What does a perfect day look like for you? This isn’t about perfectionism, but about what makes your heart sing. So, have you thought about it? Would you recognize a perfect day if you stumbled on one?
Sometimes we get so caught up in our busy lives that we lose sight of what we most value and enjoy. Productivity is important, but if you go too long without replenishing yourself, you become less productive. Depleted, you lose touch with the wellspring of your inspiration and vitality — yourself.
So your time management efforts don’t always need to be about productivity. In fact, when you focus some of your energy on simply connecting with yourself in a relaxing and rejuvenating way, you increase your efficiency. Give this exercise a try, to get started on creating your perfect day.
Perfect Day Exercise
For a month, set aside 15-minutes a day. Select a time when you will be uninterrupted. If you can’t find 15-minutes, you can divide this exercise into three 5-minute segments.
Settle down in a comfortable spot and just relax for the first 5-minutes.
As you slow your breathing and focus inward, begin to imagine your perfect day. Where are you? What are you doing? How are you feeling? The more vivid your images, the better. What sounds, tastes, smells, and sights come your way as your day unfolds before you.
In the next 5-minutes, pick out parts of this experience that you can do on your own.
You are selecting this set of images because they are completely within your power to bring about. No one else needs to participate, except, perhaps, an animal companion. Let these images flow and expand. What are you doing? Breathe into it. How do you feel?
Make your perfect day real…
Identify a slice of your perfect day that you can duplicate in real time.
Choose something that expands your repertoire of pleasure. It can be something that you’ve never done, or maybe something that you usually don’t allow yourself to fully enjoy.
Now fully experience the slice of your ideal day that you’ve chosen.
Choose a time of day when it will be easiest for you to savor the experience. Allow yourself to absorb the fullness of it. Let yourself be totally in the moment.
It’s simple and profound…
Does this sound simple? It is, AND it provides you with 5 profound benefits that you can carry with you, moment-to-moment, throughout your life. In practicing this exercise you:
- Develop your powers of visualization. You can continue to call on this skill to reduce stress, enhance creativity and even promote healing in tiny slices of time.
- Clarify your values about how you want to use your time. As you learn about what time choices fulfill you, you become an expert on your own happiness.
- Create a pattern that’s easy to maintain. A month of practicing just 15-minutes a day establishes a new life pattern that adds daily pleasure to your life.
- Affirm your power to improve your life through your time choices. Nothing helps foster self-reference like experiencing simple pleasures you provide to yourself.
- Cultivate the gift of being in the moment. This focus stretches time and multiplies your capacity for enjoyment every time you tap into your perfect day.
One last thought:
Don’t just read this exercise and set it aside. It’s called an exercise because it works if you work. So how will you make time to give it a try and begin to reap the benefits, starting today? Remember, it just takes 15-minutes to get started.
Here’s more help for you…
Do you ever feel like life is coming at you too fast and you’re getting lost in the shuffle? Are you feeling at sea and rudderless? Unclear about what your priorities even are? Well, a time tool that I want to tell you about today is my E-Guide titled “Why Can’t I Find My Direction?” 17 Journaling Prompts to Create Your Ideal Life.
This E-Guide gets right down to business as it walks you through 17 journaling prompts aimed at helping you come to a deeper understanding of
- Who you are,
- What you value,
- What makes you tick and
- How you relate to your time choices.
Understanding any ONE of these things more fully is a great gift to give yourself. So I invite you to follow your heart as you clarify your priorities and find your path with “Why Can’t I Find My Direction?” 17 Journaling Prompts to Create Your Ideal Life. Click the link below to discover more about what’s possible for you.
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