determining that you want to watch a movie – a fine choice when one is feeling passive-absorptive-regenerative, by the way – you can figure out whether you want to do your passive absorbing alone or with other people.

While going through this exercise, you don’t have to pick a point on each spectrum. I think it’s unlikely you’ll have answers for all. (Ah yes, I’m feeling productive-active-social-regenerative, that’s the word I was looking for!) But with every choice, you filter down many possible activities into the ones best suited to your current mood.

Are you in a social-regenerative mood? Meet with friends to do something that nourishes you. Or are you feeling social-expensive? Do something that you’re not easily motivated to do but that your loved ones want to do with you.

Choosing an activity based on how you’re feeling in the moment is a good way to evade the taxing experience of forcing yourself to do something through willpower alone. But learning how your moods and energy levels fluctuate is also useful for planning.

It’s important to notice which activities are expensive for you. Whether you’re a morning person or a night owl, dedicate your expensive mood to

. Make time afterwards for your regenerative activites. Whether you’re more introverted or extroverted, take note of how often you need social interaction to keep a healthy balance. If producing is important to you, dedicate time to absorbing as well. As Stephen King writes in his book On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft: