How to Have a Good Day

01Plan your day: Know what you want to achieve and go for it!

Let's talk about a simple yet powerful idea: the way we approach our day can significantly impact our overall life. It's all about setting a deliberate direction for our day. This idea is based on the belief that our view of the world is shaped by our priorities and assumptions. By consciously deciding what's important to us, we can control what we focus on and how we interpret what happens to us. Think about it this way: the way we live each day adds up to the way we live our life. We all have good days and bad days, and these are often influenced by whether we're in a defensive or discovery mode. When we're in defensive mode, we're just reacting to what's thrown at us, and it can feel like we're drowning. But when we're in discovery mode, we're clear-headed and actively looking for ways to move forward. The cool thing is, we get to choose which mode we're in each day. We can let life happen to us, or we can take charge and be intentional about how we spend our day. When we feel like we're not in control, our bodies react by releasing adrenaline. It might feel thrilling at first, but it quickly leads to muddled thinking and poor decision-making. To spend more time in discovery mode, we can divide our day into three parts: morning, daytime, and nighttime. Being deliberate about how we spend our morning is key. Our brains are constantly filtering through tons of information to create our personal reality. By taking a few minutes each morning to mentally prepare and check our assumptions and priorities, we can change our experience of the day, making it more productive and enjoyable. Here's a simple three-step system for setting intentions: aims, attitude, and attention. First, figure out what's most important for the day. What actions do you want to take? What conversations do you want to have? What work do you want to do? Identify what's most important to make the day a success. Find one or two clear outcomes that these activities lead to and set aside a block of time to focus on this work. Next, check your attitude. A lot of us start the day with rose-colored glasses. But it's important to balance optimism with realism. This is called mental contrasting. It involves thinking hard about both the outcomes you want and the obstacles you're facing and planning for both. For instance, US Navy Admiral James Stockdale, who spent eight years in a Vietnamese POW camp, said: “You must never confuse faith that you will prevail at the end which you can never afford to lose with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality.” This means that while staying positive is important, it's equally crucial to acknowledge and plan for potential challenges. Finally, prime your attention with images and words related to your goals or intentions. This helps your brain make connections with similar images or words, increasing the chances of you noticing opportunities to move forward and finding creative solutions to problems. Research at Harvard Business School involving over 9000 people working on creative projects found that the chances of creativity were higher when people could focus on one task for an uninterrupted period. Those who were interrupted experienced limitations in their creativity. This highlights the importance of setting aside dedicated time for important tasks and maintaining focus. In a nutshell, setting a deliberate direction for your day involves consciously choosing your priorities, checking your attitude, and priming your attention. By doing so, you can shift from a defensive mode to a discovery mode, making your day more productive and enjoyable.