✅ Positive Factors (Increase Effort)

Person Importance (pe)

How much you care about or are responsible for the person

Problem Importance (pr)

How meaningful the issue is in principle (values, goals, standards)

Life Impact - Near Term (li)

How much this affects your day-to-day life right now

Time Urgency (tu)

How soon action is required

Long-term Consequences (lc)

How much this will matter months/years from now

⛔ Negative Factors (Reduce Effort)

Outside Your Control (co)

How much is the situation outside your control?

Reversibility (re)

How easy it is to undo or recover from a wrong move

Emotional Toll (et)

How draining this is on your mental health/energy

📊 How the Formula Works

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Step 1: Calculate Positive Average

Average all the positive factors that increase your motivation to act:

p = (pe + pr + li + tu + lc) / 5 = (5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 5) / 5 = 5.0

Step 2: Calculate Negative Average

Average all the negative factors that reduce your motivation:

n = (co + re + et) / 3 = (5 + 5 + 5) / 3 = 5.0

Step 3: Compute Effort Ratio

Divide positives by negatives to see how motivation compares to barriers:

r = p / n = 5.0 / 5.0 = 1.0

Step 4: Normalize to Percentage

Convert the ratio to a 0-100% scale:

Brain Energy % = ((r - 0.1) / 9.9) × 100 = ((1.0 - 0.1) / 9.9) × 100 = 9%

💡 Understanding the Results

The ratio structure (p/n) is key: When barriers (negatives) are high relative to motivation (positives), your brain energy allocation decreases. This helps you avoid wasting mental effort on problems that are largely out of your control, easily reversible, or emotionally draining relative to their importance.