Instead of counting sheep to help me go to sleep at night, I like to daydream (night dream?). It has been an effective way for me to forget the reality of life, calm my brain and help me sleep. Call it a different type of meditation. These daydreams are frivolous and far fetched. Very little reality involved. Candy for my brain.

What kind of dreaming do you do? Is it all brain candy? Or, do you also do some deliberate dreaming? Do you take the time to dream about what you want to do? What you want to be? What you want to accomplish? I talk a lot about being intentional and feel that we also need to be intentional with our dreams. Take some time to ponder what you want to achieve. Write it down. Sketch it out. Create a collage of pictures to visualize it. Tweak it. Arrange it. But then get to work on it.

I just returned from a wonderful intermission (vacation) with my fabulous wife. It was a great time to catch up and spend some time together walking and talking. We took some time to dream about the next 10 years of our life and what we want to do. It takes time to do this. We came up with several drafts. We started over a few times. We rearranged it and are close to agreeing on it. Once we agree on it, the fun begins as we work on it. Our planning included work, our changing family, vacations, major purchases, home renovation, savings, and working towards retirement. These were topics important to us. It took a chunk of time just coming up with the topics. Then we discussed scenarios. It was so helpful just to talk and hear each other’s perspectives. (As a side, perspectives change over time and you might be surprised to find your significant other’s views have changed since you last spoke.)

Take the time to dream. Personally, with your partner, with your family, direct reports, boss, etc. Dreams can and should turn into reality. They should turn into goals and daily tasks. Dreams shouldn’t be something that just help you get to sleep.