The Vision Series Part 3, Your Perfect Day
The past two weeks, we’ve explored how to create a vision and then how to create the values to support that vision. This week we’re taking that foundation and mission and putting it to work. We’ll create the Perfect Day. This exercise walks you through how you’ll feel and act when you’ve achieved your vision.
The following is cut from the Set Your Vision course available for free when you subscribe to this blog. You can go through this exercise twice. Once is for your current state and once is for your future state. In your current state, it’s not going to be perfect, but you’ll find areas to improve. In your future state, you’re envisioning what you’ll be doing in 5 years. Your perfect day may change and evolve over time, so refer back to this exercise periodically and review what your perfect day looks like on a regular basis.
The Perfect Day
Your next exercise is the Perfect Day. This is another visualization exercise, but you’re getting very specific. You’re about to live out your perfect day. This is the life you envision creating for yourself and your family. You’ve got two sections to write for this exercise. You’ll first write out in broad terms your perfect day. From waking up to going to bed, think about the following:
– How do I want to feel every day?
– How do I want to look every day?
– Who am I spending my time with?
– What am I creating?
– Where am I traveling?
– What passion am I pursuing?
After writing your perfect day out in broad terms, write out the time-line for the day. Break it down into hour and half hour blocks. Work through this exercise in a current state and then what your perfect day will be in 5-years. This is a normal day of the week, so what you’re doing for a living should be included. The following is an example of my current state perfect day:
My Perfect Day
I wake up at 5:00am motivated and rested from a good night of sleep. I don’t hit the snooze button, I just go ahead and get ready for the shower. After brushing my teeth, I start the shower and read the morning Early to Rise newsletter while the water warms up. I’m out of the shower and dressed by 5:30. I take my morning meds and greens and head upstairs. I’ve got half an hour to get in my meditation, a stretch and do my daily gratitude entries. I’m feeling grateful for another day of improvement. I head back down stairs and get Jackson out of bed and ready for a show. He’s still small enough to carry around and that feels nice. I head back upstairs and put work towards my blog and future business.
At 6:30, I come back downstairs and get Jackson ready for school. I prepare my coffee and put on my shoes. Jackson is ready and I say goodbye to Olivia and the dog and give Meredith a kiss goodbye. I can feel the love from her.
I drop Jackson off at school and listen to a podcast on the way to work. I take a different route each day to keep my mind active. By the time I get to work I’m feeling ready to tackle the challenges ahead and excited to have the opportunity to invoke positive change. I walk the shop floor and tell people good morning. Check in on how they’re doing and answer any life questions they might have. I make it to my office and begin my day by putting on some jazz or classical music. I tackle my daily task list with my daily duties first. Then I move on to my biggest challenge of the day. Throughout the morning I am interacting with colleagues while staying focused on the goals of the day.
I take a break around noon and work on some personal development. Right now it’s learning Spanish. Following my break, I finish up the task for the day and look into my important/non-urgent tasks. They’re a priority in order to keep everything running smooth.
At 4:00 I begin to shut down for the day and make a new plan for the following day. It’s fulfilling to get in a solid day of work. I begin my walk to the back door at 4:25 in order to be in my truck by 4:30.
After I leave work, I listen to another podcast and head to the grocery store. I pick up some fresh food that I’ll cook for the family tonight. I get home a little before Meredith and Jackson, but Olivia is already home from school. I ask her how her day was and see how she’s progressing on homework. Now is the time for me to learn what’s going on in her life and give her my full attention. I’m very proud of how she’s taking responsibility in her life and showing independence.
Meredith and Jackson get home and I start cooking dinner. I ask them how their day went and we all sit down for dinner. We’re all very happy to be in each other’s company and Jackson says the blessing. The kids take care of the dishes following dinner and I get in a quick workout. It’s about 7:15 and I complete my workout by 8:00.
I sit with Meredith and Jackson while he watches a show or two and then we’ll put him down for bed. He entertains us with his energy and exuberance. After he’s down for bed, Meredith and I reconnect and discuss any challenges or wins we’ve had in our day. It’s nice to just be able to sit with her and not have many distractions. Around 9:00 I’ll start to prepare for bed. Brush my teeth and floss. At 9:30 it’s lights out for Olivia and I’m right behind. It’s been a great and productive day and I’m ready to tackle the next one.
Hourly View
5:00AM – Wake up and get in the shower.
5:30AM – Head upstairs for my morning routine.
6:00AM – Wake-up Jackson and work on blog and future business.
6:45AM – Prepare my coffee, take Jackson to school and head to work.
7:30AM – Arrive at work and walk the shop floor.
8:00AM – Sit down at desk and complete my daily tasks.
9:00AM – Begin work on most important task of the day.
10:00AM – Make myself available for meetings or check in with front office staff.
11:00AM – Continue work on most important task. Walk the shop floor and offer support/advice.
12:00PM – Break and personal time.
1:00PM – Check in with my daily task list. Finish up work on my most important task and start completing other items on my list.
2:00PM – Check in with my important/non-urgent list. Pick out an action item that stands out.
3:00PM – Finish strong and start closing out action items for the day.
4:00PM – Review the day and prepare a plan for the next day.
4:30PM – Leave work and head to the grocery store.
5:30PM – Arrive home and prepare dinner.
6:30PM – Eat dinner with my family at the dinner table.
7:15PM – Head to the garage for a workout.
8:00PM – Sit with Meredith and Jackson and relax.
8:30PM – Put Jackson down for bed and catch-up with Meredith.
9:00PM – Prepare myself for bed.
9:30PM – Kiss Meredith goodnight and head to bed. Lights out and dark room.
This is a pretty specific schedule and I try to follow it on a daily basis. When I follow this schedule, I’m more productive at work and at home. I’m more relaxed around my family because I’ve done all I can to be in the present with them. It’s basic completion of tasks that allow me to be my best at work and then to leave work behind and be my best at home. It also shows time blocks that I can adjust to add more time with my family, for myself or to be more productive at work.
In a future post, I’ll show my future state perfect day. For now, what does your perfect day look like?
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