The Perfect Day Exercise, also referred to as an Ideal Day Exercise, is a visualisation and journalling exercise that is used to help people get clear about the future they want to create for themselves.
“If you don’t have a vision for your life, you can never achieve it.”
Why is The Perfect Day Exercise powerful?
To live the life of your dreams you first need to know what your dream life looks likes. A dream life will be different to everyone and therefore it is important as an individual to get clear on what you want your life to be like. The Perfect Day Exercise is a great way for you to start to get clear about what a dream life looks and feels like to you.
For some people the idea of defining their dream life is daunting. The Perfect Day Exercise is designed so that you can think about your dream life but in a more manageable way. You just have to focus on what one day would look like.
The Perfect Day Exercise: Try It Yourself
You will need:
- A notebook / paper
- Pen / Pencil
- A quite space
Close your eyes and begin to imagine the following scenario – It is 5 years from now. You wake up and feel immensely happy. You are living your dream life and know a great day is ahead of you.
Once you can strongly imagine yourself in bed on that morning you can open your eyes and start writing out in great detail your perfect day.
You should write down everything that happens from the moment you wake up until you go back to sleep.
At the top of the page write the date of the day you are imagining. Then write down what you are doing, but also how you feel.
Try to add in as many senses as possible. You want to create the most vivid picture possible.
Do not edit what you are writing and don’t think about whether something is possible or not. For this exercise you are meant to be dreaming. Believe that anything is possible and write freely from your heart. Remember this is your PERFECT day. You are meant to be tapping into your deepest desires rather than thinking about what is realistic or possible.
Here are some questions to ask yourself to get going:
- What time do you wake up?
- Where do you wake up? If you don’t wake up at home, where is home?
- What is the weather like?
- Do you have a morning routine? If so, what does your morning routine consist of?
- What types of activities do you do throughout the day? How long are you spending on each activity?
- What do you eat and drink throughout the day? Where do you eat and drink? Are you alone or with other people?
- Do you do any exercise, if so, why type and for how long?
- Do you see anyone else in the day? If so, who? What do you do together?
- Do you have an evening routine? If so, what does it consist of?
- What time do you go to bed?
- How do you feel as you lie in bed?
Frequently Asked Questions about The Perfect Day Exercise
How often should I do this exercise?
Your perfect day will change over time. This isn’t a do it once and never do it again. You should aim to do it at least once a year, but doing it more often is recommended and hopefully, over time, it will become easier and easier for you to visualise your future.
What tense should I write in?
You should be writing your perfect day in the present tense as if it is happening to you in that very moment.
How far into the future should I set my perfect day?
Usually, it is recommended that you imagine your perfect day 5 years from now. However, once you’ve done 5 years a few times you could try lengths of time.
What should I do once I’ve written out the exercise?
Add a date to the exercise so you know when you wrote it. This is especially useful if you keep the exercise and look back in the future. Then come back to the exercise a few days later and compare your ideal day to your written down goals and / or your vision board. If you don’t already have goals and would like to write some down read How to Set Goals for Beginners, How to Set Goals using the SMART Method or How to Set Goals using the Be, Do, Have Model.
Your vision board, goals and perfect day should be aligned. If they aren’t you should start adjusting your goals and vision board to ensure they are reinforcing what you ideally want your future life to look like.