One Day at a Time

We've all heard the advice of taking things "one day at a time," but that advice has never really settled well with me. It seems to me that, in most cases, it makes sense to have a plan that extends beyond the current day, even if the plan is conditional or may need to be adjusted later. It seems to me that planning in advance is usually better than just taking things "one day at a time." But now I think that that may not be what that advice actually means.

Yes, of course it's smart to have a plan for the future. The only trouble is that those plans aren't really actionable in the moment. I can have a plan to do laundry at the end of the week, but there's not much I can do with that plan at the moment. I suppose I could presort my laundry or double-check the laundry supplies, if I think that that would help, but other than that, all I can do is wait.

This condition happens surprisingly often. We make plans for the future, but there's only so much time and energy within any given day. That's why, while it's helpful to have a plan for what you're going to do in the coming days, it's also important to focus on what you're doing today, at this very moment. Really, the current moment is all we have access to, so it makes sense to focus on it and make good use of it.

For me, taking things "one day at a time" means that I'm not spending today's time or energy worrying about tomorrow's problems. I'll spend today's time and energy doing today's work, and if I have any left over, then I'll apply it toward the next day. But otherwise, tomorrow's another day. Tomorrow will have the usual 24 hours in it, and I'll have the energy to face it after I rest tonight. "Sufficient is the day for the evil thereof," or something like that.

I'll use tomorrow's time and energy to do tomorrow's work. In the meantime, I'm going to use tonight's time to rest.