Monday Musings: The Anatomy of a Perfect Day
I’ve been journaling every day for the past few weeks. It’s nothing fancy or too involved. I keep it quick, just a few minutes right before bed. I follow a few simple rules: I can’t go beyond one page in my small Muji notebook, so I don’t end up overthinking or falling into introspection, which honestly stresses me out. If I start self-reflecting too much, it’ll take forever and totally discourage me from writing regularly. All I have to write are the facts of what happened during my day. Then, I end with a single line about how I felt. Something easy like, “Today was nice,” or “Today was tiring but worth it.” There are definitely nights when I don’t feel like journaling at all, but I’ve tried to make it as automatic and low-effort as possible.
I started journaling daily because of a moment that caught me off guard. One time, while walking in the park with my husband, we tried to recall what we were grateful for in the past week. To my surprise, nothing came to mind - not because we’re forgetful, but because we genuinely couldn’t remember what we had done. Our days go by so fast, and we don’t really take the time to think about what actually happened in the last 24 hours. It felt like the only thing that mattered was just getting through the day. But that’s no way to live, right? Joy in existing, not just survival, should be the point of all this striving.
Photograph by Niccolo Cosme for My Closet Manager
So, I started journaling. And over the past few weeks, I’ve learned something simple but meaningful: the anatomy of a perfect day. Or at least what feels like a perfect day to me. I began noticing that some days stood out from the rest. They felt lighter, easier, and brought a smile to my face as I wrote them down. Others, not so much. Some days were heavier, more draining, and I found it harder to sleep after writing about them.
These are the three things that made a difference between a rough day and a good one:
The first is spending time with a friend. It doesn’t have to be a long hangout or some deep, life-changing conversation. Just an hour or two with someone I genuinely like makes a huge difference in how I feel afterwards. I notice that I feel lighter, more seen. I like knowing about how my friend is doing and being there for them.
The second thing is eating good food. This doesn’t have to be fancy or even particularly healthy, it just needs to be good according to my standards. Good food is like a big hug that I give myself!
And lastly, it’s accomplishing something small. Small, being the keyword. Like writing a single stanza for a song, or doing a quick watercolor sketch. Even a satisfying win at work. Big achievements don’t usually arrive in one fell swoop; they accumulate like little bricks that we stack up daily.
And that’s it, the anatomy of my perfect day. Have you given thought about what yours look like?
