Monthly Intentions: How To Achieve Goals & Create Habits

In November, I decided to sit down with my notebook and do something new: set intentions for the month. Mini goals that would (hopefully) lead to me achieving bigger goals and cultivating habits. I tend to be quite obsessive when I put something down on paper. If it’s a goal, I’ll try my level best to achieve it. So I knew that if I wrote down a few intentions that were specific and achievable, I’d do my best to make them a priority, which is how to form habits.

After trying it out in November and December, I decided to post about about it on my Instagram stories. I got so many messages about it that I decided I wanted to do a blog post about it.

I stopped believing in New Year’s Resolutions a few years ago because, from my experience, they don’t work. Sweeping statements about losing 20 pounds or reading 50 books are completely unrealistic. I’ve learned that in order to achieve goals, they need to be specific and measurable. I’ve also found that I need to set micro-goals in order to achieve macro goals. Breaking down goals into bite-sized pieces, if you will. And intentions are exactly that. They’re a combination on specific actions, and things to be mindful of in order to achieve bigger goals.

This January, I set a few intentions for myself, all of which I’ll break down for you so you have a clearer understanding as to why I set them:

1. Meditate everyday

I’m prone to stress. Like serious stress and burnout. It took me years to actually give meditation a go – I figured it was nonsense that I didn’t have time for. They say that if you don’t have time for meditation, you need it most, and after having done it on and off for the past year, I can attest to it being true.

I decided to set meditation as a goal because I wanted to make it a non-negotiable habit. Everyone has time to meditate for 10 minutes in the day, and I find it grounds me and helps keep my stress levels at bay. I didn’t commit to meditating every morning (although this is 99% the case), because there’s a 1% chance that for some reason, I can’t get to it in the morning. Instead of setting myself up for failure and not doing it at all, I left the time of day that I meditate open-ended. I know I have an obsessive personality, so this is what works for me. This year, I’m committed to giving myself permission to rest, and make my mental wellbeing a priority. I believe meditation is a big part of that.

2. Write my morning pages every morning

I’m going to do a blog post on morning pages, because it’s been truly transformative for me. But essentially, you write 3 pages every morning. They can be anything – like a brain dump onto paper – but they must be 3 and only 3 pages. No more, no less. Morning pages are part of my mental wellbeing priority. It’s where I identify what I need to do that day, what’s bothering me, things I’m grateful for, my goals, etc.

3. Make time for friends

Extroverted Introvert + workaholic problems. I’ve noticed that I get really caught up and obsessed with routines, not to mention because I love my work so much, I’m not the most social person. Don’t get me wrong, when thrown into a social setting, I thrive. I have no problem making conversation with anyone and am the furthest thing from shy. But if given the choice between going to a a dinner party or reading a book, I’ll choose reading 100% of the time. Which I think is something I need to work on. Because life is about balance, and in this area, I’m severely imbalanced. So by writing it down as an intention, it’s always at the back of my mind and something I’m committing to making more of an effort on.

4. Walk 8k steps every single day

Of course every year I set fitness goals. Not weight-related ones, but more about how to look and feel my best. Towards the end of the year, I sat down with my trainer, Nikita, who told me I should be walking 8000 steps every day. And so I’ve been steadfastly sticking to this goal, making it a huge priority for myself.

5. Time-batch: work smart, not long

Instead of generating activity, I want to generate productivity. I’ve found time-batching to be an essential key to ensuring a high level of productivity. In order to meet the larger business goals I have for the year, efficiency and time-management is something that I’m prioritizing, and so, this intention falls under that umbrella.

6. Read for 20 minutes every day

Reading has been something I’ve loved and cherished all my life. However, it’s something one must make time for. While I do read regularly, I’ve been wanting to get back to reading every single day, and I believe 20 minutes is a realistic goal which anyone can achieve.

So there you have it! I hope it inspires you to set your own intentions/mini goals. Let me know if you do set intentions!

PS- check out my review of 2018 and 7 tips to help you stay creative.