Boring used to be good, as a boring life meant a safe life. It's just the latter few generations that has been led to believe that we should all aspire to become rock stars, celebrities and now influencers. After WW2, most people wanted boring, and now as the world is becoming more chaotic again, I believe that many of us are realizing that boring isn't so bad. Here in Norway we have a term we use a lot, the "A4-life". It just means a typical or standard life. A house, a partner, a dog, a decent job, a station wagon and a couple of kids is the example we usually use to describe the A4 life. It used to be something to aspire to, but is now almost exclusively as an insult to describe a boring life.
I like boring. Time slows down a bit when you're not constantly chasing highs.
I think you are spot on with our evolution. Haha in Belgium the standard life is pretty much the same, but we don't have a specific term for it. I like it though, 'A4' - is it from the basic piece of paper?
Thank you for reminding me that i'm not quite far off from my perfect day. I found this in my evernote archive from March 2021:
"My perfect day begins when I open my eyes and think “Wow, that was a great sleep. I’m so thankful.” I would have woken up well rested in the arms of someone I love and be filled with gratitude for everything I have in my life. Thankful for my sleep, partner, family, job, health, and all the love I’ve received and will continue to receive in my life.
Maybe I’ll snooze, but only for a couple of minutes. I’m a woman who knows when to rest and when to work hard after all. After getting out of bed, I would down a glass of cold water and be thankful for how it refreshed my body. While my coffee is brewing, I would put away any dishes that has finished drying.
After my coffee is ready, I’ll sit down at my usual writing spot and write.
[Note: no instagram or social media is in here. No moping. Only gratitude.]
The rest of my day is spent checking off the items on my to-do list with confidence and conviction. I would feel an immense pride for my work and be thankful that *I’m* the one that gets to do this job. I would feel thankful for the woman I have became. I would feel thankful for all my achievements and most importantly, my grit and values.
I would have finished the day feeling accomplished and resolved in my abilities and competence.
I would make dinner with my love and talk about our day - all the things that made us happy or sad, big or small. We would talk about anything we’re looking forward to or any challenges that we might be facing. In this moment, I would think to myself... I'm so thankful for my partner. I'm so thankful for his support, warmth, and thoughtfulness. I'm so thankful to be loved and cherished by him.
I would go to sleep feeling thankful for such a beautiful and productive day. I would fall asleep comfortably in his arms after maybe reading a bit here and there. And if we don’t want to read… we would just talk about our dreams and where we want to travel next together. And if we don’t want to do that… we’ll just do nothing and be thankful to be in each other’s company.
The perfect day for me is when I’m thankful, feeling accomplished, and spending time with the person I love.
Ooh wauw, thank you Kim. Reading about your perfect day brought a beautiful smile to my face, it's so recognizable. I absolutely love it. Especially the ending dog 🐶 😍
This day does sound perfect! I feel like it is only with age and experience we come to appreciate the simpler pleasures and realise not everything needs to be flashy and big to be special.
When we are young adults, the world is our oyster and I guess this is how it should be. So we can try different versions of days and have a better idea of how our perfect day would look like :)
I too am much closer to my perfect life now than before COVID. Working from home most days has been a game-changer. Without the commute, I can have a day before my workday and have time to write and slowly enjoy my coffee.
Your day sounds absolutely DELIGHTFUL!!! And, amazing how much closer you are to that now then a couple of years ago! 💕 I always feel so much "pressure" to answer this question perfectly, and then... I spiral and can never answer it. 🤣 Because I know for me, there's seasons of different kinds of perfect days, or I know that I might be a completely different person in 17 days. 🤣 But I love this post, you have inspired me to really think on this. And approach it not from the "end all, be all perfect day of all time" but from, right now, for ordinary days, what does that perfect day look like? And, then I shall attempt to reverse engineer it. 🙏
Your perfect day sounds like mine - except I might get up a bit later! Not boring at all. I think it is important to appreciate the simple things in life. There is far too much over stimulation and hype in the world which inevitably leads to disapppointment. Simple is best!
Marie, your words made me feel like I’ve just taken a warm, unhurried walk through a meadow, and I loved every step of it. I relate so much to the pull of a perfect day, the kind that feels like it belongs in a world where clocks don’t tick so loudly.
