Whether we like it or not, days bleed into one another and weeks slip by quickly. I hate the feeling of looking back on a month and thinking, "Wait… Now what did I do again? Anything?" One way to ease your mind that your days have been well spent is to focus less on checking tasks off a list, and more on making each day valuable to you and to the world.

    Do One Thing That Scares You

    This one has become a cliche, but that doesn't make it irrelevant. （Please don't run into traffic just to get heart rate up, though.） Seek out fears that may be holding you back from trying new things. Talk to that cute girl on the bus. Negotiate a deal. Present an idea at work. Attempt a ridiculously complex meal. When you regularly do things that kind of freak you out, you stretch your boundaries and create a much bigger, more rewarding comfort zone to play in. "Safe" and "stuck" don't have to be synonymous.

    Do One Thing That Soothes You

    The world doesn't have to take care of you: you can take care of yourself. You need to take care of yourself. If you're angry, find a way to release it. If you're frustrated, do something nice for yourself. If you're tired and cranky, enjoy a treat instead of martyring yourself for no good reason. Take a moment, just once a day, to make yourself feel good, and remind yourself that you're responsible for your own happiness.

    Do One Thing for Someone Else

    Being selfless feels good-more than one study has demonstrated this. （Kind of throws a kink in the "selflessness" of the act, but we won't worry about that…） Taking time to do a kindness for another person reminds you of the reasons you have to be thankful, all while strengthening your relationships with others. If you give and truly expect nothing in return, it's rare to have any regrets about it.

    Do One Thing for the Future

    The future is a pretty fluid concept here: next week, next month, your 80th birthday… You can transfer funds to your savings accout, spend time talking with your child, do some yoga as part of a weight loss plan, anything that gets you one step closer to your goals for the future. Regardless of whether you're learning French for next year's trip or making a quilt to be passed down for generations, you need to stay connected with your future on a regular basis. That's where some of your best moments are yet to be realized.

    不管我們喜歡與否，從一天到另一天，幾個星期一下子就過去了。我討厭這種感覺：當我回顧這個月的時想到，"等等…我又干了什么？干了什么？"一種讓你心情平靜的方法是使你的時間被有效使用，較少的關注在檢查任務單上，更多的讓每一天對于你和世界而言變得更有價值上。

    做一件讓你害怕的事

    這已經是陳詞濫調了，但是這并使它顯得不入流。（盡管如此，請不要緊緊為了加速心跳沖進車流中。）找出會阻止你嘗試新東西的恐懼心理。與在車站的那個可愛女孩談話。做一筆生意。在工作上提出一個創意。嘗試一頓滑稽的大雜燴。當你有規律的做些讓你極度興奮的事情，你拓展了你的界限并且創造了一個大得多的，更有價值的舒適的圈子。"安全"和"僵化"并不一定是同義詞。

    做一件讓你感覺良好的事

    這個世界并不一定要照顧你：你可以自己照顧自己。你必須自己照顧自己。如果你生氣了，找到途徑去釋放它。如果你感到煩惱，做些可以讓自己心情舒暢的事。如果你疲勞并且虛弱，與其毫無理由的折磨自己不如好好犒勞下自己。花些時間，只用一天一次，讓你自己感覺良好，并且提醒自己要為自己的快樂負責。

    為別人做件事

    無私的感覺是好的--不只一項研究表明如此。（有些人對無私的行動有些奇怪的看法，但是我們不必為此擔心…）花些時間為別人做件好事提醒你懷著感恩的理由，同時增強了你與他人的聯系。如果你只是給予并且不指望回報，很少會為這感到后悔的。

    為未來做件事

    未來在這里是個非常流動性的概念：下個星期，下個月，你的八十歲生日…你可以往你的存折上轉賬，花時間與你的孩子談話，為減肥計劃而做瑜伽，做些任何能讓你更進一步接近你的未來目標的事情。不管是否是為了來年的旅行而學法語，或者為下一代做一床被子，你需要與你的未來在一個經常的基礎上保持聯系。那是一些你將體會到的最好的時光開始的地方。