The Holistic Map
Eight systems, one chart, and the one thing to work on next
Most ADHD tools give you a score and leave you with it. The Holistic Map does something narrower and more useful: it puts your eight systems side by side, shows which one is carrying the strain, names the single system that sits upstream of it, and leaves the ones it has no evidence for visibly blank.
It is free, it is built entirely out of rows you created, and no language model touches it — the numbers are arithmetic you could check by hand.
An example map — invented numbers, real layout
Solid a measurement is behind it. Hatched one weak source — thin. Dashed and empty nothing recorded yet, left blank rather than scored zero. Higher means more strain.
This map reads: sleep is the loudest system, and rhythm sits upstream of it. Five of eight systems are firm, confidence is medium, and the recommendation is to work rhythm — not sleep — first.
What it actually is
Every question you ask the coach lands on one of eight systems — that is how the coach decides what to answer from. The sixty-second measurement puts a number behind five of them. The quarterly profile puts a number behind all eight. The map is those three things arranged in one view, with two claims on top of them: which system is carrying the most strain, and which system sits one step above it.
That second claim is the whole point. The thing you noticed is usually not where it started. Sleep is the loudest system on most maps, and rhythm — light, caffeine timing, when you eat, when you move — is almost always what is producing it. A chart that only ranked your symptoms would send you to work on sleep. This one sends you upstream.
What it is not
It is not a diagnosis, not a screen, and not an ADHD test. Every input is self-reported. The two instruments behind it are original coaching instruments with a published specification and published norms, not validated clinical measures. It says nothing about medication. If you want something a clinician can use, the plan report is the artefact for that conversation — and it is explicit about its own limits too.
The eight systems
Fixed, named, and each pointing at exactly one system above it. Every chain ends at rhythm, because rhythm is the only one with nothing upstream of it.
| System | What it covers | One step upstream |
|---|---|---|
| Rhythm | Light, timing, caffeine, movement, meals | — (the root) |
| Sleep | Falling asleep, staying asleep, waking restored | Rhythm |
| Energy | Daytime capacity, the afternoon drop, exhaustion rest does not fix | Sleep |
| Load | Stress load, and how fast the body comes down from it | Rhythm |
| Focus | Starting, staying, switching, the cost of interruption | Sleep |
| Mood | Steadiness, irritability, flatness, rejection sensitivity | Sleep |
| The body | Held tension, jaw and shoulders, breath, the residue of bracing | Load |
| Digestion | Appetite, timing, bloating, the gut side of dysregulation | Rhythm |
This is the same map the Whole-System Loop uses to decide what an answer should be about, so the chart and the coach cannot disagree about what sits above what.
How it is computed
By arithmetic, published here, that you could redo on paper. No model is involved in producing a single number on the chart.
Three inputs, weighted
| Input | Weight | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Regulation Profile | 50% | 24 items, six domains, scored 0–16 each, taken quarterly. Measures all eight systems. |
| Regulation Index | 30% | 5 items, scored 0–4, total out of 20, taken weekly. Measures five systems. |
| Your own questions | 20% | How often you have asked about that system in the last 120 days. |
Both instruments score higher for better regulation, while the map scores higher for more strain — so measurement scores are inverted on the way in. Only the inputs that exist are weighted: the present weights are renormalised, so a system with one source is scored on that source rather than dragged down by two absences. Repeated questions about one system saturate rather than accumulate, because asking about sleep ten times is evidence that sleep is on your mind, not that it is ten times worse.
Four bands
The 0–100 result is named, because a bare number invites precision that is not there: settled below 25, holding to 50, strained to 72, overloaded above that. Every bar on the chart prints its band in words next to it.
Three levels of evidence, drawn differently
This is the part most tools skip, and it is the reason to trust the rest.
| Level | Means | Drawn as |
|---|---|---|
| Firm | A profile domain measures it, or a weekly measurement plus a question of your own. | A solid bar. |
| Thin | One weak source. Three of the five weekly items each map to two systems, so a number alone cannot separate them. | A hatched bar, labelled “thin”. |
| Blank | Nothing recorded for that system at all. | An empty dashed row — never a zero. |
A zero would read as “settled”, which is the exact opposite of “unknown”. So unmeasured systems stay visibly empty, the map states its own confidence — low, medium or high — from how many systems are firm, and an account with nothing in it is told your map is empty, which is the correct starting point rather than shown a shape.
How to get one
Four steps. Three of them are free, and the first one needs no account at all.
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Ask one real question
Type what is actually happening, in your own words, on the homepage. You get an answer and a sixty-second practice. It is filed against one of the eight systems, which is the first mark on your map.
Free · no account
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Take the sixty-second measurement
Five questions, a score out of twenty. The Regulation Index puts a number behind five of the eight systems and is designed to be retaken weekly, so the change is a number and not a mood.
Free · no account · 60 seconds
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Make an account, so the rows are kept
An email and a password. The map is computed from rows that belong to somebody, so it needs somebody to belong to — and the moment it exists, the chart appears. Twenty-five tokens come with it and ten more arrive at the start of each month.
Free · no card, ever
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Fill the blanks, then go deeper if you want to
Your map names its own gaps and hands you the free action that closes each one: a question about a system with nothing behind it, or the quarterly profile that measures all eight at once. Only the written interpretation on top — a read, a plan, a pattern — costs tokens, and the map tells you the price before you spend one.
