If you’ve been following me on social media and through my blog and newsletter, you know I’ve recently started doing yoga. I go to a class once a week and do some exercises on my own throughout the week. At the beginning of each class, Beth, our instructor, tells us to “set your intention for this time.” My intention is rarely the same week to week. This week, I may want to stretch out. The next week I might be focusing on building strength. Two weeks ago, mindfulness may have been my goal. Those are really three very different foci, and it’s pretty impossible to set an intention for more than one at a time. Sure, I can do the flow with mindfulness as my goal and still build strength and stretch out, but I can only concentrate on one intention at a time.
The same happens in business. My intention for my business is to serve my customers the best I can. Another day, my intention might be more growth-oriented. These don’t happen in isolation from each other or any other focus I might have for my business on any given day.
I am using the lesson from yoga to impact my business. Each day, I’m going to start out by stating an intention for that business day. Today’s intention was transitional. Transitional days see me moving from the last major task to the next one. I finished clearing out the remnants of the lip balm order I sent last week and prepared to restock some soap. This transitional day was also a day of preparation: When my new printer crosses the threshold tomorrow, I will be ready with stacks of labels to print off.
By stating an intention for my days, I am doing more than setting a goal. I am declaring what I will achieve that day. Doing this today has energized my day. I have felt super-charged to make things happen, but only if they work towards my intention. Wrapping soaps that need to be wrapped is not part of today’s intention, so they will only get done after everything else is complete. They are, however, a huge part of tomorrow’s intention.
Do you set intentions or goals for each day? I encourage you to set an intention for each day, and let me know how that changes how you’re able to do life or work in the comments below.