I’m scheduling weekly joy on my 2023 calendar
I'm scheduling joy on my calendar in 2023. As in, I am intentionally making it a priority to schedule in feeling joyful with activities that help me think joyful thoughts.
We strategically plan the sh*t out of our work calendars but we rarely schedule intentional activities that generate positive emotion into our regular schedule. For instance, if I feel wonder when I'm out walking in nature or joy when I'm playing with a dog, why don’t these things merit priority? Should they really just be relegated to ad hoc or happenstance? Can I really sit down weekly and schedule in the thoughts and feelings I want to generate for myself in life?
Until I deepened my practice with mindset work, it literally never occurred to me that I could set and work toward goals in my personal life the way I’ve done as an exec in my day job. As in, we have this year-end goal, and we break it down into what we’re going to do this quarter, this month, and this week. I've had plenty of personal goals and hit many of them, but never with the same focus, intention and measurement I used in my business life.
Mostly 'cause I thought of them as things to do when I "had time" rather than a priority. (And why I wasn't a priority in my own life is a whole 'nother post.)
It’s really so obvious and yet when I was introduced to the concept and made the connection, it totally blew my mind. I can do the same thing with positive emotions. I can actively choose more joy. It's not like there's a finite supply and if I get more on a daily or weekly basis now, somehow there will be less in the world. There's plenty for everyone!
At first glance it can seem like scheduling like this could have the opposite effect and zap the joy out of the spontaneity of these feelings, or at least that's what I was initially worried about. Almost like it's cheating. But that hasn't been my experience at all. In fact, quite the opposite.
I was also worried I would fail at it, regardless of how simple it was, and then feel terrible and beat myself up. So I broke it down into tiny bite-size steps and made the goal really small. So small that it felt impossible I could fail.
Then I added in some metrics and timelines and voila - activities that promote thoughts and feelings of joy on my calendar consistently.
Wanna give it a whirl? I broke this process down into three very easy steps and created a fancy little workbook to walk you through it easy peasy.
Step 1: Decide what you want to feel, why, and how you’d like to make that happen (way easier than it sounds, the workbook will guide you through it)
Step 2: Let your brain tell you allllllll the reasons it’s not possible
Step 3: Start small, then celebrate
Grab yourself this free 3 Easy Steps to Prioritize Joy in 2023 workbook and get an early start on those New Year's resolutions!