What Makes a Good Day?

Steven McCarthy on Designing a Good Day

Retire, but don't stop. For Steven McCarthy, professor emeritus at the University of Minnesota and lifelong designer, a good day is less about structure and more about staying curious, being aware, and having discipline. For Steven, a good day starts with sleep you didn't have to set an alarm for. He's shaped a quiet retirement ritual (coffee, sunlight, pancakes, and the morning news) that leads to exercise and creative work. His ritual traces back to his father, who started walking four miles a day in his 40s and didn't stop until he was in his 80s, logging every step and every coin he found on the ground. As a graphic designer and activist, Steven makes protest posters and marches with them. He thinks in longer time scales about his granddaughters and about trajectories that stretch past this year or this decade. He recognizes that a good day isn't always a smooth one, but it's one you show up for anyway to create a better future for all. Steven McCarthy [https://stevenmccarthy.design/] is a professor emeritus at the University of Minnesota. He writes, publishes, and exhibits design work that lives at the intersection of art, culture, and activism. Learn more about him at www.stevenmccarthy.design [https://stevenmccarthy.design] ☕ Afuera Coffee Co. - Sustainable Coffee Get 15% OFF | Promo Code: AGOODDAY https://promocode.to/afuera-coffee-co/agoodday-2ao [https://promocode.to/afuera-coffee-co/agoodday-2ao] ☕ buymeacoffee.com/renourish [http://buymeacoffee.com/renourish] (support the show!) Host: Eric Benson → ericbenson.re-nourish.org [http://ericbenson.re-nourish.org] Listen & Subscribe: re-nourish.org/podcast [http://re-nourish.org/podcast] Music by: John Opferkuch [https://open.spotify.com/artist/6n2eQU7xtNMdRJqsQC85Dg?si=CEJZcw_NSK-j01-qhCVdzA] Follow us on Instagram: @RenourishDesign [https://www.instagram.com/renourishdesign] Resources in the Episode: * Transition Design Institute [https://transitiondesigninstitute.net] * The Four Horsemen: The Conversation That Sparked an Atheist Revolution [https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-four-horsemen-the-conversation-that-sparked-an-atheist-revolution_richard-dawkins_christopher-hitchens/19761693/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=us_dsa_general_customer_acquisition_16970393170&utm_adgroup=&utm_term=&utm_content=664239405990&gad_source=5&gad_campaignid=16970393170&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIkvHmsdHIlAMV1jcIBR20ThNcEAAYASAAEgJYH_D_BwE#edition=20973039&idiq=37010592]

Shivam Patel on Winning Your Day

Win the morning, win the day. It sounds like a bumper sticker, but for Shivam Patel, a University of Illinois senior studying information science, it's a philosophy backed by Hinduism, the Bhagavad Gita, and a growing obsession with neuroscience. He joins host Eric Benson to walk through what a genuinely intentional day looks like. For Shivam, a good day starts the night before. He has a detailed relationship with the hours between waking up and walking out the door; one that's a spiritual practice, physical ritual, and conscious boundary-setting. The routine isn't about discipline for its own sake. It's about protecting that early, vulnerable window before the world gets loud and the day starts making demands on you. Shivam’s evening gets equal attention. Gratitude, reflection in careful doses, and reframing questions help him turn rough days into positive learning experiences. He and Eric focus on Kintsugi (the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery) as the episode's quiet thesis. Pieced back together with the right kind of attention, unfortunate events might end up more valuable than smooth ones ever were. Shivam Patel [https://www.linkedin.com/in/shivam-j-patel/] is a senior at the University of Illinois studying information science. He is passionate about design, dance, agentic workflows, and the examined life. ☕ Afuera Coffee Co. - Sustainable Coffee Get 15% OFF | Promo Code: AGOODDAY https://promocode.to/afuera-coffee-co/agoodday-2ao [https://promocode.to/afuera-coffee-co/agoodday-2ao] ☕ buymeacoffee.com/renourish [http://buymeacoffee.com/renourish] (support the show!) Host: Eric Benson → ericbenson.re-nourish.org [http://ericbenson.re-nourish.org] Listen & Subscribe: re-nourish.org/podcast [http://re-nourish.org/podcast] Music by: John Opferkuch [https://open.spotify.com/artist/6n2eQU7xtNMdRJqsQC85Dg?si=CEJZcw_NSK-j01-qhCVdzA] Follow us on Instagram: @RenourishDesign [https://www.instagram.com/renourishdesign] Resources mentioned in the episode: * Bhagavad Gita [https://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-Gita-Original-English-As/dp/B07MDTX8BR] * Barbara Fredrickson – Positivity (TED Talk & Book) [https://www.ted.com/podcasts/how-to-be-a-better-human/how-to-find-connection-and-love-in-everyday-life-w-barbara-fredrickson-transcript] * Andy Elliott Official – YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@AndyElliottOfficial] * Kintsugi – Japanese Broken Pottery Art [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kintsugi]

