5 Tips To Living Life With More Intention
Do you ever find yourself crawling into bed at night feeling like you didn't get anything done? Or feel like your life is moving at the speed of light and you are checking off months faster than items off your to-do list? Trying to figure out how to have more time or clone yourself? If you answered yes to any of those, know you are not alone beautiful creative. I can personally relate to these struggles.
When you have these moments, its a good time to take a step back and ask yourself not how to have more hours in a day (because the reality of "there is only 24 hours in a day" is not going to change), but how to live more intentionally with the hours you do have.
Living more intentionally is a small but powerful shift that can make a huge difference in our lives. It means being more aware. Aware of our thoughts, our actions, our habits, how we spend our time, who we spend our time with and where our energy flows.
Before I share my 5 tips to living with more intention, I want to throw down some loving honesty here. Living more intentionally is meant to be life changing and nothing that changes our lives happens magically overnight. It will take work and consistency.
You will have moments of epic failure where you slip back into old habits and ways of doing things that feel comfortable. Show yourself some grace through this process and know that you are going to have to work hard at it.
1. Slow Down. Be Still.
Slowing down does wonders for the soul. When we be still we give ourselves sacred time and space to go deep within ourselves where our inner voice and intuition lives. There is so much noise in the world. Everyone has an answer. Everyone has an opinion but what divine wisdom does your authentic inner truth have? When I slow down I can hear God's voice. I can hear the Holy Spirit guiding me. Whatever your spiritual beliefs are, being still allows you to hear divine wisdom and find peace.
Create a space that is free of distractions. Whether you have 10 minutes or an hour each day, use this time to read your bible, do a simple deep breathing exercise or guided meditation.
Whatever puts you in a relaxed state to reconnect with yourself for a few moments. Allow your mind, body and soul to be cleansed from stress and anxiety so you can make decisions with sound mind and peaceful soul.
2. Say NO To Multitasking
If you are reading this right now while trying to respond to emails, shoving down a bite to eat and folding laundry I know how easy is it to feel like the more you are doing the more you are getting done but its actually counter productive.
No matter how hard you try to convince yourself that you are the world's most talented multitasker (I am guilty of selling myself this story too), you aren't. Its impossible to do multiple things at once and do them well. It only sucks your energy, causes frustration and decreases productivity.
Instead, make what you are doing a priority, giving it your 100% attention and being fully present in the moment. You will get it done faster and you can check it off your list and move on feeling productive. Multitasking does not serve you or those around you so make a vow to yourself to stop doing it.
3. Journal
Journaling is an exercise that I resisted for a long time and honestly for no other reason than I did not have time to sit and write. What a lame excuse. Once I started journaling about my day, my thoughts and emotions it led to major shifts in my life like being more grateful and identifying sources of frustration.
For example, if I am journaling day after day about how frustrated I feel when I scroll through my Facebook newsfeed or how tired I feel when I wake up in the morning, its clearly time to make some changes like less time on social media and committing to go to bed earlier. This is the beauty of being more aware of how you spend your time.
My journaling practice showed me how important it was for me to reflect upon my day and the clarity it provided. I realized making time to journal was something that I needed to make a priority. The best way to know exactly what is going on in your life and where your energy is flowing is to record it and reflect upon it.
4. Control Your Time
Have you ever thought to yourself "How do people find the time to do it all?" or "Where do they find the time to blog?" or "Where does she find the time to exercise?" The honest truth, they don't find it, they make time to focus on what really matters in their life.
Can't work your business 6 hours every day? Stop telling yourself that if you can't work our business for 6 hours you just can't get anything done and instead intentionally focus on your business for an hour each day and make that time really count. Don't have two hours every day to go to the gym? Set aside 30 minutes at home to knock out a yoga set.
Just because you can't create the picture perfect vision in your head doesn't mean you just throw your hands up in defeat. Bottom line, if its truly important to you, you will intentionally set aside time for it. You either control your time or it controls you.
5. Make A Declaration of Intention
I love this fun image by Emily McDowell for making a declaration of intention:
"This year I will, __________. I will let go of _____________ and embrace ___________. I will honor my ___________ and love my ___________. I will stand up and share my _________ with the world!"
Start today living more intentionally and be prepared to be amazed at how much it changes your life xo
I am April Williams, the #CreativeMomista of two boys • Storyteller • Coffee Addict • Warrior For God • Texas Country Girl • Creative Expressive • Passionate about more purpose and less perfection in life, business and design • Founder of Creative Brandista
