How to Find Gaps in Your Preparedness 

Ok, so, you’re feeling pretty good about your preparedness, right? You’re starting to get a good supply of food and water, getting involved in the community and generally feeling alright about things, right?

Great! That is fantastic news.

But don’t forget…preparedness is a lifestyle, and I guarantee there will always be gaps in our preparedness because at some point or another, we tend to hyper-focus on things. And that’s ok! Nothing wrong with that, but we also want to make sure we’re as well-rounded as possible.

A few years ago I was feeling super good about where I was in my preparedness, then one day I had to answer a first aid question and…I couldn’t answer it. I had no idea what to do in that particular situation.

So for the next year, I really dedicated myself to learning as much as I could about first aid skills and techniques.

Now I feel a lot more confident, but also understand that there’s always more to learn.

So how do we figure out the gaps?

Step 1:

Take an inventory of everything. Food, skills, time, budget, etc.

Write down a list of all of your gear, skills, knowledge, food, water, and everything that you already have. We’re trying to find gaps in all areas of our preparedness. But first, we want to know what we currently have. And be honest, this list is going to help physically see those gaps. Try to categorize it the best that you can.

I use the Prepper Nerd inventory system, it has so much information and ways for me to keep solid track of my inventory, plus they even have an offline system.

Step 2:

Take a look at my list of gear, skills, and knowledge guides to see what you might want to acquire or learn.

Then, write a list of food and gear you’d like to get one day, as well as any skills or knowledge you’d like to learn.

Step 3:

Look at those lists and figure out where the gaps are. What did you list under your food? Do you see a lack of anything? Maybe you see an abundance of some things but a lack in other areas? Those are the gaps.

Maybe you see that you’re amazing at car maintenance but lack basic gardening skills.

Or how about you have a lot of books on gardening and no books on cooking.

Step 4:

Make a plan of action! When will you be able to acquire the food, water, or other gear? When will you be able to learn new skills? Once a week? Once a month? Be realistic. Make a logical timeline that works with your budget and life. If you can only learn one skill a month, so be it. If you can only buy one big item a month, great! Make realistic goals.

Step 5:

Run drills! Running evacuation drills, blackout drills, fire drills, and so on will help you to figure out huge gaps in your preparedness because you’re actually “experiencing” what it might be like during an emergency. Of course, it won’t be exactly like that, but it will show you what you might need to do or what else you might want to acquire to make a real emergency go a lot smoother.

Step 6:

Profit. By being prepared, that is!

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The above steps absolutely take a bit of time and effort. Take an assessment every few months and re-assess where you’re at. By taking these assessments and inventories, you’ll see just far your preps and skills are growing! It’s not only a great way to find gaps, it’s a great way to see that you are truly making progress little by little on your overall preparedness life.