How to Plan Your Time Intentionally

What does it mean to be intentional with your time? It might be easier to start with what it doesn’t mean.

• Scheduling all of your waking hours down to the minute
• Filling your to-do list to the brim
• Being busy instead of productive 

Being intentional with your time means:

• Being realistic about how much time AND energy things require - both are limited resources! 
• Scheduling specific time for things you want or need to do that often slip through the cracks 
• Allowing space for rest, refocusing, and refueling between activities  

Look at your obligations and priorities

The first step to being intentional with your schedule is to look at your obligations (those things you absolutely have to fit into your week or that have a strict time attached to them), and think about the things you want to make more time for, and prioritizing giving those things the time they truly need. Intentionality is about recognizing you have a busy week ahead, and making sure you carve out time for the things that will recharge you along the way. 

Get in touch with what you need

Do you find yourself trying to muster the motivation for a workout whenever you find a spare hour? Or do you intentionally carve out a routine for your workout? Do you race to the next appointment as soon as you’re done with the last, exhausting yourself by the end of the day?

If you know your schedule is pretty packed one day, and you know you’re going to need a break or two to rest, make sure you’ve eaten, and maybe even stretch or take a walk, give your eyes time to rest between Zoom calls, build those moments of rest into your schedule. Intentionally building in time for rest is so important to a productive and fulfilling day, and it doesn’t happen by accident! 

Be honest about the time and energy things take 

Just because something can technically fit in an open spot on your calendar, doesn’t mean it should. It’s important to be realistic about the amount of time and energy what you want to accomplish actually takes.

Yes, you can technically fit in that conference call before that big presentation, but that presentation is going to go a lot more smoothly if you have a bit of time beforehand to prepare and get in the right headspace. In order to be intentional with your time, you have to recognize that you’re never going to have time to cram everything in your day, and even if you did, you’d be exhausted and burnt out by the end of it. It’s about being realistic, and prioritizing accordingly.

Give yourself space to be present

Intentionality means giving yourself enough time to be present with what you’re doing, rather than being stressed about finishing in time to move on to the next thing. Scheduling your day and week intentionally creates days you can look back at and be proud of, rather than feeling like you didn’t accomplish anything because it was a complete whirlwind and you were just along for the ride.

Intentional time management is the difference between feeling capable and accomplished or burnt out and stressed at the end of the day. It’s how you achieve that elusive balance everyone is always talking about!

If you’re ready to start scheduling your time intentionally, and making space for the things that truly matter to you, grab the 2021 No Limits Planner before it’s gone!