Milestone map
Milestone map
3 milestones
Establish a Mood Baseline
14 days
You cannot improve what you have not measured. Over 14 days, record a daily mood rating (1–10 scale, each evening), noting the three most influential factors for that day: sleep quality, physical activity, social contact, daylight exposure, or meaningful purpose. Administer the validated PHQ-2 screening on Day 1 and Day 7 to anchor your subjective ratings against a standardised benchmark.
Proof required
Submit your 14-day mood diary with daily ratings and listed factors, plus both PHQ-2 scores (Day 1 and Day 7) with dates and total scores. Identify the factor that appeared most frequently in your diary as the primary influence on your mood.
What gets checked
- 14 consecutive days of evening mood ratings — partial diaries or back-filled retrospective entries do not count
- Both PHQ-2 administrations included with dates and scores; a PHQ-2 completed once only is insufficient
- Primary influence factor clearly identified with evidence from the diary — not assumed from preference
Resources
Foundationstart here
Depthgo deeper
What a verifier looks for
- Count the number of diary entries — must be 14; fewer entries mean the baseline is incomplete and unreliable
- Confirm both PHQ-2 administrations are present with dates at least 5 days apart; a single PHQ-2 is not a baseline
- The primary influence factor must be supported by the diary data, not just asserted — check that the stated factor appears most frequently in the 'three factors' column
- Rating mood in the morning rather than the evening — evening ratings capture the full day's arc and are more diagnostic
- Recording multiple days at once from memory — the value of a diary is contemporaneous capture; recalled entries compress variation and hide patterns
- Selecting the primary factor by intuition rather than by counting frequency across 14 days
Target Your Primary Influence
8 weeks
Using the primary factor identified in M1, commit to one consistent daily practice for eight weeks that directly addresses that factor: sleep timing regularity if sleep quality dominated, 20 minutes of aerobic movement if physical activity dominated, one meaningful social contact per day if social connection dominated, 30 minutes of outdoor time if daylight dominated, or one purposeful task completed daily if meaning and purpose dominated. Record weekly average mood ratings at the end of each week, and administer the PHQ-2 at Weeks 4 and 8.
Proof required
Submit your 8-week practice log showing the daily practice chosen, a tick or note confirming each day's completion, weekly average mood ratings for all 8 weeks, and PHQ-2 scores at Weeks 4 and 8 with dates.
What gets checked
- One clearly defined practice — not a combination of two or three changes simultaneously, which makes attribution impossible
- All four PHQ-2 scores present (Day 1, Day 7, Week 4, Week 8) enabling a trend across the programme
- Weekly mood averages calculated from daily entries, not estimated; if an average appears without underlying daily data, request it
Resources
Foundationstart here
Depthgo deeper
What a verifier looks for
- Check that the practice chosen matches the primary factor identified in M1 — a different practice chosen for convenience is not compliant
- Verify PHQ-2 scores are present at four time points across the programme; a PHQ-2 only at start and end misses the Week 4 mid-point
- Weekly averages must be derivable from the daily log — if no daily entries support an average, treat it as estimated and flag it
- Switching practice mid-programme when early results are slow — mood change via lifestyle is typically visible at 4–6 weeks, not 1–2
- Targeting the secondary factor because it feels more approachable — the primary factor has the greatest lever on your baseline mood
- Logging the practice as 'done' at the start of the day before completing it, then not returning to record the actual outcome
Document and Compare the Change
2 weeks (final diary) after 8 weeks of practice
At the conclusion of the 8-week programme, run a final 14-day mood diary mirroring the M1 format — same evening rating, same three factors per day. Administer the PHQ-2 on Day 1 and Day 14 of this final period. Compile a comparison table showing: average daily mood (M1 baseline vs M3 close), PHQ-2 scores across all five administrations, and the consistency percentage of your primary practice (days completed ÷ 56 days). Obtain an attestation from someone who interacted with you regularly across the whole programme and observed your mood at both the beginning and the end.
Proof required
Submit your 14-day final diary, all five PHQ-2 scores with dates, the comparison table with both mood averages and practice consistency percentage, and the attestation confirming who the observer was, how they interacted with you, and what mood-related changes they noticed between the beginning and end of the programme.
What gets checked
- Five PHQ-2 scores in total (Day 1, Day 7 of baseline; Weeks 4 and 8 of practice; Day 1 or Day 14 of final diary) — fewer than five leaves a gap in the trend
- Attestation covers both baseline period and final period — an observer who only saw the last two weeks cannot confirm change from baseline
- Comparison table includes practice consistency percentage, not only mood scores — consistency quantifies how well the intervention was applied
Resources
Foundationstart here
Depthgo deeper
What a verifier looks for
- Verify that the attester is named and their relationship to the submitter is described — 'a friend' is insufficient; 'my flatmate who lives with me and saw me daily' is sufficient
- PHQ-2 scores of 3 or above on any administration should prompt a note in the proof that the submitter is aware of the threshold and has considered or accessed professional support — this is not a rejection criterion but a welfare check
- The comparison table must include practice consistency percentage — a high mood improvement with 20% consistency is a very different finding from the same improvement with 90% consistency
- Choosing an attester who was not present at the beginning of the programme — the core value of attestation is witnessing change over time
- Submitting only mood averages without the underlying daily diary entries — averages cannot be verified without the source data
- Treating a PHQ-2 score of 3 or above as routine and not seeking GP advice — PHQ-2 is a screening tool, not a clinical diagnosis; scores suggesting moderate or severe depression warrant professional follow-up regardless of trend direction