Once, I tried the Perfect Day exercise too, but my version had a minor disaster: my meditation time turned into chasing a runaway sourdough starter across the kitchen.
Do you think the boring criticism comes from others projecting their own frantic lives onto something they secretly crave? Your piece made me wonder if slow and intentional is boring, why does it feel so much like freedom?
Also, can we talk about Ottolenghi dinners? Because that sounds like the secret sauce to any perfect day.
Keep savoring those couch moments. they’re where the magic lives.
Kuriakin, crusty little philosophy, you are a philosopher! Thank you so much. Your comment made me smile!! Especially the runaway sourdough part 😅
I guess the criticism does come from a place of 'discontentment' and maybe indeed, envy.
I think it feels like freedom because it's inherently how we are supposed to live. It's only in the last century the fast-paced live has happened to humankind. Or we have done it to ourselves. Naturally, people used to live a slow life.
Euhm, Ottolenghi is the absolute best!!! Tuesday I cooked a homemade tomatosauce for a pasta, following his recipe. And it was absolutely delicious and super easy!
There's something so grounding about the way you describe the actual pursuit of a fulfilling life—not one polished for Instagram, but one that feels genuinely good when you’re in it.
The distinction you draw between the two types of boredom is so relatable.
That aimless, scrolling, tab-hopping boredom is an emotional drain we’ve all faced.
But the “boring” that others see in a slow, deliberate life?
It’s anything but.
It’s the kind of peace that comes when you stop performing for the world and start living for yourself.
Your description of the Perfect Day exercise is inspiring—not because it’s about crafting a flashy or extravagant life but because it’s about identifying what you value most.
Your perfect day doesn’t rely on material excess or unattainable goals.
It’s rooted in simplicity: walks with your dog, meaningful work, great food, good company, and quiet moments of joy.
That’s not “boring”—that’s purposeful.
That’s self-care. As a mental health professional, I can so appreciate that.
The transformation you’ve made is incredible.
You’ve shifted from a life dictated by stress, commutes, and unhealthy coping mechanisms to one built around intention and fulfillment.
The fact that you’re closer to your ideal life now than you were before is a testament to your growth and self-awareness.
And that last image of you on the couch, book in hand, with your dog by your side?
That’s not just a moment—it’s golden.
It’s a snapshot of the kind of contentment so many of us are chasing.
Thank you for sharing this.
It’s a great reminder that the life worth living isn’t about chasing what others find exciting but about curating what makes your heart happy.
Wishing you more of those perfectly “boring” days ahead,
Zach, your comment touched me. Thank you for taking the time to read my post and truly understand it, and then to leave such a great comment. Means a lot. And indeed, it's an amazing transformation, something I'm super grateful for. Thankyou once more! Hope you can fill your life with a lot of your perfect days as well!
What a wonderful exercise, Marie, and I love how you describe your perfect day + how far you came along.
I also guess that sometimes people forget in this exercise, that not every day will look like this. It is more like the things we do and values we combine that make us strive towards a specific life that contains days looking like exactly our perfect day :)
First move, I like. Second act, I write a comment. Third act, I copy and I past this post (ctrl C and CTRL V) because it is precious, I will reread this post. So, thank you, your thinking is precious ! Each day can be a perfect day if it is our choice
Marie, I think people would call your perfect day boring because you did not go into depth about each of the parts. They think it will be exactly like this description each day. That repetition would be boring while make time for what you describe and then fill those time blocks with things that bring you satisfaction would probably not be boring for anybody even if anybody would have different things to fill the time with.
PS.: I send you a few chats/DMs. Please take a look
Boring used to be good, as a boring life meant a safe life. It's just the latter few generations that has been led to believe that we should all aspire to become rock stars, celebrities and now influencers. After WW2, most people wanted boring, and now as the world is becoming more chaotic again, I believe that many of us are realizing that boring isn't so bad. Here in Norway we have a term we use a lot, the "A4-life". It just means a typical or standard life. A house, a partner, a dog, a decent job, a station wagon and a couple of kids is the example we usually use to describe the A4 life. It used to be something to aspire to, but is now almost exclusively as an insult to describe a boring life.
I like boring. Time slows down a bit when you're not constantly chasing highs.
I think you are spot on with our evolution. Haha in Belgium the standard life is pretty much the same, but we don't have a specific term for it. I like it though, 'A4' - is it from the basic piece of paper?
