Personal Day 1: a new start

A day for the first move. What you start today will carry you through the coming days. Personal Day 1 is about beginning: it rewards action, not preparing for it.

A Personal Day is worked out from your date of birth and today's date, and it runs in a cycle from 1 to 9. Below: what to spend such a day on, what to avoid, and how it shows in work, relationships and travel.

What kind of day it is

Today you decide, not circumstances. Pick the one thing that matters most and tackle it in the morning.

The day gives momentum to whoever acts. There is no point waiting for the right moment: it is already here.

What to do on a Personal Day 1

• Start what you have been putting off
• Make one decision on your own
• Make the first call yourself
• Say plainly what you want
• Try a new approach
• Set a date and begin

What to avoid

• Waiting for someone's permission
• Arguing over who is in charge
• Doing ten things at once
• Putting things off until next week
• Deciding for other people
• Looking back at yesterday

Morning, evening and best hours

Morning is your best time today: whatever you decide before noon gets moving.

Do not start a second task this evening: let the first one settle.

The best hours of a Personal Day 1 are 08:00–10:00. That is the time to give to the main thing of the day.

Work

Initiative is what counts today. Take the task you have been circling and do the first real piece of it. Do not wait for jobs to be handed out: whoever starts decides how it goes on. If you work for yourself, go after a new client or put together a new offer.

Speak in the first person today. Offer your own solution and take responsibility for it. A job claimed early gets moving; one left for later only gets heavier. The same holds at home: a job belongs to whoever picks up the tools first.

Relationships

The first move is yours today. Do not wait for anyone to guess: say what you want, make the invitation, suggest the plan. A direct request is easier to answer than a hint. If you are single, be the first to write to the person you keep thinking about.

Today you need more space of your own. Say so calmly before it turns into irritation. Nobody close to you is a rival, and there is no need to prove who is right. Do something for yourself and come back in a better mood.

Travel

An early start pays off today: you set the pace instead of chasing it. If you keep meaning to go somewhere and keep putting it off, set the date today. Choose the route yourself; do not leave it to anyone else.

Today favours travelling on your own terms. A trip alone suits the day: you decide where to stop. It is a good day for a first journey by a new route, to a new place or on a new bicycle.

How to tell that today is your Personal Day 1

A Personal Day takes three steps. First, the Personal Year: add your birth month, your birth day and the current year, reducing each to a single digit, then reduce the total to a single digit.

Next, the Personal Month: add the number of the current month to the Personal Year and reduce again. Finally, the Personal Day: add today's calendar date to the Personal Month and reduce to a single digit.

Example: Personal Month 5 and the 12th give 17, and 1 + 7 = 8. That is a Personal Day 8. The next day is a 9, then a 1 again.