I don’t think I’d have excepted to still be alone at the age of 38. What I precifly thought would happend I don’t know for sure, but I think that as a child my idea was that I’d marry someone and have a family someday. If only it was that simple, right? To meet the right person, fall in love and live happily ever after. It’s not that I’m unhappy now, but I think I’d still like to share my life with someone instead of going about it by myself. I know it’s not too late yet, people meet their soulmates at all ages. So who knows what the future will bring? I don’t think this is how I’d expcected it would go, but so far I can’t complain too much.

The longer I’m here, the more I get rooted. Traveling and going abroad start to sound like a big step, far out of the ordinary. To leave the safe and familiary to see more of the world. I’ve done it before and it was always fine and so far I’ve always come back. Then why does it look like such a big thing now? I think I’m getting too familiar with normal life, too much stuck in the routine. At some point I need to break out of it again if I want to keep having an adventurous life and to see more of the world.

It’s the end of the day and I’m thinking to myself that it was a good one. I worked hard, then relaxed properly, cooked a dinner at home and catched up with a friend. Now I’m enjoying some music while slowly ending the day. I’m thankful for today. I can think of things I could have done better or where there is room for improvement and there is a time and place for that. But I think it’s also good to acknowledge when things went well. I think today was well balanced between being productive and relaxing and that’s a good thing.

The end of another week Seven days gone by In the blink of an eye

I would have a hard time recalling All that has happened Since today a week ago

When life gets busy It looks like the weeks flow by Just one after another

I want next week to be different To have more fun moments And lovely new memories

So that when I look back next weekend That I can think to myself Wow, that was an awesome week

I have to dare and hope and dream That it’s possible to achieve Seven wonderful days to come

I’m at home, relaxing at the couch. On the radio is some old-fashion jazz playing cheerfully and on the little table in front of me is a glass of Jack Daniel’s. It’s peaceful and for a moment the whole world is alright. I don’t need to go out on a Saturday night to be content. Just the right music and a nice drink can put me in a good mood. I’ve worked hard this week and now it’s time to relax. I just need to write a few more words for today, so I say: cheers to the weekend!

There are days when my mood reflects the weather outside. It’s dark, it’s gray and it’s somber. While walking through the city, I try to shake off the dark thoughts in my head. The wind is blowing quite strong, I hope it’ll blow away the unwanted images in my head. It’s strange that just like the weather one day it can be bright and sunny and the next day the total opposite. As I’m getting on the bus to home I stumble upon an old acquaintance. We talk for a while about work and life. Nothing special, but as we say goodbye about ten minutes later when he gets off the bus, I notice that I feel lighter again. He was a welcome distraction from the storm I was in. A short moment later I’m home and calm again. I don’t have answers to my worries and fears, but I’m tired from the long day and don’t have the energy to fight them anymore. I surrender to what is, staying in the moment instead of worrying about the future. Perhaps that was the solution to the storm all along.

He had been quite alone for a long time. In fact, he had been alone in this world since he started writing. From time to time people had greeted him or gave him a quick comment that they enjoyed reading his stories. But other than that, he was quite on himself with his daily entries. Until he noticed that one girl with a beautiful face started liking his stories. First one like, then another one and soon her face showed up several times in the list of likes. So he was curious and started reading her stories. Some were romantic, others quite dark. He was a bit concerned for her and decided to reach out. A simple message saying “Hi! How are you?” and he pressed the send button. Curious if he would hear from her, he put his phone away and went to bed. The next morning there was a reply…

I feel like I’m about halfway of optimizing my days. The mornings are now going quite well. I get up at the same time every day and follow my morning routine. I start the day excited and with motivation, but more often than I like that changes throughout the day. When work gets busy and multiple people want some of my time, I feel that the energy flows away. Like today, it’s about 4pm and I’m feeling quite exhausted. I need to take more breaks and guard my mindset to end the day with some energy left. I want to stay on the positive and motivated track so my energy will not be depleted throughout the day. As with any other change, the first step is awareness and from there you make different decisions. That’s where I am now, the next challenge is to keep myself on track to make each day glorious.

The other day I read about 1% improvements, making your days just a little bit better. I wondered how that works, but today I got to experience it. I still watched Netflix during dinner and a few episodes after that, but at some point I decided to turn off the tv and started reading a book. Perhaps I still watched tv for too long, but already less than yesterday and I read more than the night before. I think that’s what is meant with 1% improvement, making today just a little bit better than yesterday. Keep doing this and you’ll make a lot of progress.

It might sound strange if you say that you long for a workday. But not just any workday. A workday on your own terms. A productive one, without distractions. Even more than a vacation I’m just looking forward to some creative and productive blocks of time. Where I can work on my craft, doing the work I really love to do. It might be found in the early mornings or on a Saturday, but I think that price is worth it. Just thinking about it puts a smile on my face. So here is to more productive workdays to come.