The Ideal Day (part 2/2)

As it turns out, dreams are not always realistic (or even ultimately desirable!).

:)

[tippytoe]

You sound like me when I go for walks. I gotta stop and look at everyone’s garden and pet all the cats. Now that you have a balcony you can do a little gardening 👍 Enjoyed this experiment. I liked someone else’s suggestion of keeping a checklist so you’re not as concerned about the time.

[carolinejiang]

So I also attempted on finding the perfect day/optimizing my routine thing and here's what I learnt: Ok, actually I wasn't looking for the maximal amount of joy in a day but for productivity because I intend to finish writing my thesis (and I am procrastinating right now as you can see from the fact that I'm here...).
However... my experience was that firstly, it is impossible to make a schedule and stick to it every day because too much of a day is not under your control, e.g. you might plan to go on a walk and then the weather is horrible etc. Secondly, it can build up a lot of pressure for feeling good when doing the things you planned that are supposed to be recreative. E.g. I also enjoy walks in nature when I do it occasionally, but when I do it every day, I will get used to it and it doesn't feel that amazing after a few weeks of the same walk over and over again. But I might still expect to feel the same happiness that I felt at the beginning and that actually builds up a lot of pressure.
So my conclusion from these experiments actually was to go back to living the day as it comes - with the difference that now I enjoy and embrace the unique opportunities that every day brings more. I think that many decisions on how we spend our time in a day are somehow made by our subconsciousness; until a few months ago, I haven't spent too many thoughts on how to "live" a day and it still went quite well. Maybe now I trust my subconsciousness more - it has 24 years of experience of being me, so why would I try to take control of everything my subconsciouness did all of a sudden? When you think about it, making the right decisions to live a happy day is actually a really complex thing^^

[joshuamoore]

Well Lefie, as Helmuth von Moltke the Elder once said, "no plan survives contact with the enemy." The enemy, in your case, being LA traffic.

[catherineg.]

The "'Til next time is back !"

[sonipitts]

Yep. The whole "innovate, iterate, and curate" trifecta is just about the best way to perfect any aspect of your life you want to change.

[katiek.]

I love that you explained the failures and lessons from the day, instead of framing this as a LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT HOW TO BE PERFECT AND PRODUCTIVE, SINCE I AM A PERFECT AND PRODUCTIVE MINIMALIST thing. (Not that there are youtubers like that out there... :P) This approach is so accessible/relatable/useful! Thank you, Lefie :)

[lara.genevieve_]

This is great... i reckon people get caught up in the "perfect day" complex (myself included) by just imagining it but not doing it! If we all tried this then maybe we'd learn the imagined version isn't as perfect as we thought 😂
Great way to start my day, thanks Lefie 😊

[AmandaJYoungs]

What I love about listening to KEXP is that I have an online friend of many years, who I've never met and who lives in Seattle, and she listens to it too! (I'm in the UK.) Brilliant part two, Lefie. This is just the kind of content I want to see when I come to YouTube. Thank you for this feedback on your experiment. I think I'll give it a go too and see where it gets me/what it teaches me. :-D

[Capataro]

It kinda blows my mind that I never thought about my I should do that now, thanks Lefie

[JasonPolkovitz]

Would you consider a checklist instead of a schedule? That would keep you from feeling rushed as it would allow you to do the things sometime during the day without feeling like you had to do them NOW.

[CrisTryingToBeProductive]

I'm a simple person, my ideal day is the one when procrastination and distraction don't win lol

[CristyCay]

I've heard of the ideal normal day before but I think this is the first time I've actually seen someone try it. Really good idea!

[Parkitloveit]

That’s more or less what I saw when I did that as well 👍 I needed 30 or more ideal days to be able to find the perfect one, which consist of 3 to 5 options now depending on where I am and who else is involved. I wish you good luck and a great day ❤️🍀

[scottclan]

You always entertain me, educate me, and make me feel better. Thank you!

[lynnoorman]

What you would want to include in your ideal day changes over the years. I semi- retired early and now about 50% of my days are doing what I like when I like. Including: not getting out of bed until 8.30 ( pure rebellion against all the years I was forced to get up at 6.30); eating delicious, nutritious food slowly ( rather than gobbling down whatever); going for walks in nature ( rebellion again against being stuck inside much of my life). But 9nce upon a time my ideal day would have included eating tons of chocolate cake and going shopping to buy what ever I liked in Camden in London. Interesting to reflect on.... thanks for another though provoking video.

[Loefoll]

I really loved this; how it kind of did not work but still also worked out great as a step in the journey (of life, I guess!). And what is more important than that? A successful experiment, I would say :) I want to try this too now.

[adelagarcia]

It is uncanny how often your posts address something going on in my life. I have a birthday tomorrow; could there possibly be a better day for me to attempt an Ideal Day? Lefie, you are funny, you are quirky, insightful, eloquent, gifted, and I congratulate you on being a very brave heart.

[Ginut]

luv yer face! So, very, glad you're back!!

[tubezaspiak]

You look happy. Maybe its the sunshine. :)

[ANNtique]

Yes! I’ve been looking forward to this