You Don’t Need More Gear.
You Need to Know What You’re Actually Preparing For.
Most people who decide to “get prepared” make the same mistake.
They start buying things.
Food buckets. Radios. Generators. Gear lists pulled from the internet.
And almost none of it is tied to a real understanding of what’s most likely to happen where they live, how long it will last, or what will actually fail first.
The Personal Preparedness Assessment Workbook exists to fix that problem.
This is not a checklist.
It’s not a survival fantasy.
And it’s not built around worst-case scenarios divorced from reality.
It’s a structured, professional assessment framework adapted from national emergency management doctrine and redesigned for individuals, families, and Mutual Assistance Groups (MAGs).
If you’ve ever asked:
- “Am I preparing for the right things?”
- “Where are my real weaknesses?”
- “What would actually break first if things went sideways?”
This workbook gives you answers.
Preparedness Starts With Understanding Risk
Most people prepare for what sounds scary.
This workbook teaches you to prepare for what’s probable, impactful, and disruptive.
You’ll work through a structured Threat and Hazard Assessment that forces you to evaluate:
- Natural hazards
- Technological failures
- Man-made threats
- Supply chain disruptions
- Power, water, and communications failures
Each threat is assessed using multiple factors—probability, impact, warning time, spatial extent, and duration—so you can clearly see which risks deserve your time, money, and attention.
The result?
You stop guessing—and start prioritizing.
From “Stuff” to Systems
Preparedness fails when it’s treated as a pile of supplies instead of a set of interdependent systems.
This workbook walks you through every major preparedness domain, including:
- Food and water
- Power and fuel
- Communications
- Medical and dental
- Transportation and navigation
- Security and protection
- Shelter, clothing, and heat
- Sanitation and hygiene
- Tools, equipment, and maintenance
- Pets and animal care
But it doesn’t just ask what you have.
It asks:
- Is it sufficient?
- Is it balanced?
- Can it be sustained?
- Can it be managed under stress?
You’ll see where abundance hides fragility—and where small improvements deliver outsized resilience.
Capability Matters More Than Inventory
Supplies don’t solve problems.
People do.
One of the most powerful sections of the workbook focuses on Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities—both yours and those within your household or group.
You’ll assess capabilities like:
- Medical and trauma care
- Food production and preservation
- Power generation and repair
- Mechanical and construction skills
- Communications and information sharing
- Planning, coordination, and leadership
- Security and situational awareness
This quickly exposes an uncomfortable truth:
No one is self-reliant alone.
That’s why the workbook places heavy emphasis on Mutual Assistance Groups (MAGs)—how to evaluate them, strengthen them, and identify the skills you’re missing before you need them.
Think Like Emergency Managers—Without the Bureaucracy
The framework behind this workbook is adapted from the same concepts used by professional emergency planners and responders:
- Preparedness conditions (PREP-CON)
- Core capability-based planning
- Logistics and supply chain management
- Intelligence and information sharing
- Situational awareness and lifeline assessments
These ideas are translated into plain language, practical exercises, and visual tools that make them usable at the personal and community level.
You’ll learn how to:
- Anticipate disruptions instead of reacting to them
- Organize information so it’s actionable under stress
- Assess conditions quickly after an incident
- Make better decisions when time and information are limited
Built to Be Used—Not Just Read
This workbook is meant to be worked through, not skimmed.
It includes:
- Step-by-step assessment exercises
- Visual assessment wheels that reveal imbalance at a glance
- Structured worksheets for logistics and skills
- Clear guidance on turning gaps into plans
It’s paired with downloadable Excel tools that automate calculations, inventories, and summaries—giving you fast snapshots of your preparedness posture and progress over time.
You can revisit it annually, after major life changes, or as your group grows.
This Is Preparedness for the Real World
This workbook doesn’t assume:
- You’ll be alone
- You’ll have unlimited resources
- You’ll face only one problem at a time
- Help will arrive quickly—or at all
It assumes:
- Systems fail before people expect
- Cascading effects matter more than single events
- Logistics and communications are always stressed
- Planning on a blue-sky day determines outcomes on a gray-sky one
If you want preparedness that is deliberate, realistic, and grounded, this workbook gives you the framework to build it.
Know Where You Stand—Before It Matters
Preparedness isn’t about fear.
It’s about clarity.
When you know what you’re preparing for, what you’re capable of, and where your gaps are, every dollar and every hour you invest becomes more effective.
