What would your ideal day look like?
In my last post, I discussed how challenging “doing nothing” can be, because of the feeling that we’re “being unproductive” or “wasting our time.” That is, of course, If we’re looking at the value in the context of capitalism and our worth delivered from our role in keeping the capitalist machine well oiled. However, like all things, with time, this process of being unproductive has gotten easier and I’ve been more able to more actively and fully enjoy exploring parts of my life outside of traditional 9-5 work.
One of the best things I’ve been able to do is prioritize my health. Within the first two weeks of being laid off, I was able to go to the dentist, the chiropractor, and three doctor appointments I had been putting off for months. I also started working out almost everyday, given the energy and emotional/physical bandwidth to actually build a habit. I now have more time to cook at home, which includes making kimchi from scratch and cooking dishes that take more than 20-30 minutes to make. I was also able to take care of parents who both caught Covid the week after I stopped working (talk about timing)! There is no way I could have given them the attention they needed had I still been at my job. Sometimes the universe just knows.
As I’ve shared the update with friends, several have asked me how I spend my days—out of genuine curiosity. I guess it can seem overwhelming in some ways to have that much unstructured free time if all you’ve ever known is being busy or if you’ve never really spent time to think about how you would like to spend your time. What’s so ironic about this is that most of us dream about how wonderful our lives will look like once we retire, but retirement is essentially unlimited free time. I had been planning to take a mini-retirement when I was ready to leave my last job, which I expected to be in about two years or so. However, as is often the case, life had a different timeline in store for me, so I found myself with an opportunity to take time off after a short three months into the job. But because I had been thinking about doing this and had even put together a rough budget, I was quickly able to pivot into taking the leap now. As previously mentioned, I am able to take some extended time off from a financial perspective because I had built a financial cushion (partially knowing that I would one day want to have this experience!). While I was working, I had been saving about 40% of my income and was trying to be very conscious about how I was spending my money in order to ensure that I could spend generously on the things that matter most to me.
If you are interested in retiring someday (or taking some extended time off), I highly recommend the following exercise of imagining what your ideal day would like to begin to think about how you might spend your time. I learned about this exercise from Jillian Johnsrud in her ChooseFI podcast episode as a great way to start thinking about how you might spend some extended time off from a 9-5 either in a mini-retirement or even full retirement.
Designing your ideal life—one day at a time:
With as much detail and specificity as possible, write out what your ideal day would look like if you had no time or money constraints. People often imagine their best life as a single type of experience like the vacation of their dreams or a specific moment like getting promoted to head honcho at their company. But, most days in life are just everyday kind of days, where we live by whatever routine in whatever environment we've created for ourselves. So, take some time to envision what the day-to-day would look like in your ideal life. This can include places, people, or things that you have not yet found or incorporated into your life but you want in this ideal life. For example, if you’re currently single, but imagine in your ideal future that your future partner will be there doing things beside you, include them. And because there are things we do on a weekly/monthly or yearly basis, but not every day, also list out what those experiences would include.
The idea is that you are in full abundance mode as you imagine a life that feels authentically true and exciting to you. Remember, you’re not designing a life for other people, so don’t include anything that others might think of as ideal, but the things that bring you joy. Here are a few suggestions and questions to consider while you write out your ideal day.
Feel free to write your ideal day like a schedule with either specific or general times
Include sensory details where applicable. What do you see, feel, smell, etc. as you go through your day?
You might start off writing down whatever comes to mind and then see how it all feels. You can always add or remove items on the list
Since you can also add things on a weekly/monthly or annual basis, see what rings true for you and play around with the cadence of certain activities. For example, in your ideal life, are you seeing friends once a day, once a week, or a few times a month?
Be imaginative. Don’t limit yourself to the life you know now. We’re talking about your best life you can’t wait to live!
I’ve modeled the exercise here with my own ideal life. Remember, this is an example, so feel free to draw inspiration where applicable and forget the rest. Once you’ve finished the exercise, check out this article on how to utilize this amazing life you’ve come up with.