Daily Hassles
Daily life can be a joy or a burden….and it can change from day to day. Some things you clearly know are routinely an uplift or a hassle, but if you take this little test regularly you may start to recognize a pattern of things you weren’t previously aware of. With that self-knowledge, you may decide to make a change or get support around something. Sometimes taking action (or accepting) something around one thing (even a small thing!) can make a huge difference.
There might be shorter or newer tests like this, but I like this one. I’m giving you their official instructions, but don’t get lost in the details…just take the test honestly at least this once or—better yet—regularly over a span of time, and see what you will see.
The Hassles and Uplifts Scale
(The rest of the material on this page is directly quoted from the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1988, 54, 486-495. Thanks! )
“HASSLES are irritants – things that annoy or bother you: they can make you upset or angry. UPLIFTS are events that make you fell good: they can make you joyful, glad, or satisfied. Some hassles and uplifts occur on a fairly regular basis and others are relatively rare. Some have only a slight effect, others have a strong effect.
This questionnaire lists things that can be hassles and uplifts in day-to-day life. You will find that during the course of a day some of these things will have been only a hassle for you and some will have been only an uplift. Others will have been both a hassle AND an uplift.
Directions: Please think about how much of a hassle and how much of an uplift each item was for you today. Please indicate below the question (under “Hassles”) how much of a hassle the item was by circling the appropriate number. Then indicate (under “Uplifts”) how much of an uplift is was for you by circling the appropriate number.
Please fill out this Questionnaire just before you go to bed.
Directions: Please circle one number on the left-hand side (hassles) AND one number on the right-hand side (uplifts) for each item.
1. Your child(ren)
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
2. Your parents or parents-in-law
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
3. Other relative(s)
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
4. Your spouse
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
5. Time spent with family
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
6. Health or well-being of a family member
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
7. Sex
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
8. Intimacy
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
9. Family-related obligations
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
10. Health or well-being of a family member
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
11. Fellow workers
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
12. Clients, customers, patients, etc.
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
13. Your supervisor or employer
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
14. The nature of your work
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
15. Your work load
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
16. Your job security
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
17. Meeting deadlines or goals on the job
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
18. Enough money for necessities (e.g., food, clothing, housing, health care, taxes, insurance)
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
19. Enough money for education
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
20. Enough money for emergencies
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
21. Enough money for extras (e.g., entertainment, recreation, vacations)
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
22. Financial care for someone who doesn’t live with you
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
23. Investments
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
24. Your smoking
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
25. Your drinking
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
26. Mood-altering drugs
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
27. Your physical appearance
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
28. Contraception
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
29. Exercise(s)
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
30. Your medical care
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
31. Your health
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
32. Your physical abilities
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
33. The weather
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
34. News events
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
35. Your environment (e.g. quality of air, noise level, greenery)
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
36. Political or social issues
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
37. Your neighborhood (e.g., neighbors, setting)
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
38. Conserving (gas, electricity, water, gasoline, etc.)
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
39. Pets
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
40. Your physical abilities
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
41. Cooking
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
42. Housework
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
43. Yardwork
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
44. Car maintenance
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
45. Taking care of paperwork (e.g. paying bills, filling out forms)
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
46. Home entertainment (e.g., TV, music, reading)
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
47. Amount of free time
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
48. Recreation and entertainment outside the home
(e.g., movies, sports, eating out, walking)
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
49. Eating (at home)
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
50. Church or community organizations
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
51. Legal matters
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
52. Being organized
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
53. Social commitments
Hassles: 0 1 2 3 Uplifts: 0 1 2 3
Hassles and Uplifts Scale
How much of a hassle was this item for you today?
0 = None or not applicable
1 = Somewhat
2 = Quite a bit
3 = A great deal
How much of an uplift was this item for you today?
0 = None or not applicable
1 = Somewhat
2 = Quite a bit
3 = A great deal