Design Your Ideal Day

“Give every day the chance to be the most beautiful day of your life.” - Mark Twain?

The more in control of your days you become, the more likely you are to win your days and the more days you win, the more likely you are to win in life.??

Taking control of your days is key to optimal performance, you have to control your day or your day will control you. Have you ever woken up and just fallen into the swing of things and then the end of the day comes around and you feel like you haven’t achieved a single thing, other than getting through the day??

I’ve had my share of days where I would open my email, while still in bed and one single email would derail my day because I allowed it to dictate what I did next, because it took me from a proactive state to a reactive state. Truthfully, reading that email right at that moment or two hours later after my morning routine wouldn’t have made any difference to the result, but it certainly would have changed the way I responded and how I felt about my day as a whole. Giving up my power like that, took away control of my day and had me responding to someone else’s agenda and ignoring my own priorities, leaving me on the back foot for the rest of the day. I do not like to be on the back foot.??

Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t have some massively complex morning routine, it generally involves drinking water before a coffee, meditation and stretches, mindful breakfast eating (i.e. no screens), planning for my day and setting my intentions for the day,? that kind of thing but it allows me, a non-morning person, to ease into my day instead of being flung into it like a trebuchet. Some people like gentle parenting, I like gentle waking, but I’ve come to know this about myself, so I design my day to be perfect for me. Which is what you get to do too.?

Know Thyself

You have to know yourself really well to know when your energy levels are best suited to specific tasks and how you may need to adapt the routines and protocols to work for you since you're the only one who knows for sure if any of these things have a snowball's chance in hell of you completing it.

When is your energy highest during the day? When do you feel like you could almost certainly need a nap? For example, when your energy is high, do the creative stuff, where you can get into and stay in flow. Unfortunately for me, that time is between 6 pm and 2 am - not ideal. When your energy is feeling lower, do the less creative stuff.?

Visualise Your Ideal Day

Some of my clients tell me that they “can’t visualise” or “don’t visualise”, but that’s just not true.?

For example, imagine I slice a big juicy cold lemon right in front of you, and you pick up that lemon and take a massive bite of the flesh and your mouth suddenly fills with icy cold, lemon juice. What happens? You salivate, heavily, at the thought because you visualised biting into a lemon and tasting the sour, cold juice in your mouth. It definitely happens, because it’s happening to me as I type this. Your whole body reacted to a mere visualisation, rather than an actual event.

This is what happens when you visualise what you want, your body and your subconscious react because your mind is so powerful.?

Read through the list of suggested questions below, then close your eyes and imagine your ideal day. Feel free to add in any questions that are missing. This is your day, you get to design it.

• How is your day going to run??
• What is your intention for today?
• What do you want to achieve?
• Which goal will this help you to realise?
• What is your priority for today?
• To show up as your best self, what behaviours do you need to demonstrate?
• Add these items to your schedule for your day
• Do you have any affirmations or I am statements to support your day e.g. I am the architect of my day??
• What are your non-negotiables? For example, exercise, time with the family, lunch - schedule them in.?

Don’t Forget to Plan for Exercise

Plan your day, you know yourself and your body, when is the best time for you to exercise? For me it is between 1 pm and 6 pm, I’m awake, I’m alert and then I can get to sleep at night without feeling like I’m still buzzing from a late workout.

Plan your exercise into your schedule, and make it non-negotiable. Block out your calendar. You don’t have to go to the gym - there are literally thousands of other options. Move your body. If you don’t know where to start - message me, and I can help you to create a personalised plan (I’m a certified Level 4 Personal Trainer).?

Make One Thing Your One Thing

No multitasking. Did you know, there’s actually no such thing as multitasking? Your brain is not capable of doing two high-function activities at once and is instead switching, albeit rapidly, between tasks. It is EXHAUSTING and it does not save you any time, in fact, it probably costs more time to correct mistakes and repair inefficiencies because you miss things when you are task-switching, because neither activity has your full attention. And worst of all, task switching will tank your creativity. One thing at a time. (Of course it's possible, you own your day, and you get to make the rule.)?

Evening Routine

A day with a good morning routine obviously needs a good evening routine. Summarise your day, what worked, and what didn’t work. Rate your day overall - did you win? What can you carry over until tomorrow? Are there things on your list that you are just kidding yourself that you are going to finish? What is your pre-sleep routine like? Have you left enough time to get your 6 to 8 hours of sleep? Better sleep will help you rack up more wins.?????

Reviewing your day in this way helps you gain clarity on what works for you and what doesn’t, as well as identify any patterns that may be holding you back from optimal performance.?

By designing your ideal day, you can take control of your life, reduce stress, and achieve your goals. It's about understanding your energy patterns, setting clear priorities, and practising self-care.

Ready to take control of your day and achieve your goals? Schedule a complimentary coaching session today and let's work together to create your ideal day.

Fancy trying meditation??

I know I mentioned meditation earlier and sort of glossed over it, but I find it very helpful for clearing a cluttered mind and bringing myself back to focusing on what is really important.?

It doesn’t have to be woo and it doesn’t have to go to astral-planing levels of weirdness. If you fancy giving it a go, the easiest way would be to use a short, guided meditation on a free app like YouTube or Insight Timer (available on both iOS and Android).?

Honestly, you just need a quiet place to meditate and some headphones. You don’t even need to get out of bed. I have been known to meditate on the Tube, AirPods in, get comfortable, and start listening. I have even meditated in a quiet corner of the gym.

P.S. Don't forget to schedule a complimentary coaching session to dive deeper into your specific goals and challenges.