A few weeks ago, I attended Making Things Happen for the second time in my life.  This experience was completely different than the first, and it came at a time in my life when I needed it. On May 1, I needed to refocus, to separate myself from my distractions, to realize my true priorities. I needed to shut off my phone for an entire day, to not look at Facebook or Emails, but instead to stare life in the face. Life is too short to be wasted on things that give us no fulfillment yet steal our time, and I needed this MTH intensive to get me back on track.

I have so much on my heart, so much that I gathered and learned from MTH 2012. After starting this blogpost several times without succeeding in finishing it, (it is simply too much to fit into 1 post!) I have decided to share the 5 most important lessons I learned from MTH over the next 5 weeks. Each Wednesday, I will be challenging myself all over again, and challenging you with what really inspires us. I will be drawing powerful boundaries in my life to set myself up for success. Dreaming big. Being realistic, and being wise with my time. Breaking social media addictions. Eating healthy. Waking up early. And so on...

Today's challenge? Living the ideal day.

Have you ever taken time to write out what an ideal day would look like for you? Close your eyes and imagine it. Set this dream in your real world, too : not on the beaches of Mexico, or in the mountains of Italy. Imagine your ideal day in your home, at your work, doing what you do, living your life, and loving it.  What would that look like?

•••

Nancy Ray's ideal day:

6:00  Wake up. Do not snooze. Let Winston outside. Drink coffee on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, with a candle burning and windows open.

6:15  Read my Bible as I drink my coffee.

6:30  Pray for William. Pray for my day. Pray for my family, for my youth group. Pray for a greater hunger for the Lord.

6:45  Read a chapter from an inspirational book.

7:00  Stretch, then eat a healthy breakfast.

7:30  Put on running clothes, then edit photos or do non-email related work for 1 hour straight

8:30  Go running!

9:30  Stretch, do more office work for 1 hour (no distractions)

10:30 Email for 1 hour

11:30  Shower / Change / eat lunch outside on my porch / Water Garden / Tidy home

1:00  Work for 2 hours nonstop :: open windows, good music

3:00  15 minute break! Lay flat on my back - on the patio in the sunlight

3:15  Walk Winston to get the mail

3:30  Finalize work for 1 hour: Wrap up emails, blog, clean studio

4:30 Close studio, begin dinner prep, tidy my home

5:30  Have dinner prepped, welcome Will home with a big kiss, then spend the evening together [dinner, walk outside, read our current books, play with Winston]

9:00  Make Will's lunch for the next day, lay out clothes, tidy up home, get ready for bed

9:30  Read

10:00 Lights out

•••

This week I am learning that I can actually live out my ideal day every day.  What a fulfilling life that brings! Today, I have been quite successful, I must admit! Although I woke up at 6:30 and not 6, everything else has fallen into place. I stay much more focused when I am on a timeline. I read my Bible and The Magic of Thinking Big. I ran 4 miles this morning, I worked with no distractions for several hours, I took time to get ready for the day, eat a healthy breakfast and lunch, and I have accomplished much work. It's a good day.

Now, it's your turn! If you haven't done it already, go write out your ideal day. Then ask yourself, what's stopping you from having that day every day? Why not today? 

Then leave an idea in the comments that would make your day more "ideal."