Mood Check-In -> Matched Practice

<p><strong>Why this helps:</strong> Brief, structured emotion check-ins ("affect labeling") help regulate distress; matching a person to the right next step lowers the friction that keeps people from acting on how they feel. The routing logic here follows the matching-support model described in Amabile and Kramer's progress research (2011) for momentum and the awe and venting findings cited in items 21 and 24.</p><h4>Screen 1 — Check-in prompt</h4><p><strong>Heading:</strong> How are you, right now.</p><p><strong>Subhead:</strong> No wrong answer. Pick the word that fits this moment, not the whole day.</p><p><strong>Body:</strong> You do not have to fix anything yet. Naming it is the first step, and you have already started.</p><h4>Screen 2 — Mood options (single-select, 8 tiles)</h4><p>Present eight tiles. Each tile shows the label and a one-line cue underneath.</p><p>1. <strong>Wired</strong> — My mind is racing and I cannot slow down.<br>2. <strong>Heavy</strong> — I feel low, flat, or weighed down.<br>3. <strong>Anxious</strong> — Something is tight in my chest or stomach.<br>4. <strong>Angry</strong> — I am frustrated and it is sitting close to the surface.<br>5. <strong>Tired</strong> — I am drained and want to power down.<br>6. <strong>Restless</strong> — I cannot settle, and I cannot say why.<br>7. <strong>Numb</strong> — I do not feel much of anything.<br>8. <strong>Steady</strong> — I am alright, and I want to stay that way.</p><p>Below the tiles, one soft line: <strong>Not sure. Choose Restless and we will start gentle.</strong></p><h4>Screen 3 — Routing confirmation</h4><p>After a tile is tapped, show a single short sentence, then the matched practice with a <strong>Begin</strong> button and a <strong>Show me something else</strong> link.</p><p>Confirmation copy per mood:</p><ul><li><strong>Wired</strong> -&gt; "Let us bring the speed down before bed." -&gt; route to <strong>Sleep: Wind-Down Breathing (4-7-8)</strong>. Secondary: Relax: Hand and Face Self-Massage (item 20).</li><li><strong>Heavy</strong> -&gt; "We will not force cheerfulness. We will look for one true bright spot." -&gt; route to <strong>Relax: Reverse To-Do (item 22)</strong>. Secondary: Pray: Comfort prayer track.</li><li><strong>Anxious</strong> -&gt; "Let us give the worry somewhere to go." -&gt; route to <strong>Relax: Vent-and-Vanish (item 24)</strong>. Secondary: Sleep: Box Breathing.</li><li><strong>Angry</strong> -&gt; "Heat first, then quiet. We will lower the temperature, not feed it." -&gt; route to <strong>Sleep: Slow Breathing / cool-down</strong> (calming, low-arousal). Secondary: Relax: Vent-and-Vanish (item 24) with the honest note that venting alone rarely cools anger.</li><li><strong>Tired</strong> -&gt; "Good. Let us help you actually rest." -&gt; route to <strong>Sleep: Body Scan / Sleep Story</strong>. Secondary: Relax: Sabbath Mode (item 23) to protect the wind-down.</li><li><strong>Restless</strong> -&gt; "Let us move your eyes off the screen and onto something larger." -&gt; route to <strong>Relax: Awe-Scroll (item 21)</strong>. Secondary: Relax: Eye-Rest 20-20-20 (item 19).</li><li><strong>Numb</strong> -&gt; "We will start with the body, since words are far away right now." -&gt; route to <strong>Relax: Hand and Face Self-Massage (item 20)</strong>. Secondary: Relax: Weather-Aware suggestion (item 25).</li><li><strong>Steady</strong> -&gt; "Then let us protect it." -&gt; route to <strong>Relax: Reverse To-Do (item 22)</strong> to savor the day. Secondary: Pray: Gratitude / Examen track.</li></ul><h4>Screen 4 — After the practice</h4><p><strong>Heading:</strong> How is it now.</p><p>Offer the same eight tiles a second time. If the mood moved toward calm, show: "That counts. You showed up for yourself, and it shifted." If it held the same, show: "Some days the needle barely moves. That is still care, and you still did it. Want to try one more, or rest here for now."</p><h4>Routing logic (developer reference)</h4><p>```<br>mood -&gt; primary_route, secondary_route<br>wired -&gt; sleep/wind-down-breathing-478, relax/20-hand-face-self-massage<br>heavy -&gt; relax/22-reverse-todo, pray/comfort<br>anxious -&gt; relax/24-vent-and-vanish, sleep/box-breathing<br>angry -&gt; sleep/slow-breathing-cooldown, relax/24-vent-and-vanish<br>tired -&gt; sleep/body-scan, relax/23-sabbath-mode<br>restless -&gt; relax/21-awe-scroll, relax/19-eye-rest-20-20-20<br>numb -&gt; relax/20-hand-face-self-massage, relax/25-weather-aware<br>steady -&gt; relax/22-reverse-todo, pray/examen<br>```</p><p>Default fallback if no selection within 20 seconds: route to <strong>relax/21-awe-scroll</strong> (low-effort, no input required). Store each check-in locally with a timestamp so the user can see their own pattern over a week, never shared, never uploaded.</p><h2>Sources</h2><ul><li>Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer, "The Progress Principle," Harvard Business Review / Harvard Business School Press, 2011 — matching people to meaningful forward steps drives better inner work life.</li><li>Matthew Lieberman et al., affect-labeling research summarized in Keltner's awe work and broader emotion-regulation literature — naming an emotion reduces its intensity.</li></ul>