The happiest part of a man’s life is what he passes lying awake in bed in the morning.

There is an hour before a day takes hold when nothing has gone wrong yet and everything is still possible in outline. Nobody wants anything from you, no message has arrived, and the mind wanders freely because it has not been assigned. A surprising amount of happiness lives in that unclaimed space rather than in achievement.

Try keeping ten minutes of the morning unassigned, before the phone and before the list. Let your mind go where it wants without deciding it should be productive. If that time keeps getting eaten, the question is not whether you are busy but what you have agreed to let interrupt you.