The eight life domains — where an honest look actually matters

SCLPTR organizes daily reflection around eight life domains — time, money, relationships, health, career, spirituality, family, and identity — so your card meets you where you actually live, not in abstract "wellness."

Most apps flatten life into a mood score. We split it into territories where honest questions hurt usefully. Pick one or two domains in onboarding; your daily card draws from that pool when possible.

Why domains beat "how are you feeling?"

A 1–10 mood scale tells you what you already know: tired, stressed, fine. It rarely names which decision you're avoiding.

Domains force specificity:

• Not "I'm anxious" but which meeting you're dreading (time)
• Not "things are hard" but which conversation you're postponing (relationships)
• Not "I should be healthier" but which tradeoff you rationalized last night (health)

That specificity is what makes a two-minute practice land.

The eight domains — and where to go deeper

1. Time & Attention

What you say yes to, notifications, the meeting that isn't your work, the polite maybe that becomes yes eventually.

Go deeper: How to say no — Seneca on time

2. Money & Wealth

Spending, saving, comparison, the stories you tell about deserving — especially at midnight.

Go deeper: Visible reward vs. invisible wealth (Housel)

3. Relationships

Vulnerability, conflict, tone misread, the talk you're drafting in your head instead of having.

Go deeper: Reflection questions before hard conversations

4. Health & Body

Sleep, movement, the plan you meant to keep, the body you negotiate with after a long day.

Go deeper: Health honesty — when you already know the answer

5. Career & Meaning

Promotion, purpose, security vs. aliveness, the job that pays well but costs something unnamed.

Go deeper: Career reflection — purpose without the LinkedIn post

6. Spirituality & Death

Mortality, letting go, urgency, what outlasts you — without morbidity tourism.

Go deeper: Memento mori daily practice · Stoic evening reflection

7. Family

Presence, the "in five minutes" that was twenty, care vs. control with parents or kids.

Go deeper: Family presence — showing up vs. being in the room

8. Identity & Self

Shadow, authenticity, who you're performing as, irritation at others that mirrors you.

Go deeper: Jung on the shadow · Performing vs. being yourself

How domains shape your daily card

Onboarding stores your domain picks. Each day, the app:

1. Takes your active pack (default: free Mirror)
2. Filters cards matching your domains when possible
3. Picks one card deterministically for the day (same card until local midnight)

Empty filter → all domains. Narrow filter → more targeted discomfort.

You can explore all eight in the category grid without changing onboarding — useful when one domain keeps haunting you.

Packs map to domains (not 1:1)

• The Mirror (free): 15 cards — cross-domain sampler, at least one touch per territory
• Memento Mori: spirituality, mortality, urgency
• The Honest Ledger: money, risk, stories we tell about wealth
• The Unfinished Sentence: relationships, almost-said truths
• Other paid packs: career, agency, leverage themes

Paid packs are optional depth. Mirror alone is a complete daily reflection practice.

How to choose domains (honestly)

Don't pick what sounds virtuous on a wellness quiz.

Ask:

• Where did I flinch this week when someone asked how things are?
• What email or text am I leaving unread?
• What would my closest friend say I'm avoiding?

Pick one or two. Depth beats coverage. You can rotate monthly.

Domains and the two-card flow

Every card, regardless of domain, follows the same rhythm:

1. Situation — second person, recognizable
2. Choice — two honest paths
3. Wisdom — thinker matched to your choice
4. Question — large, serif, one per day

Domain changes the content, not the respect for your intelligence.

Rotating domains monthly

Some people pick two domains for January — time and money — then switch to relationships and family in spring. Rotation prevents virtue tourism (touching everything, changing nothing).

Search and categories

Beyond onboarding, open Categories → category grid → packs. Search finds thinkers and topics across cards. Domains organize browse; search finds needles.

When one domain keeps returning

If health cards keep stinging, don't moralize — listen. Your body or schedule may be asking for structural change, not another insight.

Same for money shame, relationship dread, career grayness.

A week across domains — one card per day

Mirror rotates through territories over time. A sample week might feel like this:

Monday — Time: Meeting with no agenda. You join from habit. Question: What would I do with this hour if I weren't afraid? Saying no essay pairs well.

Tuesday — Money: Midnight cart. Comparison spike. Question about the story you tell when you deserve to spend. Housel frame.

Wednesday — Relationships: Tone misread in a text. Drafting replies in your head instead of calling. Hard conversation questions.

Thursday — Health: Walk postponed. Scroll extended. Question about enough tonight. Health honesty.

Friday — Career: Visibility project vs. craft. Sunday heaviness without burnout. Career reflection.

Saturday — Spirituality: Finite time filter — who deserves a call before next week assumes itself. Memento mori.

Sunday — Family / Identity: "In five minutes" deferred. Or irritation at someone who mirrors you. Family presence · Jung shadow.

You won't get this exact sequence — daily card is deterministic per pack and filter. The point is specificity: each domain names a different leak.

Choosing domains when everything hurts

Overwhelmed people pick all eight or none. Better move:

1. Ask a close friend: What am I avoiding?
2. Pick two domains max for thirty days.
3. Rotate monthly if the sting moves.

Virtue tourism — touching every domain, changing nothing — is mood-app behavior in philosophical clothing.

Domains in onboarding vs. Categories

Onboarding filter: Narrows daily card pool when your active pack has matching cards.

Category grid: Browse any category anytime without resetting. Useful when one domain haunts you mid-month.

Search: Finds thinkers and topics across packs — domains organize browse; search finds needles.

Active pack: Mirror (free) samples all eight. Paid packs emphasize themes — Memento Mori (spirituality), Honest Ledger (money), Unfinished Sentence (relationships).

How the full flow works · What SCLPTR is.

Experience signal: why domains exist

We tried a single "daily reflection" without territories. Cards felt generic. People said they were "fine" — the app couldn't help.

Domains force the situation to land somewhere recognizable: not abstract wellness, but the meeting, the cart, the deferred five minutes. Two minutes works because the question is specific enough to hurt usefully.

We also rejected mood scoring. A 6/10 Tuesday tells you nothing about which conversation you're drafting instead of having.

Extended FAQ

Do domains overlap? Yes. Family is relationships; career eats time. Cards pick one primary domain; you connect dots.

Can I get all eight in one week? Mirror sampler spans domains over time; daily card is one domain per day.

Can I change domains later? Reset onboarding in Settings, or browse any category in Categories without resetting.

What if my domains don't match today's card? Algorithm prefers your filter; if the pool is thin, it widens. Active pack matters.

Are all domains in every language? Mirror cards: EN, DE, ES, FR. Paid packs: EN card text for now.

One domain keeps stinging? Listen. Structural change may matter more than another insight.

How many domains should I pick? One or two. Depth beats coverage.

Reflection vs. meditation? Comparison guide — domains are the specificity meditation apps don't provide.

Open SCLPTR, select your domains, take today's card. Done for today is enough.

Related: What is SCLPTR? · How SCLPTR works · Daily reflection practice guide