Day 6: Set Intentions for the Week

I hope that, this week, you have experienced how setting intentions can touch you at a deep place, and bring clarity, inspiration, and motivation to your everyday activities.

Today you will look at one or two of your tasks, activities, or ideas on your Priority Grid for next week and write intentions for those. Hopefully, the other "umbrella" intentions you have worked on - for your values and principles, and for your top priorities - will help you to hone in on the deepest, most essential, most passionate reasons for doing these tasks.

• Focus in on one goal, activity, or idea that you listed this month on your Priority Grid. (I chose to focus on my priority task of painting the windows outside my studio.)

• Have a chat with yourself about this task: Ask yourself, why is this a priority now? Do I feeling motivated or blocked, and why? What are the essential values underlying this task, and who will it ultimately serve? Try to find the words that grab you at the deepest level.

My chat went something like this: "My Home priority task of re-painting my studio windows is important now because winter and the rains are on us, and the bare wood on these windows is going to rot! Still, it's going to be tedious and time consuming... This task connects to my values of integrity, simplicity, and love - to put this off any longer will lead to expensive and complicated repair down the road. Integrity means to me, in part, to care for the gifts I've been given in life, and use them in good order and with love. And when I care for my home, I am always serving my family by creating a sanctuary." 

• When you have an explanation of why this task is a priority, and the words that grab you at the deepest level, you can easily turn it into an intention that captures the possibility of right action. Write your intentions in present tense, using the action + deepest reason model. Example:

"I intend to paint my studio windows this week, because maintaining my property in good order is the honorable and sustainable thing to do, and this vital task (though tedious and time-consuming) is one way that I create a home that is a peaceful and well-ordered sanctuary for those I love.  

Next Week Schedule, Step 2: 

Friday- Block in your schedule for the next week: Add events and blocks of time for your priority categories (such as an hour for committee work on Tuesday and Thursday).