Yes like the piece of paper :)
Thank you for reminding me that i'm not quite far off from my perfect day. I found this in my evernote archive from March 2021:
"My perfect day begins when I open my eyes and think “Wow, that was a great sleep. I’m so thankful.” I would have woken up well rested in the arms of someone I love and be filled with gratitude for everything I have in my life. Thankful for my sleep, partner, family, job, health, and all the love I’ve received and will continue to receive in my life.
Maybe I’ll snooze, but only for a couple of minutes. I’m a woman who knows when to rest and when to work hard after all. After getting out of bed, I would down a glass of cold water and be thankful for how it refreshed my body. While my coffee is brewing, I would put away any dishes that has finished drying.
After my coffee is ready, I’ll sit down at my usual writing spot and write.
[Note: no instagram or social media is in here. No moping. Only gratitude.]
The rest of my day is spent checking off the items on my to-do list with confidence and conviction. I would feel an immense pride for my work and be thankful that *I’m* the one that gets to do this job. I would feel thankful for the woman I have became. I would feel thankful for all my achievements and most importantly, my grit and values.
I would have finished the day feeling accomplished and resolved in my abilities and competence.
I would make dinner with my love and talk about our day - all the things that made us happy or sad, big or small. We would talk about anything we’re looking forward to or any challenges that we might be facing. In this moment, I would think to myself... I'm so thankful for my partner. I'm so thankful for his support, warmth, and thoughtfulness. I'm so thankful to be loved and cherished by him.
I would go to sleep feeling thankful for such a beautiful and productive day. I would fall asleep comfortably in his arms after maybe reading a bit here and there. And if we don’t want to read… we would just talk about our dreams and where we want to travel next together. And if we don’t want to do that… we’ll just do nothing and be thankful to be in each other’s company.
The perfect day for me is when I’m thankful, feeling accomplished, and spending time with the person I love.
(There's a doggo retriever in here somewhere)"
Ooh wauw, thank you Kim. Reading about your perfect day brought a beautiful smile to my face, it's so recognizable. I absolutely love it. Especially the ending dog 🐶 😍
I’ve been fascinated with the idea of slow, or simple, living. I think we all could benefit from it
Absolutely, it would be an upgrade for most people, a peaceful, simpler life!
That absolutely sounds like an amazing day, not boring at all! Actually pretty close to what my perfect day would be 😊
Yay!! Hope to meet you soon in NZ 😍 we are leaving the 11th of January
Oh very exciting, definitely let me know when you get here!
This day does sound perfect! I feel like it is only with age and experience we come to appreciate the simpler pleasures and realise not everything needs to be flashy and big to be special.
When we are young adults, the world is our oyster and I guess this is how it should be. So we can try different versions of days and have a better idea of how our perfect day would look like :)
So true!! Thank you Milena 🧡
I too am much closer to my perfect life now than before COVID. Working from home most days has been a game-changer. Without the commute, I can have a day before my workday and have time to write and slowly enjoy my coffee.
Oooh the slow coffee in the morning is the absolute best 😍
Your day sounds absolutely DELIGHTFUL!!! And, amazing how much closer you are to that now then a couple of years ago! 💕 I always feel so much "pressure" to answer this question perfectly, and then... I spiral and can never answer it. 🤣 Because I know for me, there's seasons of different kinds of perfect days, or I know that I might be a completely different person in 17 days. 🤣 But I love this post, you have inspired me to really think on this. And approach it not from the "end all, be all perfect day of all time" but from, right now, for ordinary days, what does that perfect day look like? And, then I shall attempt to reverse engineer it. 🙏
Yessss Megan 🧡 do it your way! What works best for you. You can maybe create different types of perfect days. Let me know how it goes!! ❤️😍
Your perfect day sounds like mine - except I might get up a bit later! Not boring at all. I think it is important to appreciate the simple things in life. There is far too much over stimulation and hype in the world which inevitably leads to disapppointment. Simple is best!
Exactly this!! 🙌🏻 thank you!!
Marie, your words made me feel like I’ve just taken a warm, unhurried walk through a meadow, and I loved every step of it. I relate so much to the pull of a perfect day, the kind that feels like it belongs in a world where clocks don’t tick so loudly.
