One short and simple exercise I did a year ago that had a tremendous impact on what my life looks like today, is to write out what my perfect day would look like.
Basically you just take a sheet of paper (or your computer, if you happen to be one of those “hip” modern kids) and turn off all distractions for a moment.
Allow yourself to daydream about that one perfect day and write down everything that comes up. Really focus on the full experience. Include what you see, what you feel, what you hear. Perhaps even what you smell. The more senses you include the better. Stop yourself from using your rational mind while doing this. Don’t include anything you believe you “have to” include for optimal productivity or anything. Just do what would make you happy. It’s a fantasy. Why spoil those with the same limitations you have in real life? ?
Remember: Everything on this day is as perfect as can be. That means you’ve already achieved all your current goals. So the only thing you need to focus on is what you’d do on a perfect day if there was nothing left to need.
At first, this may seem like a simple journal exercise for when you got nothing better to do. But there’s a huge chance that once you’ll re-read it, you’ll realize most of the things you’ve written down are things you can already do today or tomorrow.
This means that you only have to make some very subtle lifestyle changes to make most of your days look a lot like that perfect day you just dreamed up.
Just compare the differences between that perfect day and what you’re actually doing with your days right now. Let go of what was not in your fantasy, and add what is not in your current life. It may sound simple, but have you tried it? Most people haven’t.
Knowing what a perfect day looks like for you, is more than half of the work it takes to actually have one every day.
The other half is realizing the ones that aren’t exactly what you wished for, are actually perfect in their own little way as well ?