Does a perfect day exist? What would that day look like? Is it practical or a fantasy?
What would it mean to live an ideal day? What if you could wake up tomorrow and have the best day of your life?
Perfect Day – Mine
I’ve experienced my perfect day, and I love it.
Bizarrely, it’s only occurred when I’m unemployed. When I’m between jobs, looking for more work, I’m having the time of my life.
Granted, I’m generally broke during these days – so that’s an issue – but my actual waking and working hours are filled with happiness and peace.
I get up at an appropriate time. I don’t sleep in for too long, and don’t wake too early. Falling asleep at 11 PM and waking at 7 AM feels appropriate. Not too much, and not too little – just the right amount.
As soon as I wake I hit the shower. I can’t function until I’ve had a shower. I’m sure there are scientific reasons, but when I miss my shower, I feel like a hobo. I feely dirty, and my head also never truly wakes up. I feel like a zombie all day.
I stand in the shower and think. There’s no real structure to this, other than I let my mind race and figure things out. But it lessens the pain of being tired, and I come out refreshed.
Perfect Day – Routine
Then I do my morning routine. I eat breakfast, listen to music, read the Bible, journal, pray, and exercise. That may sound like a lot, but it only takes an hour. And it makes a world of difference.
The days that I journal are filled with optimism and hope. The days I skip it or sleep in, are filled with dread. Utter terror and despair.
So it’s important I get it done.
Perfect Day – Work
After that, it’s time to work.
I turn on the computer and prepare to write.
I do this funny thing where my computer isn’t connected to the internet. Any crazy distractions, like Windows updates or notifications, drive me insane. It even helps to tempt me from surfing the internet looking at random sites.
I can do all that later. I can check Facebook and ESPN later. For right now, it’s time to write.
So I bang out an hour’s worth of fiction. And that’s it. Whatever my writing goal is for the day, I hit it, then stop. No more, no less.
I make an agreement with myself, that I can screw around after I hit the goal.
But it seems like every day I sit down to work, it feels like I’ll never succeed.
Staring at that blank screen is terrifying. I think whatever I have accomplished in the past, I will never be able to reproduce again. Doubt creeps into my mind.
The easier option is to quit, or surf the internet, or read a book.
It feels like every day I sit down to write, is the most difficult day of my life. Like I’m a phony and a fake.
But then it happens. The words inevitably flow and I’m in the zone.
I really enjoy the writing session and an hour later feel like I’ve won the lottery. I feel like I just wrote the most amazing piece of fiction in the history of the world and people will pay me millions of dollars for my stories.
Ultimately, most of the stuff I write is crap. But that’s ok. It allows me to pick the diamonds in the rough and run with what’s great – and to toss what’s not.
Perfect Day – Breaks
Then I take a break. I eat a banana.
It’s important to take breaks in your day. If you work for 8 straight hours you’ll go insane. So don’t do that. Take lots of mini-breaks throughout the day and you’ll feel amazing.
So then I get back to work. If I’m looking for a job, I’m blasting out my portfolio and resume. Or I might edit, or blog, or have other real work to do.
If the morning writing session is the most important thing I have to do that day, then the following hour is the second most important. I don’t wait. Whatever it is, just get it done.
Because ultimately, I want to have a leisurely afternoon.
If I work hard in the morning, I feel at ease in the afternoon. Because sometimes after lunch I’m tired and want to take a nap. And it’s ok to rest. I’ve already accomplished the most important thing and can do whatever I want.
Sometimes though, there’s other work issues that pop up, or emails to send, or phone calls to return. This is a great time for these time-suck energy-wasting activities. They do need to get done, eventually, but not before other more important items.
Perfect Day – Fun
But then sometimes my day frees up. There’s nothing else to do and it’s a great day outside, so I go for a bike ride. Or a run. I just get to do something physical, that I enjoy, that wakes up my mind and makes me feel great.
For me, a run in the afternoon is fun. Any other time is torture.
Once everything is done, and I’m feeling great from the bike or run, I’ll sit down to read. Reading is fun too and I like to find good books. I like to plow through them.
I’ll read for a little bit in the afternoon, and pick it up again later at night. It feels so great to read a good book, after accomplishing all that other important stuff. It’s a great way to end my day.
And I like that routine so much, that I could do it all day, every day. At least for now.
—
What does your perfect day look like? Have you experienced it yet? What’s preventing you from experiencing your perfect day now?