Once, I tried the Perfect Day exercise too, but my version had a minor disaster: my meditation time turned into chasing a runaway sourdough starter across the kitchen.
Do you think the boring criticism comes from others projecting their own frantic lives onto something they secretly crave? Your piece made me wonder if slow and intentional is boring, why does it feel so much like freedom?
Also, can we talk about Ottolenghi dinners? Because that sounds like the secret sauce to any perfect day.
Keep savoring those couch moments. they’re where the magic lives.
Kuriakin, crusty little philosophy, you are a philosopher! Thank you so much. Your comment made me smile!! Especially the runaway sourdough part 😅
I guess the criticism does come from a place of 'discontentment' and maybe indeed, envy.
I think it feels like freedom because it's inherently how we are supposed to live. It's only in the last century the fast-paced live has happened to humankind. Or we have done it to ourselves. Naturally, people used to live a slow life.
Euhm, Ottolenghi is the absolute best!!! Tuesday I cooked a homemade tomatosauce for a pasta, following his recipe. And it was absolutely delicious and super easy!
Marie,
your words are a breath of fresh air.
There's something so grounding about the way you describe the actual pursuit of a fulfilling life—not one polished for Instagram, but one that feels genuinely good when you’re in it.
The distinction you draw between the two types of boredom is so relatable.
That aimless, scrolling, tab-hopping boredom is an emotional drain we’ve all faced.
But the “boring” that others see in a slow, deliberate life?
It’s anything but.
It’s the kind of peace that comes when you stop performing for the world and start living for yourself.
Your description of the Perfect Day exercise is inspiring—not because it’s about crafting a flashy or extravagant life but because it’s about identifying what you value most.
Your perfect day doesn’t rely on material excess or unattainable goals.
It’s rooted in simplicity: walks with your dog, meaningful work, great food, good company, and quiet moments of joy.
That’s not “boring”—that’s purposeful.
That’s self-care. As a mental health professional, I can so appreciate that.
The transformation you’ve made is incredible.
You’ve shifted from a life dictated by stress, commutes, and unhealthy coping mechanisms to one built around intention and fulfillment.
The fact that you’re closer to your ideal life now than you were before is a testament to your growth and self-awareness.
And that last image of you on the couch, book in hand, with your dog by your side?
That’s not just a moment—it’s golden.
It’s a snapshot of the kind of contentment so many of us are chasing.
Thank you for sharing this.
It’s a great reminder that the life worth living isn’t about chasing what others find exciting but about curating what makes your heart happy.
Wishing you more of those perfectly “boring” days ahead,
—Zach
Zach, your comment touched me. Thank you for taking the time to read my post and truly understand it, and then to leave such a great comment. Means a lot. And indeed, it's an amazing transformation, something I'm super grateful for. Thankyou once more! Hope you can fill your life with a lot of your perfect days as well!
Have a wonderful day and hug your dog for me! 😊
If this is “boring” my life is boring x 1000 and it’s great! Haha. Enjoy.
🤣🙈 hahaha love this
I think we share the idea of the most perfect day! Loved discovering this post☺️
Happy you discovered it 🧡🧡🧡 thank you for reading Claire
What a wonderful exercise, Marie, and I love how you describe your perfect day + how far you came along.
I also guess that sometimes people forget in this exercise, that not every day will look like this. It is more like the things we do and values we combine that make us strive towards a specific life that contains days looking like exactly our perfect day :)
Couldn't have said it better myself 🧡🧡🧡
First move, I like. Second act, I write a comment. Third act, I copy and I past this post (ctrl C and CTRL V) because it is precious, I will reread this post. So, thank you, your thinking is precious ! Each day can be a perfect day if it is our choice
Thank you Jean, it's super special to know you saved my post and it had an impact!
The slow life is a luxury that we can all afford , once we get over the FOMO stage . I saw somewhere …. JOMO; Joy of missing out !
YES! Such a cool word, JOMO 😍
Marie, I think people would call your perfect day boring because you did not go into depth about each of the parts. They think it will be exactly like this description each day. That repetition would be boring while make time for what you describe and then fill those time blocks with things that bring you satisfaction would probably not be boring for anybody even if anybody would have different things to fill the time with.
PS.: I send you a few chats/DMs. Please take a look
Exactly, you are right Axel! (ps, I'll tackle my DMs after the weekend, I've been overloaded with work)