I’ve read and heard a lot about considering your “future self” in your focus “today”. Advice tends to mention things like investing for the future, eating well, reading, traveling, getting out of your comfort zone, and much more. I agree with all of these things. Your self years from now will thank you for the diligence and dedication you put in practice now.
What I’ve realized in the last few months is that there are things that my “today self” can do to make my literal “tomorrow self” happier. A couple examples I’ve put in place are my morning coffee and my work to do list.
Two Ideas that are Working for Me
When I used to go to an office every day, I would stop and pick up my morning coffee on the way – it was great and part of my daily routine. Now, I’m working from home and making my own morning coffee. Each morning, I get up and make the coffee. I started to realize I don’t really like the time/process it takes each day. A couple weeks ago I realized that I could prepare the coffee pot the night before and just push the button in the morning. This was huge! I don’t go so far as to set the timer, but the morning me really appreciates that the prior day me did all the prep.
Another adjustment I’ve made since working from home was to implement a suggestion by Cal Newport to have a Work Shutdown Ritual. You can read about Cal’s approach here. While I don’t use the same process as Cal, I have designed a system that works for me. I take the last 1/2 hour of the day and do several things – review my calendar for the next day, respond to email, finish any action items that I haven’t gotten to, and create my “to do” list for the next day. When I start work in the morning, having that to do list ready has made a HUGE difference in my productivity and has even reduced my stress. I feel so much more focused!
Additional Inspiration
Thinking about this, made me realize that I do other things (especially on the weekends) that my short-term future self is thankful for. I make a large pot of soup on Sunday so there are leftovers for lunch during the week. I plan the weekly dinners so that each weeknight there isn’t a big decision process on what to cook. On days were I think about what I will wear the next day before I go to bed, I’m always thankful not to have to make the choice in the morning.
I’m now thinking about other things I could do for my short-term (tomorrow or next week) self that will make my life run smoother and make me happier along the way. Are there ways you think about your tomorrow self? What do you do? I would love to hear your ideas!