An ordinary day, ten years from now

One of the many things Debbie Millman (the famous branding designer and author) is famous for is her “Remarkable Life” 10 year planning exercise.

Here’s the gist:

• Picture the day exactly 10 years from now. So as I’m writing this, that day be September 10th, 2031.
• Pretend that everything has gone as you hoped it would for the 10 years in between.
• Write about that day in full detail. Get very specific. Write until you can’t think of anything else.
• Store that somewhere safe, and re-read it every year.

Here’s how she described it on a podcast:

Let’s say it’s 10 years from now. What does your life look like? What are you doing? Where are you living? Who are you living with? Do you have pets? What kind of house are you in? Is it an apartment, are you in the city, are you in the country? What does your furniture look like? What is your bed like? What are your sheets like? What kind of clothes do you wear? What kind of hair do you have?

Tell me about your pets, tell me about your significant other, do you have children? Do you have a car? Do you have a boat? Talk about your career. What do you want? What are you reading? What are you making? What excites you? What is your health like?

And write this day, this one day ten years from now. So what does your whole day look like? Start from the minute you wake up, brush your teeth, have your coffee or tea, all the way through until minute you tuck yourself in at night. What is that day like for you?

Dream big, dreams without any fear. Write it all down. You don’t have to share it with anyone other than yourself. Put your whole heart into it. And write like there is no tomorrow; write like your life depends on it because it does.

And then read it, once a year, and see what happens. It’s magic.

Debbie Millman

I’m a big fan of life goals but I’d never heard this framing of it. I love the idea and I’m going to give it a shot. How about you?