Do you ever feel like your days are without direction? Instead of feeling like every day is imbued with purpose, are you instead just trying to get through each day? If so, it is time to learn how to start living intentionally.
When we live intentionally, we don’t try to merely survive the day. We don’t plod along, hoping merely to get to the end of the day without any major problems. Instead, we set a plan for how we intend to spend our day.
When we live intentionally, our time is spent doing those things that matter most to us. Our days are focused on achieving our goals and doing the activities that we truly enjoy. The benefit is that if all your days are spent living intentionally, you someday will look back and find that you lived a life which reflected your most important values.
Unfortunately, living intentionally doesn’t come naturally to most of us. Instead, we have to work at it! Below are ways to start living an intentional life. Try these approaches and see how much more meaningful your life can become!
Start Each Day with A Plan
To live intentionally, you need to start each day by deciding what you want to accomplish that day. If you don’t, your time is up for grabs. And other people will hijack it. They’ll view your time as available to meet their needs.
And even if others don’t take up your time, if you don’t make a plan for the day, you easily can putter along, without direction. And by the end of the day, you won’t have done anything meaningful or important to you!
That is why it is critical to start each day with a plan. For instance, I start each day with the intention to accomplish certain things. For example, each day, I have writing goals. My writing career is important to me, so I don’t allow a day to pass by without doing some writing for Create A Great Life.
I also set goals for exercise. I like to break up my exercise throughout the day. My goal is always to do three separate exercise activities each day. Now, some days, life doesn’t go according to plan, and I may only get to exercise once or twice. But my intention each day is to get in at least three opportunities for physical exercise.
If I don’t set a plan for the day, I’ll end up only doing the bare minimum, and I’ll just meet my basic responsibilities. Or I may end up solely meeting the needs of others. And that isn’t a very satisfying way to spend a day.
Realize that in order to have a truly satisfying day, you need to live intentionally. And that means starting the day with a plan as to what you intend to do with your day.
Align Your Daily Activities with Your Values
Living an intentional life, means living a life that reflects your values. The challenge is that other people can take up your time with the things that they value. And then your time, effectively, gets wasted.
For example, I value being able to read, think, write and reflect. I love being around books, either in a library or a bookstore. In fact, my ideal Saturday afternoon is sipping a cup of tea while reading a good book.
I have zero interest in being busy, running from one activity to another, or otherwise overcomplicating life. I like my life to be simple.
So, I ensure that my daily activities reflect those values. I make sure not to pack too much into a day. And I leave some time each day for quiet reflection and reading.
Living an intentional life is important because life is short! So, don’t let other people take up your time with their agendas, needs or desires. Instead, figure out what you value, and then intentionally structure your days to reflect what matters to you.
Be Intentional with How You Spend Your Money
A large part of living intentionally is being intentional with how we spend our money. Often, we fall into the trap of spending our money on nonsense. And then we wonder why we don’t have the cash to do those things that are most important to us.
How we spend our money is a reflection of what we truly value. For example, my husband and I value education. We believe that educating young people, especially young women, is the best way to transform our world into a better place. So, our paying for my daughter’s college education reflects that value.
It is important to be mindful of how we spend our money both in the big ways and in smaller ways. For example, if you buy a cup of $2 coffee at your local coffee house each day, that seems like a small amount. But realize that expense adds up to $730 per year.
Now, if you value having someone else make you a cup of coffee every morning, that $730 per year may be worth it. After all, it is a small way to feel pampered at the start of the day. But if you are just as happy with a pot of your homemade brew, you might consider spending that money on something else that truly reflects what is important to you.
The key is to be intentional about every penny that you spend. In short, to live intentionally, you want to spend your money only on those things that are most important to you.
If you are seeking to start living intentionally, consider following the approaches above. Don’t just live your days on autopilot. Instead, choose how you will spend every moment of the day. Live intentionally, and see how much happier and more meaningful your life can be. (To read about a values-based approach to time management, click here.)
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