This guide will help you create an Intentional year through implementing a holistic plan to get your mindset into gear.
The idea of creating a plan is to provide a foundation that will allow you to refer back to in each of the seasons you find yourself in this year. It is a plan that will be able to direct you each day, week and month. Creating a plan and wellness foundation will help you show up every day as your best self. I have found this is the most challenging during motherhood, especially when you have limited time to yourself. Creating a plan or a framework that you can adapt and refer to is key.Â
If we are able to show up as our best selves, then we will have the mindset to be intentional with the time that we have. If we are overwhelmed, tired and mentally fatigued, then we are less likely to be intentional with our time and more likely to be lazy. When I say lazy, I don’t mean that you did nothing today, because as a mum we do things every second of the day, I mean that when we get to the end of the day we feel as though we accomplished nothing, that we were lazy.Â
Ephesians 5: 15-17 - ‘Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.’
Here are a few steps to get you into a mindset of creating an intentional year.Â
Use our FREE template to help guide you through the process. Download it here.
STEP 1: What are your values?
How do you do life? What do you prioritise? It is sometimes hard to take the time to sit down and actually write these out, but they are evidenced in how you live your life.Â
These might change through the seasons of life. There is no one answer, it ebbs and flows with the ups and downs of life. For example, what you value most pre-marriage may be different post-marriage or even post-kids.Â
Once you have your values set, perhaps think of a few other words that go with them to help encourage you or perhaps even ways you can implement them.Â
For example, if one of your core values is ‘relationships’ and you value the relationships with your friends and family, then a word that goes with this to help you achieve your intentional lifestyle would be ‘plan’ or ‘schedule’ to help you set out your time so that you can be intentional with your time and foster these relationships rather than becoming overwhelmed and missing out on opportunities to grow.Â
STEP 2: Create a vision board
For those of you that are visual people, this is your time to shine! Create a vision board demonstrating your values and encouragement for the year. This can be a visual space for you to highlight your dreams, priorities, encouragement, inspiration, environment and life.Â
You can do this physically on a board on your desk, or you can open up Canva and have a go at uploading photos to make a collage of your board.Â
STEP 3: Seasonal / Quarterly plan and how you are going to make that happen
I will be the first to say that it is easy to lose your way during the year. The spare time we have in January to plan and organise our mindset gets lost with life. Things become busy, events come up, celebrations, holidays, they all take up space in our heads, particularly as mums.Â
Setting a goal for each quarter to help you create a more intentional life with a focus on wellness will help you achieve so much by the end of the year!Â
To help with your overall goal this year to be more intentional with your time, then here are a few examples that you might use as quarterly goals.Â
First Quarter - Intentional homesteading goal
Theme / Goal: Make one product switch and ditch to work towards a natural non-toxic household
Plan:Â I will switch out my everyday house spray and wipe cleaner to the Young Living Thieves household cleaner. This will allow me to use it as a general cleaner, and in conjunction with several other products and lessen the amount of toxic cleaners in the house while I am in my motherhood season.Â
Second Quarter - Intentional wellness goal
Theme / Goal: Have 30 minutes a day to myselfÂ
Plan: Wake up 30 minutes earlier than the first child to get up, make coffee, read my bible, scroll on my phone and just have quiet time before I am needed for multiple tasks during the day as a mum. Setting an alarm at 5am and getting up.Â
Third Quarter - Intentional relationships goal
Theme / Goal: To spend more time with my spouse outside of parenthood
Plan: Sit down and watch an episode of a TV show and eat snacks each night or a few nights a week (this is something we used to do all the time as our time together, but now we are so tired after putting kids to bed!).Â
Fourth quarter - Productive use of time goal
Theme / Goal: Be consistent with my blogging
Plan: Set out a schedule of posts and brainstorm at the beginning of each season and plan out content, rather than trying to create meaningful content each day.Â
STEP 4: Set 3 daily wellness goals
As mums, we are needed every second of every day. We are in our season of serving others. This can become exhausting, or even mentally challenging. I find that I am constantly having to remind myself to take a breath and remember this is just a season. It won’t be like this forever. But for now, prioritising a few minutes a day for my own wellness is necessary, especially after having baby number 2.Â
Make these daily wellness goals attainable. If they aren’t simple and attainable, it is easy to get lost in trying to achieve them and you lose your intentionality again.Â
For example, your daily goal might be to have your coffee to start the day, take a shower before 9am, eat one nutritious meal in a day. These are all attainable for the most part. How good does it feel when you have ticked something off your list for the day? Well, how about checking off 3 things each day? It’s the little things that count. You are in a much more productive mindset after already achieving something for the day.Â
If you need to, make a plan for how you are going to achieve those goals. For example, you will have your coffee when you wake up early before the kids are up, or you will shower after you have given your toddler breakfast and fed the baby’s first bottle. Plan the time. It isn’t always going to work out, but if you know what you are going to do and when it feels much more attainable!
I hope this helps you achieve an intentional year.
Our FREE template to assist you in completing the above steps can be downloaded below!