Start Your Day with Intention
Do you ever look back on your day and wonder what went wrong, how it got out of your control? Do you ever get the feeling that you're drifting through the day, blown in different directions by endless surprises and other people's priorities?
Starting your day with intention is a way to regain a sense of control by focusing yourself on what's important to you. You'll still face distractions and unexpected demands—a crying baby, a needy customer, an overstressed coworker—but keeping an intention in mind can help you get through the day with forward progress and a sense that you're being true to yourself.
What does it mean to start your day with intention?
Intentions are different from task goals. An intention is something you want to be, not something you want to achieve.
An intention is an objective that's aligned with your values. It might include something you want to get done, but as a step toward something meaningful and personal to you. An intention is connected to a feeling of being a better person. It's a commitment to yourself.
To start your day with intention is to take a few minutes at the start of each day, before you get swept up in the daily routine, to think about one objective you want to focus on. Your intention might include to be present as a parent or partner, be open to new ideas at work, stay calm under pressure, or nourish your creativity. The possibilities are endless. The important thing is that your intention should support your values and who you want to be.
Examples of Daily Intentions
Today, I will do the following:
- Help someone else.
- Eat healthy foods.
- Be kind.
- Give my full attention to an important work effort.
- Learn a new skill.
- Be the best parent I can be.
- Make progress in getting out of debt.
- Keep an open mind, and seek out new ideas.
The intention you choose might have to do with an important personal goal, such as a healthy life change or an effort to deal with difficult emotions. It might be in support of improving relationships or achieving a key ambition. Whatever intention you choose, treat it as a gentle reminder, not a rigid rule.
Tips for Starting Your Day with Intention
A good time to set your intention is when you are lying in bed, in the calm time after sleep before you get up and launch into your day. If you cut things close in the morning, you might set your alarm for a few minutes before you need to get up in order to have a few calm minutes in bed. Or you might link contemplation of your intention to another part of your morning routine, choosing it while you're in the shower or sipping your coffee, after you brush your teeth, or during a five-minute meditation.
To strengthen your commitment to your intention, think about how you will feel when you follow through on it and how you will look back on the day. Visualize what it would look like to act according to your intention. If it's a meaningful intention, connected to your values, the anticipation of acting on your intention should make you feel good about yourself.
To fix your intention in your mind, you might try these ideas:
- Say it out loud.
- Write it as a note to yourself—on your phone, on a slip of paper in your wallet, or on a sticky note to attach to your computer.
- Add it to your daily calendar.
- Enter it in your journal, if you keep one.
- Share your intention with a close friend in a mutually reinforcing arrangement.
With your intention in mind as you start your day, you'll feel more in control of your life. The day won't seem like a random series of events acting on you. You will be reacting to those events with internal guidance from your intention.
Here are a few other points to keep in mind as you practice starting your day with intention:
- You will still face distractions. Some days, you may have so many distractions that you won't have a chance to act on your intention. When that happens, accept it and move on. Tomorrow is another day.
- Your intention isn't your only focus for the day. You'll have tasks and responsibilities, many of which will be unrelated to your intention. Your intention acts as a rudder, steering you to your most important priorities while you deal with life in all its complexity.
- You might have a new intention every day or stick with the same one until you've made progress on a key goal.
- At the end of the day, look back and consider how you did. Congratulate yourself on your progress, and savor the feeling of personal improvement. If you were distracted from your intention, consider how that happened and what you might do differently tomorrow.
Morgan, H. (2021, October). Start your day with intention (C. Meeker & B. Schuette, Eds.). Raleigh, NC: Workplace Options.