We spend so much of our lives living for this vacation or that holiday or that special event. But what about the boring days? In a year we maybe have 30 or so holiday or vacation or special event days. That means 11 months a year are the average everyday life days.

I think rather than living for the special holidays, we should focus on finding ways to make our everyday special. What can we do to make those other 11 months a year exciting and interesting so that we’re not just surviving from holiday to holiday, but we’re satisfied and thriving in our day to day lives.

I’ve been reading the book Atomic Habits and it talks about making small incremental changes consistently that will improve your long term success.

The first step is identifying areas of your daily life that could be more exciting or satisfying for you. Or at least identifying what is draining you. Is it your commute, is it your energy level, is there not enough music, is there not enough sun, are you so busy you can’t play with your kids? What is it?

I realized somewhere in the last two years that my work was so hectic I had no time for anything else. I was a completely one-dimensional person. I was good at my job, I dedicated all of my time and energy to it, and there was always more work to be done. All of my friends did the same work I did and our monthly happy hour gatherings were more like a meeting of a support group.

I realized that I could make an equivalent income doing work that took far less out of me and had a flexible schedule. I chose to shift in that direction. I realized that the thing I loved most about vacation was that I got to choose what I did every day. The freedom of schedule was the thing that mattered most to me. So I found a way to bring that into my daily life. I now have work calls while I’m walking my dog. I review transcripts and write motions from my treadmill desk, I have court appearances from my office and take consults via zoom. None of this existed in my business model two years ago. But it mattered so I figured it out. Don’t get me wrong, it’s been a process, but it was something I identified as a way to get myself back in balance. That was the starting point.

I realized that eating lunch out everyday wasn’t actually adding to my well-being but I treated that as the only way to get out of my office during the day. Now I work from home or bring my lunch and eating out becomes more special. If I need to take a ten minute walk to clear my head and get myself breathing deeply I do it. It helps me decompress.

I get that these are luxuries and that working for myself means that I can be more flexible than most. But anyone with a lunch break can bring their own food and take the other half of their break for a walk to clear their head. Anyone with a commute can listen to music or a funny audiobook to keep their day light and decompress. I will literally run in place in my living room while watching a movie sometimes because I’m too lazy to go for a real run but I can’t sit still and don’t want to lose my fitness level.

Find what works for you. But find ways to make the everyday more special. Buy yourself a flower once a week. Take the walk through the park on your way home. Listen to soothing music instead of a news podcast. Have a family game night instead of a TV night. Whatever you can identify as special about vacation and holiday time, see if you can incorporate it into your regular life.

My brother and I were talking about Easter plans recently. We both have to leave to drive home a few hours on Sunday so Easter dinner is always a challenge. But why not Easter brunch? We have a Christmas brunch we all love but we only have it once a year. Why don’t we just do that for Easter? That’s a lot easier to prepare than a fancy Easter dinner. Boom. New tradition, way less effort, more satisfaction, and less stress for everyone involved.

You’ll find these opportunities if you’re looking for them. Simple small changes that can make your day to day easier and happier. Ask your family for ideas and help. Reallocate responsibility for certain things if your load is piling up. Take a night completely to yourself in the middle of the week. Re-charge.

Find your bliss in a standard Tuesday and you’ll be way better off than if you’re working yourself to the bone and need every ounce of vacation and holiday to recharge your batteries.

Enjoy your everyday.