It was in Chris Guillebeau’s Manifesto, A Brief Guide to World Domination, where I read the notion of imagining your perfect day. It is felt that doing this exercise will help clarify ones dreams and goals and then better enable us to make solid plans toward living the kind of life we have always wanted.  Yes, it is possible to live a life designed by you rather than by others. I, however, was having somewhat of a difficult time with this exercise. It seemed that in envisioning my perfect day, I couldn’t get past breakfast!

I’ve been a pretty avid planner for most of my life.  I make lists and schedules and all that.  Back in the 80′s, I discovered Covey’s Franklin Planner system and since that time I’ve always written about and maintained a set of goals for myself which would outline monthly, yearly and five year ambitions.  I pretty much nailed the five year goals (writing them down really helps) but thinking about just one perfect day was beyond me.

How exactly did this work?  Is the exercise to envision a realistic perfect day?  Or could I go crazy and think about my fantasy day where I’m an international espionage agent?  Just to be sure I was covering all my bases, I considered both scenarios.  I’ll update you on another post about my perfect day and how I put those dreams into practice.

It was surprising how much I learned about myself.  I have done this type of thing before but on a bigger scale.  Thinking about a perfect day requires a far more specific process than planning a five year business/personal plan.  Both exercises are advantageous and worthwhile practices.  Don’t make the mistake of thinking this is a silly exercise; it’s harder than you think and you’ll find you have some work to do.   It requires time, effort and concentrated thinking.  The same was true when several years ago my best friend asked me a very simple question, “Lisa, What do you want?”  The question was surprisingly difficult to answer.  As a mom and a wife, I wasn’t in the practice of actually thinking about what I wanted.  If I had a dime for every time Laura asked me that question, but I was finally able to come to some conclusions and I’m much (much) happier and fulfilled today then I was 8 years ago.

In “A Simple System to Achieve Your Goals,”  Paul Meyers recommends we ask ourselves questions and visualize hour by hour what our perfect day would look like.  (You can get Paul’s word document for an ideal world here which includes a worksheet and Paul’s guiding hand to help.)  Perhaps you are the kind of person who needs to brain storm with a written list….go right ahead and do that.  Or maybe you are better at drawing out the possibilities in a sketch book or mentally visualizing your perfect day.  Do what is most comfortable for you.  Open your mind to all the possibilities.  Don’t be afraid to consider the ridiculous.  To start you off, consider some of these things:

Who would you hang out with?
What would you have for breakfast?
Where would you live?  What would it look like?
What kind of items would you surround yourself with?
What would you wear?
Where would you go?  Would you take a vacation?
Would you work?  What would your job be?

Perhaps more telling for me, was the question: What wouldn’t I do?  What wouldn’t I have?  You can bet my house would be free from all that clutter in the basement.  I’d rip apart that old porch hanging off my house and put down a floor of white pebbles, beautiful flowers, and a outdoor table for my morning breakfast.

“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.”
-Michael Althsuler

Of course, we are taking about change and removing ourselves from our predisposed comfort zone.  If you are comfortable and happy living the life you lead at present, this exercise probably isn’t for you.  If you are seeking some changes in your life, then that is what this is all about.  Making a list or envisioning a perfect day isn’t going to do much for you unless you actually put these things into practice and take the steps (even if they are baby steps) toward reaching your dreams.  And yup, there might also be risk involved.  When Laura asked me 8 years ago “Lisa what do you want,” it resulted in my separating from my husband.  That was just one of the decisions I had to come to terms with in my own way.  It was scary and very frightening but in order for me to breathe, it was something I needed to do.  Now having said that, I’m not advocating that you go out and do socially irresponsible or hurtful things just because it might bring you closer to your dreams.  There is no carte blanche for being an asshole.  Designing your perfect day is very personal endeavor and if you are looking to improve your life and make a happier reality, then this type of exercise is something you will return to time and again.  The idea is to become more and more fabulous over time.

In closing, I also want to point out that while designing your perfect day seems egocentric the long term benefits are not.  In removing the clutter and toxicity from your life, you will free up valuable time and energy that you can devote to pursuits in serving others.  As designers and artists, we spent a lot of time in seclusion.  It’s my belief that most people like to help and devoting time to others is a wonderful and rewarding way to give back, meet new people and expand the breath of your life.

What can Design do to Help Fulfill Govenment Promise of Change? AIGA
The AIGA XCD Center for Cross-Cultural Design
Americans for the Arts
United We Serve – President Obama’s Service Initiative, June 2009

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