Ja(y)den D. Harper -Author Collective

We used to think an ideal week had to be perfect. Productive. Balanced.
Now we think it just needs to feel like ours.

So here’s what our ideal week looks like — not the fantasy, not the resume-friendly version, just something that feels like living instead of surviving.

Monday

Starts slow. No alarms blaring. No inbox guilt. Just a warm drink and maybe a hoodie that still smells like last week’s good ideas.
We get into something creative early — a half-written idea, a sketch, a piece of code. We don’t try to finish it. We just try to enjoy it.
Phone stays on silent until noon. No doomscrolling before brain engagement.

Tuesday

We get some momentum.
The project from Monday starts making sense.
Messages get answered. Not all of them. Just the ones that matter.
Lunch isn’t skipped. Water gets drunk. Stretching happens.
No gold stars, but hey — we’re moving.

Wednesday

Midweek magic. The brain wakes up with ideas.
We ride the wave. Hit flow. Forget to check the time.
There’s music on. Something lo-fi. Maybe something we used to love in high school.
We finish something today. Maybe something small. Maybe something that doesn’t pay — but it feels like us.

Thursday

We crash a little.
Midweek catches up.
We feel kind of useless, kind of restless. So we take a walk, blast a podcast, stare at the clouds like it’s a sport.
We message someone just to say hey. We clean up a corner of our life. It’s enough.
Dinner’s easy. No shame in cereal.

Friday

We start to feel human again.
We wrap up whatever’s still hanging. Or we don’t.
Someone says something funny and it turns into a full spiral of laughter that resets our mood.
We make a spontaneous plan. A night drive. A movie. A “want to come over?” that feels like home.

Saturday

We don’t set alarms.
We touch grass. Literally.
There’s sunshine or rain — we’re good either way.
We do something just for fun. Build something. Cook something. Play.
We get weird with a hobby no one else understands.
The phone stays in the corner. We don’t miss it.

Sunday

We slow down.
Maybe a bit of prep for the week.
Maybe just a blanket, tea, and a playlist we’ve been looping for too long.
We journal, reflect, make peace with whatever didn’t get done.
No pressure. No panic.
Just a quiet finish.

That’s it.
That’s the week we’re chasing.

Not a vacation. Not a sprint.
Just a rhythm that makes us feel like us again.