Schedules and perfection

A couple weeks ago, I was getting really frustrated. Work was really busy. The kids needed lots of driving here and there. I just felt out of control and at the mercy of everyone Else's schedules.

One of the ways I cope with situations like that is taking time to exercise but I couldn't fit it in. So the stress was building.

Finally, I got some down time to think. What popped into my head was a picture of my perfect schedule. In my perfect schedule, I would wake up in the morning, brush my teeth and start the coffee. Exercise, shower, blog and look over emails while having my first cup of coffee and then head to work at 7a.

Well, there are a few reasons that schedule isn't really realistic for me -- one is that I need a decent amount of sleep and I like staying up past 8.30p so getting up as early as it would take to make all of that stuff happen in the morning it not likely (at least during the winter when it is dark). But...

I did find that as I thought about what would be really perfect for me, I got the sense that I wasn't wholly at the mercy of other people's schedules. There were small things I could change to start moving my schedule more toward one that fits me better. I couldn't change what time I left the house in the morning but I could get up a few minutes earlier to exercise. I could arrange my morning so I can check emails and/or blog before I leave the house.

As the weeks have passed, I have found myself making small changes to the morning routine without really having to stress about it. They take some thinking and planning but I am making it happen -- slowly.

I am kind of surprised at what that vision has done for me. I am feeling much more in charge of the morning. The reason for that is that I (accidentally) took time to think about the opposite end of the craziness I was feeling. It wasn't a vision of what would work as a stop-gap measure. It was a vision of perfection. Once I could see that, then the next step was to find smaller pieces that would move me toward where I wanted to be. But it wouldn't have happened it I didn't take time to create the vision.

So what is your vision for a perfect eating day??