Mind Management Angela May

Goal Setting 2: Your Ideal Work Day

This is the second in a series of goal-generating excercises, and this one is my favourite.  

As I entered my senior year of high school I had to choose between two diverging life-paths: pure art and pure science, and this excercise helped me find MY ideal career from among the many art/science/both-related options in the world.

This excercise has two simple RULES:

1) You must work during your day.  For the purposes of the excercise, "work" is any activity that can be monetized, or otherwise provide you with basic needs: food and shelter. When you think about what you will do for "work", dream about maximizing what you ENJOY doing (working with people? Being outside?) and minimizing what you DON'T (phone calls? travel?). Don't try to name a particular job or career just yet -- it might not even exist! -- just write out the things you do and don't enjoy doing based on the jobs/hobbies/volunteering that you've done before. What are the things that you like SO MUCH you would want to do them every day for FORTY YEARS?

2) Your lifestyle must be something statistically attainable with enough hard work. So no "winning the lottery" dreams or "marry rich" or "rock star" dreams. You can certainly play music or perform as your dream job, but very few people actually get to become rock stars. I'm not saying you can't or shouldn't go AFTER a dream of getting rich, just don't count on it. Will being a modestly successful musician who gets by playing local shows be enough for you? Focus on the JOURNEY more than the DESTINATION - your ideal DAY not your ideal LIFE.

Now,

Part One: "Imagine yourself sometime in the not-too-distant future and picture what you would consider your 'ideal workday.'

Imagine every part of your day, from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to sleep. Do you walk to your job in the big city, or do you work from home in the middle of the desert? How big is your house (or do you live in a house at all)? Is your job exciting - high stakes and high reward, or is it safer, and laid-back?

Who do you work with? The public? Children? A few trusted colleagues or a massive team? Perhaps you work completely alone?

When you get home, what do you do? Maybe you go out with your team and don't get in until late. Do you have kids? Do you have enough free time for a rewarding hobby? Do you have enough vacation time to take long sailing trips?  Write this dream down, in a story-type paragraph. Make sure to Visualize every aspect of your life, down to the smallest detail."

Part Two: Now ask yourself some questions about that vision:

Everything in life is a tradeoff, and you'll have to comprimise on some things to have others.

Would you be willing to live in a tiny trailer if it means you can ski the Colorado Rockies everyday? Are you willing to toil as a "starving artist" if it means someday opening up your own studio and having solo gallery shows and glowing critical acclaim? Will you be making enough money in your dream job to support the kids you want? Or maybe, is the dream job more important than the kids and you're willing to delay/not have children? 

Start hacking parts off of your vision: Okay, so I don't live in a Penthouse in Manhattan... I only live in a small apartment in Jersey.  But I still get to paint every day. What parts of the vision absolutely must be there for it to still be very desirable for you? How much are you willing to sacrifice to get it?

These are tough questions, but this back-and-forth process will help you narrow down what is MOST important to you, and what you're willing to live without (at least for awhile) in order to attain it.  Dream big, but remember ... success takes time.  Somtimes it takes a loooong time.

Part Three: RESEARCH

If you have a pretty good idea of what your dream day involves, but can't assign a particular career name to it - start asking around.  Seach keywords related to your ideal day "Skiing, job, Colorado, children..." you might be surprised what you can find! Ask others in your social network - particularly older, more worldly members.  "What is a job where I can ski every day, and work primarily with children?" It might take some time but once you have the name of the job, a lot of paths will open up to you. 

Alternatively, you might find that no job exists that will form your ideal work day. You might have to create it by going into business yourself. But be careful-- starting a business is not something to do lightly, and you will need to work twice as hard to learn what you need to know, and think creatively about how you will monetize (make money from) your lifestyle.  For awhile you might have to take on jobs that you don't enjoy or aren't good at until you have enough money to hire someone else.  Being your own boss means doing your own marketing, doing your own business taxes, shipping your own product, doing your own programming...
 

Part Four: GOALS. Finally, based on all this thinking and research, you need to write down everything that is between you and your ideal day.  Maybe it's a talent that needs to be developed further.  Maybe it's experience you need to gain in a certain area.  Maybe it's a degree.  Maybe you need to relocate. Maybe it's more research (read lots of books)!

These missing components that are between you and your ideal day are your GOALS.

Part Five: Remember.  Cherish your ideal day dream... and when you're struggling to achieve an intermediate goal, think back on it.  Remember what it is you're after.

Dream big... but then ACT!