For months I’ve been planning to do a ‘think day’, but I keep booking over it. Whether it’s an appointment, a meeting, or just choosing to bang out work, there always seems to be something more important.

I know what you’re thinking:

Katy, you talk ALL THE TIME about the importance of blocking out time for strategic thinking every week.

I do. And I still work strategic thinking into every week. But a ‘think day’ is a little different because it focuses on your life, not just your job. I learned about this from Sahil Bloom (if you don’t know him, check him out). He’s shared about it before, and mentioned it again in ​his recent newsletter​. Bill Gates used to do a Think Week, which inspired Sahil to start a Think Day. It’s a great practice.

Every time I carve time to do this, I’m glad I did. A couple of Fridays ago, I finally blocked off my afternoon, headed to a coffee shop with a journal, pen, and phone on ‘do not disturb,’ and went through the following journalling exercise.

In today’s newsletter, I’m sharing the questions from my Think Day and the insights I gained from this exercise.

Note that these questions came directly from Sahil’s newsletter, so I want to give him credit. I recommend carving out a few uninterrupted hours for this. Grab a coffee or tea and let’s dive in…

1. If I repeated my current typical day for one hundred days, would my life be better or worse?

This was eye-opening for me…

First, I jotted down what a typical day looks like for me. Then, I asked myself this question based on my current typical day. It was really interesting because some of the elements in my current typical day are beneficial and definitely make my life better. But others are not aligned with the life I want to live.

For example, I start a typical day with exercise and meditation. I eat pretty clean and healthy and end my day with gratitude and journaling. These are all great habits that would absolutely make my life better if I repeated them for 100 days.

BUT… on a typical day, I don’t connect with good friends in real life. I often don’t have real, quality time with each of my kids other than catching up at the dinner table or driving them to an activity. And I don’t always connect with my partner outside of family logistics and planning…

Given the importance of relationships and connection in my life, these aspects of a typical day would make my life worse if I repeated them every day for 100 days. I would end up lonely and disconnected!

This first question inspired me to create more connection in my regular weekly routine. Although I’m unlikely to get together with friends every day, I can certainly plan to do it once or twice a week. Same with my partner and kids.

Outcome: I scheduled 2-3 lunchtime walks with my partner and 1-2 meetups with friends. I made a note to ensure I’m scheduling ‘fun’ time with the kids a few times a week vs just being their chef and chauffeur. (*I schedule things so I can make sure they actually happen!)

2. If someone observed my actions for a week, what would they say my priorities are?

Here’s what Sahil says: There are two types of priorities in life:

The priorities you say you have. The priorities your actions show you have.

For many of us, there is a significant gap between 1 and 2. The goal is to identify the gap and adjust our actions to close it.

First, I thought about how I spend my time and energy, and then I jotted down what I believe others would say my priorities are in order:

  1. My business
  2. My health
  3. My kids

Then, I wrote down what my actual priorities are in order:

  1. My kids AND relationship
  2. My health
  3. My business
  4. My friends / network of amazing women

Comparing these two lists was both disappointing and motivating for me. The truth is, my actions don’t always represent my true priorities. This exercise motivated me to make some changes to how I’m spending my time and energy, because I want the lists to match!

Outcome:

  • Scheduled some date nights
  • Went away for a weekend with the family where I completely unplugged and spent quality time with the kids
  • Reached out and made some plans with friends

3. If I were the main character in a movie of my life, what would the audience be screaming at me to do right now?

Here’s what Sahil says: We’ve all been there: Watching a movie and the main character is clearly veering off course.

We feel that urge to scream at them:

“No, don’t open that door!” “Don’t let her leave!” “You can do it, don’t hold back!” You are that main character in the movie of your life—and your audience would be screaming something at you right now.

What is it? What’s obvious from the outside that you’re too zoomed in to see?

This one was really tough for me! I sat there going back and forth… is the audience screaming at me to slow down, enjoy my life, and be with the people I love more? Or is it screaming at me to ride the wave of momentum I’m on, go book that Ted Talk, write a book, and reach for the stars??

I thought about this for a while and decided that the audience is probably screaming at me to hit the gas and go after my dreams.

But then I thought, I’m not always the best judge here because my inner hyper-achiever is ALWAYS screaming at me to do more. So, I did what anyone would do in a situation like this and texted my business bestie Amber to ask her:

“You’re the audience watching the movie of my life right now. What are you screaming at me?”

The good news is, Amber gets it and is not phased at all by these types of bizarre questions! Here was her answer:

“You’ve got everything you want! Now make it fun and sustainable!”

Woof. Her answer made me a little emotional because I realized that I really DO have everything I want. An amazing business where I get to help women create their dream lives and careers, a partner who is everything I ever wanted, 3 healthy, wonderful kids, 2 snuggly furry pups, and a healthy body to enjoy everything there is to enjoy in life.

Why on earth am I killing myself to have anything more? Yes, I’m always motivated to hit goals and help more people. That will probably never change. But I can ensure I’m enjoying the life I live and not taking anything or anyone for granted. I thought especially about my partner who didn’t make the ‘what others think my priorities are’ list even though he’s the BEST and so important to me.

Outcome: I vowed to become more intentional about slowing down to enjoy the life I’ve worked so hard to build, even as I strive for new goals. And I vowed to ensure the people in my life know how important they are to me.

So there you have it – the three questions that really stopped me in my tracks and made me re-think everything. What a powerful exercise!!

Sahil also adds two more questions. I took the time to answer these, but at this point in my life, they didn’t have the same impact as the first three because these aren’t areas I struggle with in the same way. With that said, here they are for you, in case you find them enlightening:

4. Am I hunting antelope or chasing field mice?

Antelope are the big, important problems. Field mice are the tiny, urgent ones.

Are you focusing on the big important tasks that provide sufficient reward for your energy? Or are you too busy chasing tiny wins that won’t move the needle?

Always hunt antelope!

5. What are my strongest beliefs and what would it take for me to change my mind on them?

The most successful people realize that finding the truth is much more important than being right.

They embrace new information as “software updates” to their brain.

What new information would be required to change your mind on your most strongly held beliefs?

I hope you’ll carve out the time to go through this exercise for your own life. It’s eye-opening in the best way. We only have so much time on this earth, and I want to spend my years intentionally. My guess is that you do too.

Until next time friends… ✌️💜

Katy

PS. Love my newsletter? Share it with a friend (or 3) right now!