When I think about my ideal day, every minute is scheduled out. I have books I want to read, news articles to follow, workouts to complete, prayers to pray, meditations to reflect upon, chores to check off, tasks to do, and maybe somewhere in there some rest? This type of zero-based time planning is extremely brittle, especially given how much life can throw at us.

The idea, though, is not a bad one. I’ve written many times over the years about schedules and time management, but if I were to be successful in executing on this perfect schedule for even a week, I can be sure of two things.

First, I can be sure that I’d lay down at night exhausted in the best possible way. I’d have met my needs in every area of my life and could be satisfied with my good work. Second, I could be sure that it would never last. Executing a plan perfectly every day over a long period is simply impossible. Life is impermanent, and that shifting nature would always collide with my perfect plans.

This presents me with a challenge. Do I strive for perfection, knowing that any effort is better than no effort? Or do I give up and fritter away my days?

A full day, in which I end it feeling satisfied, always takes work, focus, and discipline. The reward is that I end the day considerably closer to my goals than when I woke up.