Elizabeth Azide on Living a Life That Feels Like You

What does it actually mean to have a good day — and can you design one? Host Eric Benson, a graphic design professor and climate advocate, has been wrestling with that question since the pandemic turned every day into Groundhog Day. For his first guest, he turns to Elizabeth Azide, marketer, writer, and the mind behind The Philosophy of Everything. [http://thephilosophyofeverything.com/] Elizabeth brings a Stoic lens to the question — rooted in Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, and the simple but profound idea: “did today feel like me?” Elizabeth and Eric dig into how aligning actions with intentions (not just outputs) defines a meaningful day, why being disciplined can become its own trap, and how writing down three small wins each night retrains your brain toward gratitude over achievement. They also tackle whether "what makes a good day" is even a fair question when so much of the world is struggling — and land somewhere honest and hopeful. About Elizabeth Azide Marketer by day, philosopher always. Elizabeth writes at thephilosophyofeverything.com [http://thephilosophyofeverything.com] — where practical Stoicism meets everyday life. Host: Eric Benson → ericbenson.re-nourish.org [http://ericbenson.re-nourish.org] Listen & Subscribe: re-nourish.org/podcast [http://re-nourish.org/podcast] Music by: John Opferkuch [https://open.spotify.com/artist/6n2eQU7xtNMdRJqsQC85Dg?si=CEJZcw_NSK-j01-qhCVdzA] Follow us on Instagram: @RenourishDesign [https://www.instagram.com/renourishdesign] Resources mentioned in the episode: * The Time Ferris Show with Michael Phelps & Grant Hackett [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/494-michael-phelps-and-grant-hackett-two-legends-on/id863897795?i=1000506092715] * Meditations [https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-emperors-handbook-a-new-translation-of-the-meditations_marcus-aurelius/261266/item/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=us_dsa_general_customer_acquisition_16970393170&utm_adgroup=&utm_term=&utm_content=593719094136&gad_source=5&gad_campaignid=16970393170&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIo7Sws4CblAMVqEr_AR29EBB9EAAYAiAAEgI1pPD_BwE#edition=73190399&idiq=84684081], by Marcus Aurelius * The Tim Ferris Show with Ryan Holiday [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/419-ryan-holiday-how-to-use-stoicism-to-choose-alive/id863897795?i=1000471015160] * Jocko Willink [https://jocko.com/]

What Makes a Good Day?

What Makes a Good Day is a podcast for anyone who creates, hosted by design professor Eric Benson (of the award-winning Climify podcast). Each episode tackles the ancient question that feels urgently contemporary: what constitutes a life worth living? What Makes a Good Day skips the productivity hacks and morning routine worship. Instead, I ask: are you living by your own values, or reacting to everyone else's expectations? Through conversations with creative practitioners who've figured a few things out, alongside insights from Stoic philosophy and contemporary psychology, we explore how small, intentional choices compound into lives that feel genuinely meaningful and joyous. What Makes a Good Day is your weekly reset—a space to step back from the chaos and honestly assess how to make each day live up to the life you want to live. Join me. Let's figure out what we're actually doing here.