I Plan to Be Joyful at 11 am Today

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dium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/0*Ry2RXZHxVzuGaFwx.jpeg"><figcaption>My Day Planner on January 2, 2023: Photo by Author Akemi Sagawa</figcaption></figure><p id="ba21">I plan to be happy at 8 am. By 11 am I plan to elevate my state a notch to be joyful.</p><p id="0893">In the afternoon I plan to fill my heart with kindness. Later in the day, I prepare myself for the evening by being calm.</p><p id="cb9f">My planner originally didn’t have a column for planning how to be but only one for planning what to do.</p><p id="8bef">But one day I thought … Isn’t my state of being as important as my actions? Can’t I choose how to be? Can I plan to be happy rather than angry? Can I plan to be joyful rather than sad? How about I plan to be kind rather than hateful?</p><p id="11fd">It’s been a little over a year since I added this column. I’m far from anger-free, but I feel a little more empowered than before.</p><p id="a6bf">It is a lot easier to be joyful if the sun is shining on my face. But I no longer blame the gray sky, because even when the sky is dark, I’m capa

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ble to be joyful regardless of the external situations.</p><p id="417a">Being able to choose how to be, is liberating.</p><p id="68d6">Thank you, <a href="undefined">Dr. Gabriella Korosi</a>, for the interesting new prompt.</p><div id="2073" class="link-block"> <a href="https://akemisagawa.medium.com/membership"> <div> <div> <h2>Join Medium with my referral link - Akemi Sagawa</h2> <div><h3>Read every story from Akemi Sagawa (and thousands of other writers on Medium). Your membership fee directly supports…</h3></div> <div><p>akemisagawa.medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*PYlXOzAGKg7Nzzuw)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="3211"><i>Originally published at <a href="https://akemisagawa.com/i-plan-to-be-joyful-at-11-am-today/">https://akemisagawa.com</a> on January 3, 2023.</i></p></article></body>

In response to Dancing Elephants prompt 14 of 52

Photo by Author Akemi Sagawa

My day planner follows Cal Newport’s Time-Block Planner method, with a twist.

Every morning I open my notebook and draw three vertical lines to create four columns. I fill the first column with numbers that represent hours — 6 am to 11 pm.

I fill the third column with what I plan to do: write, read, clean, have lunch with a friend, go for an errand, etc. If I divert from the original plan, by web surfing aimlessly, for example, I make corrections in the fourth column.

What about the second column?

That’s where I plan how to be.

My Day Planner on January 2, 2023: Photo by Author Akemi Sagawa

I plan to be happy at 8 am. By 11 am I plan to elevate my state a notch to be joyful.

In the afternoon I plan to fill my heart with kindness. Later in the day, I prepare myself for the evening by being calm.

My planner originally didn’t have a column for planning how to be but only one for planning what to do.

But one day I thought … Isn’t my state of being as important as my actions? Can’t I choose how to be? Can I plan to be happy rather than angry? Can I plan to be joyful rather than sad? How about I plan to be kind rather than hateful?

It’s been a little over a year since I added this column. I’m far from anger-free, but I feel a little more empowered than before.

It is a lot easier to be joyful if the sun is shining on my face. But I no longer blame the gray sky, because even when the sky is dark, I’m capable to be joyful regardless of the external situations.

Being able to choose how to be, is liberating.

Thank you, Dr. Gabriella Korosi, for the interesting new prompt.

Originally published at https://akemisagawa.com on January 3, 2023.