1. Schedule things that make you happy.

2. Time PERCEPTION is everything.

3. Optimize the time you have.

4. You are how you spent your time.

5. Keep the big picture in mind:

Sir Ray Avery, entrepreneur and author of Rebel With A Cause, says that making sure your life is on track is as easy as counting your days.

“When you’re born, you’re born with 30,000 days. That’s it. The best strategic planning I can give to you is to think about that.”

He’s 65. So he’s “got about 5,625 days to live.” Then he just works backward to plan.

And thinking forward isn’t everything. We also look back.

Your brain is not a perfect computer. What you will remember is not the same as what happened.

But you can game it so your memories are better than what happened. And happy memories are one of the secrets to feeling good about your life.

Daniel Kahneman, Nobel Prize winner and author of Thinking, Fast and Slow, has shown that your brain really remembers only two things about an event:

1. The emotional peak
2. The end

So how can you game the system with this information and use it to be happier?

Structure events so that the peak is great and the ending is great.

Make sure tomorrow has one thing that will be amazing and that the day ends on a positive note.

Enough time looking forward and enough time looking back the right way leads to a meaningful life with many more great things ahead.

Essentially: live with intention. Be deliberate about making sure what you do is worth the time.

Eric Barker writes:

The WSJ has a good piece listing a few optimal times to do things. Some notable highlights:

• Best time to send emails you want read: 6AM.

• Best time for thinking: Late morning.

• Creative thinking: Creativity can be improved when we’re tired so try brainstorming when daytime sleepiness peaks at around 2PM.

Eric Barker adds:

Via Buy Ketchup in May and Fly at Noon: A Guide to the Best Time to Buy This, Do That and Go There:

• Best time to get a human being on the phone when calling a company’s customer service line: As early as possible (lowest call volume)

• Best day of the week to eat dinner out: Tuesday (freshest food, no crowds)

• Best day to fly: Saturday (fewer flights means fewer delays, shorter lines, less stress)

• Best time to fly: Noon (varies but pilots say airport rush hours coincide with workday rush hours)

• Best time to have surgery: Morning (4x less likely to have complications in the morning than between 3-4PM)

• Best time to exercise: 6-8PM (body temp highest, peak time for strength and flexibility)

• Best time to have sex: 10PM-1AM (skin sensitivity is highest in late evening)

My compilation on stretching the hours in your day is here. My ultimate productivity guide ishere. And here are the things you should do to live a long life.

Time goes by so quickly.

Make sure you enjoy the time you do have.