Something I’ve learned over the past few years is the importance of living with intention; being intentional with my time, being intentional in the things I put my energy into and being intentional with my family and friends.
But what does it mean to live with intention? To me, it means seeing the bigger picture and making choices now that foster a better tomorrow. That means taking a hard look at my priorities and making a plan for them.
I think we all have those moments in our lives where we think, “I’ve got to think about my priorities” or “what do I need to make a priority in my life?” Of course, setting your priorities is easier than keeping them. This is where living with intention can be helpful.
Living with intention takes practice, giving yourself grace and resetting yourself. Practice, grace, reset. The easiest way to start living with intention is to make a plan.
There’s never enough time. I wish I had time to do that. Where did the time go? What will we do to pass the time? Am I wasting my time? These are all thoughts we have at one time or another. The simplest way to “keep track of your time” is to have a calendar or schedule. Knowing where your time is going or where it will be going allows you to take a hard look at your priorities and make adjustments as needed. Take a few moments and think about what you would like to accomplish in the next few days, weeks and months. Maybe you need to make yourself a To Do list, maybe you have errands to run, kids events to attend, or you’ve volunteered to help with something. Simply writing them down and seeing what all you have to do is a simple way to start being intentional with your time.
Working full-time and having a daughter who does competition dance and another daughter who does dance and gymnastics means a lot of running around and limited family time. This is an area I would encourage you to make a priority in your life – family time. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “The days are long, but the years are short.” As my children have gotten older, I can’t tell you how much this rings true. I am more acutely aware of the limited family time I have before they “fly the coop.”
Being intentional with my family means we eat dinner together as a family at the kitchen table (with no tv in the background or electronics at the table) as many nights as we can each week. Some nights it’s a quick meal before we run off to dance or gymnastics and some nights it’s a longer story-telling, reminiscing, laughing at each other meal together. This time is important to me and I make it a priority.
My oldest daughter has taken an interest in cooking and not too long ago, we started using Hello Fresh meal delivery service. What started as a way to try new foods, be mindful of our food waste, cut down eating out and save time with meal planning has turned into treasured time as she helps me prepare the meals. Trust me, when I get home from work, I would much rather “just order out” or “oh, just let me do it” (as I watch her very, very slowly cut the vegetables), but this is now something I intentionally make the time for.
I need this time with my family- to feel their love, to make sure they know of my love for them and to simply do what God has blessed me to be able to do – be a wife and mother. My highest calling and greatest responsibilities sit at that table and I do not want to miss that!
We also try to plan a family-fun day at least once a month. (That will be a whole other blog post as my wanderlust gets the best of me).
How many times have you said something like this, “when he/she goes to bed, I’ll call you,” “let me get through this week and we’ll catch up,” “I would love to, but (insert reason/excuse)?” We are busy people! Work, family and now trying to keep up with friends. That’s a lot. I don’t want to lose the connection I have with my friends. Whether we talk every day, every 6 months or we haven’t talked in “I can’t remember how long,” putting time and energy into keeping friendships alive and flourishing takes work.
Being intentional in my friendships means that sometimes I choose to use my time for them and not me. I love to send cards; old-fashioned, hand-written cards. It takes more time to pick a card, write a card, address a card and mail a card than sending a 30 second text or Marco Polo video, but this is a way I choose to be intentional in staying connected with my friends. Of all my best friends, the closest one lives six hours away – not exactly possible to meet up for coffee or dinner. If you are blessed to live close to your besties, then you could choose to skip that Netflix marathon you’ve been planning and go to dinner with a friend. Set a date and block that out from planning anything else so you and your squad can do something together. Maybe ask your husband if he can put the kids to bed tonight so you can call and catch up with a friend. If you want to continue to have your friends, you have to intentionally plan to spend time with them.
I think that seeing where you spend your time, planning your time and protecting your time will help balance your life and set you on a path to live with intention.
I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments on living with intention.
