The 10 Life Nodes

Click any node to explore its purpose and importance

The Life Schema 10-node diagram

Select a Node

Click any node button above to learn more about its role in your personal operating system.

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The Life Schema book cover

About the Book

Author Gregory Hillis

As an IT professional, you know how to manage complex systems, maintain high-availability environments, and document every line of code. But when it comes to your own life--your health, your finances, your relationships, and your peace of mind--are you running on a legacy codebase full of bugs and "spaghetti logic?

Most productivity systems are "Soft." They focus on feelings and "hustle." The Life Schema is different. It is a hard-coded Information Architecture for the analytical mind.

Downloadable Resources

OS Root

The complete Life Schema operating system starter files.

Download ZIP

Audio Introduction

Listen to the introduction to The Life Schema.

Download MP3

Self-Assessment: Rate Your 10 Nodes

Evaluate where you stand with each node of your personal OS. Be honest—this assessment is for you.

Spiritual

Marriage

Family

Mental

Physical

Finance

Career

Friendship

Learning

Experience

The Node Readiness Checklist

Evaluate each node of your life using these four architectural principles:

1. Encapsulation & Clarity

  • Defined Boundaries: Have you clearly defined what this node includes and excludes?
  • Single Responsibility: Is this node focused on one primary outcome?
  • Naming Convention: Can you describe this node in a single, clear sentence?

2. Volatility Assessment

  • Internal Volatility: How often do the requirements change due to your choices?
  • External Volatility: How susceptible is it to environmental changes?
  • Brittle Points: Would failure in one part crash the entire node?

3. Interface & Integration

  • Dependencies: Which other nodes does this one rely on?
  • Communication Protocol: How do you track progress here?
  • Conflict Resolution: Do you have a "catch block" for node conflicts?

4. Performance & Health

  • Resource Allocation: Over or under-provisioning?
  • Current Status: Is this node currently set to Active/Healthy?
  • Technical Debt: Any "quick fixes" that need proper refactoring?

How to Score a Node

Rate each bullet above on a scale of 1–5. Multiply by the number of items to get your total:

  • 18–20 Points: Production Ready. Stable and requires only routine maintenance.
  • 12–17 Points: Refactoring Recommended. Significant "code smells" need addressing.
  • Below 12 Points: System Failure. Needs immediate architectural intervention.

Refactor Your Life via CLI

Define your life architecture with the precision of a system architect.

LifeSchema.json 

{
    "LifeSchema": {
        "Version": "1.0.0",
        "Author": "Gregory Hillis",
        "Target": "Personal_Operating_System",
        "Nodes": [
            {
                "ID": "Node_01_Spiritual",
                "Priority": "Critical",
                "Status": "Active",
                "Volatility": "Low",
                "MaintenanceInterval": "Daily"
            },
            {
                "ID": "Node_02_Marriage",
                "Priority": "Critical",
                "Status": "Active",
                "Dependencies": ["Mental", "Finance"],
                "LastRefactor": "2026-04-15"
            },
            {
                "ID": "Node_03_Family",
                "Priority": "Critical",
                "Status": "Active",
                "Dependencies": ["Marriage", "Emotional"],
                "LastRefactor": "2026-03-20"
            },
            {
                "ID": "Node_04_Mental",
                "Priority": "Critical",
                "Status": "Active",
                "Volatility": "Medium",
                "MaintenanceInterval": "Weekly"
            },
            {
                "ID": "Node_05_Physical",
                "Priority": "Critical",
                "Status": "Active",
                "Volatility": "Medium",
                "MaintenanceInterval": "Daily"
            },
            {
                "ID": "Node_06_Finance",
                "Priority": "High",
                "Status": "Active",
                "Volatility": "Medium",
                "MaintenanceInterval": "Monthly"
            },
            {
                "ID": "Node_07_Career",
                "Priority": "High",
                "Status": "Active",
                "Dependencies": ["Mental", "Finance"],
                "LastRefactor": "2026-02-01"
            },
            {
                "ID": "Node_08_Friendship",
                "Priority": "High",
                "Status": "Active",
                "Dependencies": ["Community"],
                "MaintenanceInterval": "Weekly"
            },
            {
                "ID": "Node_09_Learning",
                "Priority": "High",
                "Status": "Active",
                "Volatility": "High",
                "MaintenanceInterval": "Continuous"
            },
            {
                "ID": "Node_10_Experience",
                "Priority": "Medium",
                "Status": "Active",
                "Volatility": "Low",
                "MaintenanceInterval": "Monthly"
            }
        ],
        "Constraints": {
            "EnforceBoundaries": true,
            "BalanceRequired": true,
            "NoSinglePointOfFailure": true
        }
    }
}