Over the last several months, I have made a conscious effort at being INTENTIONAL. But what does being intentional really mean?
To me it's thinking things through before acting. Lets be honest it is VERY hard to slow down in everyday life. We are all running at a speed in which we are out of breath as we take each step into the next day. Very rarely do we take the time to really think about what our next steps will be and how we will execute.
This was me, I hardly slowed down enough to think about what my next step was going to be. It wasn't that I wasn't organized because I most certainly did have a very clear "To Do List" but I didn't put more thought on what I wanted to get out of the To Do Item. For example it was completely normal for me to have Team Meeting on my to do list. It's mere presence was there as a placeholder so that I would print my documents on the way out of my office to the actual meeting. When I started my shift to being intentional I made an effort to determine: what I wanted to walk away with from that team meeting and what I wanted others to walk away with as well. What did we need to accomplish in this 60 minutes together as a team? How did we make it valuable for all parties attending?
Just this thinking through my objectives and next steps made me slow down and be intentional in what GOT my energy and what didn't NEED my energy. Sure it makes us feel good to have a list of to do items and then be able to mark them off the list before the end of the day but did we focus our efforts on the areas of greatest use of our time. Time is something we never get more of, so why not make the best use of the time we do have. I challenge each of you to view your to do list for this week and focus on three items that MUST get your attention. Think through how you can make those 3 items more than just something crossed off your list. Go into that "item" with a purpose and then see how you feel when you had a course mapped out ahead of time and were able to provide direction to others and not drag them behind you.
Being intentional will give you a confidence you didn't know was possible, which will then in turn lead you to build this into your daily activities. This works not only at work but at home too. Think of how wonderful you will feel when you are using your time more wisely by having intentional acts each day.
Sincerely,
Your Intentional Blogger Faye
