Intentional Living

Intentional living. I often use my planner to plan my days. I enjoy planning in my planner. Planning a good day, checking off a checklist, and completing the important things. It is possible!

Happy Monday friends! Yesterday was a wonderful day. We went to church and I volunteered with the little ones and it did my heart good to hear all the little giggles, jumping up and down while singing, and doing a Bible lesson. Simple but a great joy to my heart.

While I have been planning in my planner, I have had some new ideas and I’ve been working on something that may help you in your day to day planning. Intentional Living. What does that look like?

I decided to add and subtract and really figure out how much time I had to devote to a new, big project I am working on. I have been a bit overwhelmed and decided to really see if this project was a big dream and if I really had time to work on it.

I added up my hours-24.

I subtracted the following hours shown below. It is interesting to try this.

I now could see my open time frame to realistically work on my new project, and how it would play out

Think about this – it is so easy to figure out and makes a difference in the day.

1. 24 hours
2. Minus sleep time- Estimate 7-8 hours.
3. Realistically minus eating time 3 hours as an estimate.
4. Then minus hours for work, school, driving, etc. Estimate 9-10 hours (sometimes more) We are just estimating right now for this helpful example.
5. What is left is what is going to be the time for things that are important. People, activities, events. Your intentional choices with your specific hours is what can propel you towards destiny and more.

There is something simple about figuring out where time goes, where time is spent, and what is left. Rather than feeling stuck, or finding that time is limited, figure out where certain days can have more time available.

My top 3 when I need a little more time to finish a project, work on a magazine article, or do taxes. These are short term but they work in giving me extra time.

• Skip tv and use the time towards the project
• Get up an hour earlier, or stay up 1 hour later
• Work through lunch

I have a free planner printable for you to save, print and write in to track your days and your to do lists. But more than that the printable is to assist you in where your time goes, what you are doing with your time. I love free planner printables. Especially if they give me a guide like a play-book that a coach has for his team. Click on 2 images below, then right click to save.

Intentional Living is a simple intentional process – Writing in your planner, somewhere you can go back to and resource, and remember where your notes are- Keeping the information written in a place where it is accessible.

Write a little note, put down 24 hours, what is taken up, what is used, or what is already promised to responsibilities and daily life choices. The hours that are remaining are pivotal to accomplishments and important goals.

I thought about what I really wanted to accomplish and life and knew I would have to trade out some things time wise to get the time I needed and wanted.

Time is spent quickly. It is good to write down in a planner ( to reference back to) and see where time is being spent. I had to ask myself “Is it being overspent in an area that if I pulled back I could free up time for to accomplish what I really want to accomplish?

I have found my life is a result of my choices, and it is also a result of my not making choices, and someone else decides it for me. Work, marriage, children, church, family, and more. This isn’t a bad thing. It is something to realize. People take time and rightly so. They are important to our days and to our hearts.

Intentional Living- I wrote in my planner the kind of children I wanted. I wanted them to be talented, skilled, smart, respectful and loving. My husband and I worked at coaching them in those areas. He and I chose the church that would be great for them and empower them spiritually. We also got them involved in sports to train them teamwork, etc. I could write a lot more, maybe that is for another post.

Our children are absolutely incredible. But it took many years of investing in them with love, coaching, teaching, feeding (haha there was a lot of this!), driving them to sports, games, practices, band, meeting up with friends, going to Bible study, piano lessons, soccer practices and games, dropping them off at the movies before they could drive. There were years of investing. And the investing was intentional. Purposeful.

Purposeful planning

I remember thinking I need to help them plan, purposefully planning their days because they had no concept of their time frame when they were young. Writing their time frame in my planner and then deciding with them if it was realistic to do another sport, or focus on studies, etc. It took me to coach them and make sure they had their football uniforms, lunches, homework, permission slips signed. I ended up making myself a home binder with school information for each kid. It was a lifesaver. This was before online permisson slip signing.

Most days are pre-planned with work, or school, staying at home with little ones. Planning for all day means everyone that is part of my team (family, kids or grandkids) may be written in the planner for a certain day. My husband and I after work may baby sit kids while our daugther takes the baby to the doctor. Planning in my planner for all day, including all the people, times, locations, meal time, etc.

Planning for all day is good for a reference point or overview, to check back and see where time can be added, removed or planned a different way.

Whatever season I was in I planned differently for that season. Working full time, or staying home taking care of little ones, I planned my days differently.

It was funny, I remember thinking I had changed hundreds of thousands of diapers and that it would never end. But I had prayed for children and the responsibility fell to me to change the diapers in that season. It precluded the amazing children I had. It was the before. Before enjoying who my kids are now. All day every day, I changed diapers for 4 years or more with 3 kids in a row. It felt like forever, yet it really wasn’t.

If you need a pretty new planner & organizer, bundle, this is a wonderful one to start with. Print, and begin writing!

Think about what matters. I try to think about the biggest goal, and then make small choices towards getting closer to that goal.

Being consistent matters. Even when nothing fancy or glamorous is happening. The intentional living, being consistent is imperative to holding steady, not falling apart, and planning better days. This is one reason why I write my plans in my planner is I can go back and see what my goals are, remind myself of the choices I am making. See progress I have made.

This is just me but I have found when I am focused on living intentionally, my favorite time wasters are ever present. After work and I’m tired, sitting and looking at decorating pictures on Pinterest yells my name. Napping to shut down a stressful day (this is actually a good thing to settle my thoughts and my soul, 15 minutes of down time, not actual sleep), or just getting lost scrolling looking at the lives others are living!

However I now I have limits for myself on time wasters- I have to set limits otherwise I just waste my time, then get discouraged that I didn’t move forward.

As a believer I know that God has created me individually. Inviting Him into my day brings wisdom into my day. I often ask Him for direction, help and guidance. For me it has been a really good thing to pray and say something simple like “God please help me, I am not sure what to do here.” Simple prayers. Simple faith. Consistent, every day.

Intentional living is being purposeful and focused about your day, your plans and your life that is individual to you.

If you want to be a doctor you will line up your steps to start medical school, relocate if necessary, buy books, find housing, go online and sign up, choose classes, and so on. Because of this, your actions line up with what your focus is with what is important to you. There may be other choices. perhaps more general. Finishing college, going to church more frequently, getting better grades at school, focusing on an important relationship, a promotion at work.

Your ACTIONS matter. Intentionally choosing actions that line up with what is in your heart and with what you want to do, and the person you want to become!

For more planning, organizing and intentional living check out more on my blog Ribbonwood Planner I have tons of free planner printables to help you get started. Write in your planner, write it down, assess your days, make choices, move forward.
I also have some amazing productivity and organization resources in my shop. Everything is to assist you have better days by simply planning better days. COTTAGE CHIC PRINTABLE

Accomplish what you feel stirred to accomplish!

Blessings to you .

Debbie Booth