The Skill-Enjoyment Matrix
Rate skills on competence and joy to find your highest-leverage talents
The Skill-Enjoyment Matrix is a simple but powerful prioritization tool. You list all your skills, then rate each one twice: once for competence (1-10) and once for enjoyment (1-10). You add the two scores together. Any skill scoring above 15 is a high-alignment talent that deserves your focused attention and investment. Skills below 15 are candidates for delegation, outsourcing, or deliberate de-prioritization.
The genius of this approach is that it weights enjoyment equally with competence. Traditional career advice focuses on what you are good at, but the ikigai philosophy insists that being good at something you hate is a recipe for comfortable misery. By requiring both dimensions to score high, the matrix filters for skills that are both strong and energizing, which are exactly the skills most likely to sustain long-term excellence and purpose.
This matrix also serves as an input to time management. Once you know which skills score above 15, you can audit your time to see how much of your day is spent on high-alignment activities versus low-alignment ones. The goal is to progressively shift your time budget toward your 15-plus skills and away from everything else.
- A skill you are great at but hate using is a trap, not an asset.
- Skills scoring above 15 (competence + enjoyment) represent your highest-leverage investment opportunities.
- Time spent on low-scoring skills should be minimized through delegation, outsourcing, or elimination.
- Self-assessment should avoid comparison to others and focus on your own growth trajectory.
- The matrix should be revisited periodically as skills develop and interests evolve.
- List All Your SkillsWrite down every skill you possess, including professional skills, soft skills, hobbies, and natural talents. Include things like leadership, empathy, public speaking, and technical abilities. Aim for at least 15-20 items.Pro tipAsk colleagues, friends, and family what they see as your skills. You likely have blind spots about abilities you take for granted.
- Rate Competence (1-10)For each skill, rate your current competence level from 1 (beginner) to 10 (expert). Be honest but not self-deprecating. Rate against your own potential, not against the best person you know in that field.Pro tipIf you are unsure, think about whether people come to you for help with that skill. If yes, you are probably a 6 or above.
- Rate Enjoyment (1-10)For each skill, rate how much you enjoy using it from 1 (dread it) to 10 (lose track of time doing it). This is about the feeling during the activity, not the outcome or the paycheck.Pro tipThink about whether you would do this skill for free on a weekend. If yes, it is probably a 7 or above on enjoyment.WarningDon't confuse the enjoyment of being praised for a skill with the enjoyment of doing it. External validation fades; intrinsic enjoyment sustains.
- Calculate Combined ScoresAdd the competence and enjoyment scores for each skill. Sort the list from highest to lowest. Draw a line at 15. Everything above the line is your focus zone. Everything below is a candidate for reduction.Pro tipPay special attention to skills with high enjoyment but lower competence (e.g., 5+9=14). These are growth opportunities where investment in skill could push them above 15.
- Reallocate Your TimeAudit how you currently spend your time against your ranked skills. Are you spending most of your time on 15-plus skills, or on lower-scoring ones? Create a plan to shift at least 20% more of your time toward your high-alignment skills over the next month.Pro tipUse a time log for one week (30-minute increments) to get honest data about where your time actually goes before making changes.WarningSome low-scoring skills are non-negotiable (e.g., basic administration). The goal is not to eliminate them entirely but to minimize and batch them.
A person with dozens of skills and interests felt paralyzed by choice. After rating all their skills on competence and enjoyment, only four scored above 15. This dramatically narrowed their focus from scattered dabbling to intentional mastery in their highest-alignment areas.
An accountant rated their technical accounting skills at 9 for competence but only 3 for enjoyment, producing a score of 12. Meanwhile, their people management and mentoring skills scored 7+9=16.
The Skill-Enjoyment Matrix is presented in the book as part of the self-reflection process for discovering your ikigai. Stevens introduces it as a practical tool during the talent-discovery phase, recognizing that most people have never systematically evaluated which of their many skills actually energize them versus which they perform out of obligation or habit.
The tool draws on the broader ikigai principle that talent alone is insufficient. The Japanese concept insists on the integration of skill with passion, and this matrix operationalizes that principle into a five-minute exercise anyone can do with a pen and paper.