You’ve seen the leaders who are distracted by every shiny object. They chase after anything and everything that catches their eye.
These leaders are willing to drop everything to see if the new thing will bring them the success they desire. Yet, each time, they get further and further away from what they long for. They also push away from their team members who are looking for a leader with intentionality.
Maybe this leader is even you…
Photo by Marissa Grootes on Unsplash
People who are considered great leaders know they must be intentional about their actions. They must have a plan, follow through, and get things done.
Sure, there’s time to chase squirrels and shiny objects, but great leaders are, for the most part, intentional about what they do.
If you want to be more intentional with your actions, keep reading.
5 Tips To Be More Intentional
1. Prioritize your time:
Our time gets away from us, especially if we’re easily distracted. You need to learn how to prioritize your time and stick with the priorities you’ve set.
Prioritizing your time could involve using your phone calendar to schedule out your day to the smallest detail, creating meetings for you time, or some other form of prioritization.
2. Use daily rituals to set your areas of focus:
You can also use daily rituals, or habits, to create areas you need to focus on. If you’re finding yourself easily distracted, use these daily rituals to reinforce what you want to do every day.
You might create a daily ritual of exercising for 30 minutes before you crack the books on your business or you might read your daily affirmations (get a free list of daily affirmations here).
By creating daily habits, you’ll set yourself up for a day in which your intentions are fulfilled.
3. Do a digital detox:
Our electronic devices can be a major source of distraction. Every time we pick up our phone, swipe the screen, and set it down, we lose our focus, our intentionality.
What would your life look like if you took a sabbath from your digital devices?
You’ll discover there’s more to life than the shiny object, staring at a screen, or chasing the next hit of dopamine.
Consider doing a digital detox to keep your mind focused.
4. Create intention triggers:
Intention triggers are interesting. These are triggers that bring your mind back to what you should be thinking about, focusing on, or doing.
Your intention triggers could be a song you listen to remind you of the path you’re on. Or it could be a scent you have in your office to bring your mind back to your true focus.
Every time you hear the song throughout the day or smell the scent, your mind is triggered to go to what you’re supposed to be focusing on.
Use intention triggers to snap you back through cues in your environment.
5. Reflect back on the previous week:
If you’re a squirrel leader and can’t stick to your intentions, try reflecting back on your previous week. Look at your actions. Consider the following:
- Did I follow through on what I said I would do?
- Did I take on any new projects because they looked interesting?
- What things should I have done?
- How did this affect my organization or family?
We can see how intentional we’ve been when we reflect on what we did or didn’t do. The more you do this, the more you can pull yourself back into alignment.
