Things I learned from Phineas and Ferb

My kids really enjoy watching a cartoon program called “Phineas and Ferb.” If you’re a parent you might be familiar with the show and if you’re not a parent, but watch it anyway, I’m not here to judge.

Phineas and Ferb are stepbrothers who decide to pursue some fabulous adventure in every episode. Just before the adventures begin, Phineas turns to Ferb and says, “Ferb, I know what we’re going to do today.”

I don’t know why that line has stuck in my head, but recently it dawned on me that maybe Phineas and Ferb are onto something with the way they schedule their lives.

Now, I’m not going to suggest living your life according to the “Tao of Phineas and Ferb,” but even so, I should probably explain myself quickly before you think I’ve lost my mind.

When I think back to times in my life where I’ve been unhappy, often these times have been exceptionally busy, but I haven’t been doing what I really wanted to do. I’ve changed my career a couple of times because I wasn’t finding a single thing in my work day that excited me or allowed me to use my greatest strengths. I hope you don’t know what that feels like, but if you do, you know it’s a pretty miserable way to live.

Even today, despite my best intentions, I can be my own worst enemy by over-scheduling my life, only leaving time to get to the “must do’s” and none of the “want to do’s” on my list. The end of those days leave me exhausted, unfulfilled and even a little angry at myself that I didn’t build in at least one thing that I could get excited about.

I know that “life happens” and that few of us have total control of our time or our circumstances. I certainly don’t. But if you declared even a single thing each day that you really wanted to do and found a way to do it, how happy would you be? Just one thing?

For me, it’s making time to exercise or time to write this blog. It’s about making time to play with my kids (though I’m still terrible about turning off my BlackBerry when I know I should).

At work it’s about doing more writing, getting involved in interesting projects, stretch assignments, or learning new skills. You might think that my job is different from yours, that interesting opportunities are all around me, but the truth is that I often have to think up these opportunities myself or “invent” the need so that I can do something I know is helpful, but also what I want to be doing.

My life is a far cry from the lives of two cartoon characters that have every day of their summer vacation to use as they see fit (did I just compare myself to cartoon characters?). But, each day that I can decide what that one thing is that I can enjoy doing, and then follow it through, is a really good day.