Begin Again: 3 Ways to Optimize Your Day

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. – Jeremiah 29:11

Life isn’t going to happen the way you want it to or even planned it to. When I was 5 years old, I planned out every year of my life from age 5 to age 100. What accomplishments I would make each year, what schools I would go to, what jobs I would have. I micromanaged my life to the point of obsession, giving myself more anxiety than necessary.

We don’t get to plan our lives to the minute detail, there’s a lot we don’t have control over. God is the ultimate editor and controller of our lives, and we should live a lot up to him. God has plans to prosper us, plans to give us a future that will exceed our expectations and dreams. Let’s leave control over the grand scheme of our life up to Him.

But we also have a lot we can control. We can plan our days and make a daily routine that would satisfy us and restore us.

Here are 5 key ideas that will help change your day to create a healthier and happier you.

1.          Structure your day around decisions, not impulses.

Our day must have intention. The night before each day, I get out my todoist app and my Outlook calendar and I plan the next day. What I want to get accomplished preferably and what I plan each hour to look like. I want to get a good sense of what each day will look like, leaving unplanned events to the minimal and contained to a bucket in the day, and revolving each day around decisions that I make myself. That way, I maintain an internal locus of control over my day. I don’t want to give in to impulses in the middle of the day, like, say taking a 2 hour nap after lunch when I’m supposed to be studying biology. That would deter my goals and take me in a direction that is far from what I want in reality.

2.          Adopt systems and solutions when problems arise.

A successful person has good systems in place to solve problems that arise during the day. For example, I used to constantly forget my passwords to commonly used websites, and I would have to reset my password every single time I need to make a new log in. Eventually, I created a system where I keep my user information and password info in an Excel sheet so I can easily reference it when I forget a password or two. Systems make life more efficient and keep you on top of your life. Life’s about organizing the chaos and developing systems of thinking and doing to make your days manageable.

If you can’t come up with your own system, steal someone else’s. Google other people’s systems, find out how other poeple solve problems likke yours, and if those solutiosn align with you, insert them into your day to day.

3.          Leave room to process.

Processing thoughts, feelings, events, people is necessary. You can’t ignore the people aspect of life, and you can’t ignore yourself. Learning to be self aware and aware of others is key to learning from your mistakes. I like to journal about past events and lessons I’ve learned from mistakes I’ve made. Trust me, I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, and life is all about refining and redefining the choices you make. You can’t change the past, but you can always make a different decision, a different choice, and begin again.

If one day doesn’t work out, begin again the next day. Keep on iterating until you find a routine that makes you happy.

So, are you ready to begin again?