Free to fill · 3–5 tokens to interpret
What is free and what is not
The line is simple and it is drawn in one place: if a model has to write it, it costs tokens. Everything else is free.
| Thing | Cost | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The map itself | Free, always | Arithmetic over your own rows. Charging for it would be charging you to look at your own answers. |
| Coach answers | 1 token | A model reads a closed corpus and writes an answer. The first one is free without an account. |
| The measurement, the profile, the reset library | Free | Deterministic. Nothing is generated. |
| A read of your map | 3 tokens | Written interpretation: what is driving your numbers, and what to leave alone. |
| A seven-day plan | 5 tokens | One small practice a day, built for your lowest item. |
| A pattern across everything you have asked | 4 tokens | Reads your whole question history together rather than one at a time. |
| A 45-minute clarity call with Pen | Free | When the thing in the way is not information, the next step is a person. |
Tokens come in packs and never expire. The full price list is published, including the monthly free allowance, and nothing on this site charges a card you have not chosen to enter.
Questions people actually ask
What is the Holistic Map?
A chart of eight systems — rhythm, sleep, energy, load, focus, mood, the body and digestion — each scored 0 to 100 for strain, built from three inputs you generate yourself: the subjects of the questions you ask the coach, a five-item weekly Regulation Index, and an optional twenty-four-item quarterly Regulation Profile. It names the system carrying the most strain and the one system that sits one step upstream of it. It is a coaching tool for deciding what to work on next, not an assessment and not a diagnostic instrument.
Does the Holistic Map cost anything?
No. The map is free with a free account and is intended to stay that way. It is arithmetic over rows you created, and no language model runs to produce it, so there is nothing to charge for. Tokens pay only for writing a model does on top of the map: a read of what is driving your numbers (3 tokens), a seven-day plan (5 tokens), or a pattern across everything you have asked (4 tokens). A new account gets 25 tokens and 10 more at the start of each month, with no card required at any point.
Why do I need an account to see the chart when the answers are free?
Because the chart is made of your history and history has to be stored against someone. Answers are one-shot: a question is answered and nothing needs to be kept. A map is the opposite — it is worth something only once there are several questions and a measurement or two behind it, and those rows have to survive closing the tab. An account is an email and a password, no card, and the coach, the reset library and the sixty-second measurement all work without one.
How is the strain score for each system calculated?
By fixed arithmetic, not by a model. Each system draws on up to three sources, weighted: the quarterly Regulation Profile domains that map to it (50%), the weekly Regulation Index items that map to it (30%), and how often you have asked about it in the last 120 days (20%). Measurement scores are inverted, because both instruments score higher for better regulation while the map scores higher for more strain. Present weights are renormalised, so a system with only one source is scored on that source rather than being penalised for the missing ones. The result lands in one of four named bands: settled, holding, strained, overloaded.
What does it mean when a system on the map is marked thin or left blank?
Blank means nothing has been recorded for that system yet, and it is drawn as an empty dashed row rather than scored zero — a zero would read as settled, which is the opposite of unknown. Thin means one weak source: usually a shared measurement item. Three of the five weekly items each map to two systems, so a number alone cannot tell those two apart, and one question of your own about that system is what makes it firm. The map states its confidence — low, medium or high — from how many systems are firm, and it will say a map is empty rather than dress up nothing as a result.
What is the one-step-upstream rule?
A fixed map in which each of the eight systems points at exactly one system above it, and every chain ends at rhythm. Sleep sits under rhythm; energy, focus and mood sit under sleep; load and digestion sit under rhythm; the body sits under load. So the map does not only tell you what is loudest — it names the one system most likely to be producing it. When sleep is the loudest thing on a map, the recommendation is usually rhythm: light, caffeine timing, when you eat and when you move.
Is the Holistic Map an ADHD test or diagnosis?
No. It cannot diagnose ADHD or anything else, it is not screening, and it says nothing about medication. Every input is self-reported and the two instruments behind it — the Regulation Index and the Regulation Profile — are original coaching instruments with published norms, not validated clinical measures. The map's only job is to make one decision easier: which system to work on next, and whether the thing you noticed is the thing to work on or a downstream effect of something else.
What can I do with the map once I have it?
The map ends in an ordered list of next steps with the free ones first: ask about a system that has nothing behind it, take or retake the weekly measurement, take the quarterly profile that measures all eight at once, or book a free 45-minute clarity call. Below those sit the paid rungs — a read, a seven-day plan, a pattern insight — which exist because a model has to write them. You can also download a plan report to hand to a clinician or practitioner.
What if my map is mostly blank?
Then it says so. An empty map is told it is empty and a thin one is marked thin. That is the design, not a failure state — and the map's next step is always the cheapest action that closes its own biggest gap, which for a new account is usually one question or one sixty-second measurement.
Can I show my map to my doctor?
You can hand them the plan report, which includes the map, your measurement history and a share link that needs no account on their end. It states plainly what it is and is not, so nobody mistakes it for a clinical record. Bring it as a description of your own experience, not as a test result.
Can I delete it?
Yes, in one click, along with the account and every row behind it. Nothing survives that you were not told about.
Ask one question first. The map follows from it.
You do not have to sign up to find out whether this is any good. Type the thing that is actually happening, read the answer, run the sixty-second practice. If it was worth anything, the account is what keeps it — and the chart is what it turns into.
The Holistic Map is a coaching tool, not an assessment. It is built from self-reported inputs and from two original coaching instruments — the Regulation Index and the Regulation Profile — which have published norms but are not validated clinical measures. It cannot diagnose ADHD or any other condition, does not screen, and says nothing about medication. PKJ Coaching is not a licensed medical practice. Always consult your physician before changing any medication or treatment plan.