How I Plan To Live With Intention for 30 Days

At the end of March, I decided to take the whole month of April as my month of Surrender.

I set up a couple of rules for myself. And every day I felt as though I had a purpose and strict guidelines to live my days by.

And once April was over, I didn’t want it to stop. It was honestly one of the happiest months out of the whole year.

I learned so many important lessons that I’ll never forget. And it was only a couple of days into May that I realized that I felt purposeless.

I felt a little lost. Like I didn’t know what I was supposed to do for the whole month. So I jumped from task to task. Some days I worked 10 hour days. Other days I only worked 2 hours.

I quickly realized that I was all out of wack without setting an intention for the month. 

And on the 9th of May, I tried to set a guiding principle for the remainder of the month. But for some reason, I wasn’t inspired to do it since I didn’t start on May first.

It’s pretty goofy. But I like that fresh start. A little reset.

I often say that it’s best to just get started. You don’t need to wait for a new month or a new year to set your resolutions or change your life.

But at this point in my life, I really like the idea of starting fresh every month. Having a reset button that I can hit and focus on something new.

So that’s what I’m doing for June! Starting today.

RELATED: Why I Learned From Only Working 4 Hour Days for 1 Month

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MY MONTH OF INTENTION

It sounds a little strange that my intention for June is Intention.

I debated about what I wanted to focus on this month. But I knew that somehow I wanted to incorporate only consuming what I actually wanted to consume.

And as I was brainstorming what my main guidelines were going to be, I realized that what I really wanted was to do things with intention.

Not just to consume content, food, and everything else in my life with intention. But to make everything I do extremely intentional.

No more sitting on the couch watching Instagram story after Instagram story until I finally decide to shower and start my day. No more wondering what task I’m going to work on next during the day.

I want there to be extreme intention with my actions. So I’m dedicating June my month of Intention.

MY MONTHLY RULES

In April, I set rules for myself almost accidentally. But they worked extremely well!

I noticed that when I got bored, I wanted to check my statistics. But since I have a rule that I wasn’t allowed to check any of my analytics, I told myself no every time. 

And there were so many benefits to holding true to that rule!

So this month, I limited it down to 3 rules for myself.

1. Spend less than 1 hour on the phone per day

This one is pretty straightforward.

Several months ago, I downloaded the MOMENT app to my iPhone. And for a while, I was really good at spending about an hour and a half or less on my phone. But these days, I’m noticing that I can spend over an hour on my phone before noon. And I’m not okay with that!

When I spend too much time on my phone, I start to feel lazy. I’ll get headaches and I’ll feel tired and unmotivated.

So I figured what’s a better way to do things with intention than limiting my time on my phone to 1 hour!

And I’m sticking to it even if that means less Insta stories!

2. Have a plan for every day

Thanks to my new planner, I’m happy to say that this rule is going to be a breeze!

When I started to create Big Plans, my productivity guide & 6-month planner, I stopped using my bullet journal. I was at the point where I knew I was creating a physical copy of my journal, so I didn’t feel the need to keep working on my bullet journal every week.

But because I stopped using a structured planner, my life went a little off the deep end.

I stopped writing to do lists. I pushed off tasks for as long as possible. And I haven’t been working to achieve my quarterly goals!

So this month, I need to have a plan for every day. 

That means writing out my to-do list at the start of every week. Ending each day by writing out the next days tasks. And most importantly in my mind… I’m going to create a list of things to do when I don’t know what to do!

These can be done when I just need a break or a change in activity. Or when I’m really not feeling motivated, these things will help me to live each day with intention and be more productive!

RELATED: How To Prioritize Your Time as a Blogger to Get More Done

That’s actually one of the things on my to-do list today…

3. Only consume what makes you feel good

It might just be me… but the more I consume (content, food, etc.), I notice that I always feel worse. The more tv I watch, the worse I feel. The more social media I consume, the worse I feel. The more food I eat, the worse I feel!

So why the heck do I keep consuming things that don’t make me feel good?!

It just doesn’t make any sense to me.

So I’m going to only consume what makes me feel good. And with everything I consume, I’m going to ask myself if it does. And if it doesn’t, then I’m going to stop right at the moment.

I know it’s going to be easier said than done. But I think I’ve got this one in the bag!

In April, I purged my Instagram account and unfollowed a TON of people. But now that I’m following a little over 100 people, I notice that I still really only care about 5.

RELATED: Why I’ve Stopped Trying To Grow My Instagram & What I’m Doing Instead

Some I will scroll through and completely ignore. And others set off a trigger of comparison in me. 

And if that content doesn’t make me feel good, then there is no point in consuming it.

So I plan on unfollowing or muting people who don’t inspire me, motivate me, or lift me up in some way. 

OTHER INTENTIONS FOR JUNE

I honestly had a hard time coming up with those 3 rules.

At first, I thought I had 7 rules that I wanted to include. But then after some thinking, I realized that most of my rules were really just intentions that I wanted to live by.

And then I struggled to even come up with 3 rules because I could only think of one.

So as something a little bit different for this month, I’m setting some additional intentions as I try to be as intentional as possible.

Think before you eat – read the labels and fuel your body when it actually needs it

I’m the worst at parties or family get-togethers. If you put food in front of me, I’m going to eat it. And when it starts with 5 different apps and then dinner and then dessert, I’ll just keep going because I don’t want to be rude!

So I want to think more before I eat. If the food doesn’t serve me, then there is no point in eating it.

No consuming content on your computer! – Your office is a place to work, not relax

I used to be amazing at this. But since I’ve started to work more on my YouTube channel… I’ve called off the wagon.

So for June, I’m not allowing myself to watch any YouTube video, or scroll through any Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, or Instagram feed on my computer. Or in my office in general for that matter!

My office is a place for work. So I better get to work!

No checking statistics! – You work better without the constant checking

I honestly think that I was happiest in April because I wasn’t participating in that rat race for more more more.

I didn’t check my statistics for the whole month and it felt absolutely amazing!

So I’m bringing that back. And for June, I’m going to avoid checking my analytics on just about everything at all costs.

Slow down – Nothing ever gets any done faster if you rush

A long time ago I noticed that when I’m in a hurry, it actually takes longer or just about the same time as it would if I would have just slowed down and done it right.

When you’re in a rush, you tend to mess things up. And then you have to take more time making things right.

If you just breathe and take it slow, you’ll end up being faster.

The turtle wins that race. So slow down and enjoy the moment. And don’t forget to be present when the world seems crazy.

Journal daily – It’s good for your soul

When I was reading Claim Your Power, I was journaling almost daily. And I LOVED IT!

I felt so connected with myself and the Universe. And best of all, I had documentation of what I was going through to look back on and reflect.

That might honestly be one of the best parts about blogging and YouTubing. I get to see just how far I’ve come. 

So I want to get back to journaling. And for a while, I’ve been trying to read in the morning and at night. But I’m going to change that to only read at night so I can journal in the morning after my meditation.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM ME

Thankfully, I don’t have anything big planned for June other than a vacation with my family.

I’m not planning on launching a new product and I don’t plan on working anything secret that you guys don’t know about.

As of right now, I want to work on creating more free content and resources. Plus I’m planning to work with some more clients!

So if you are looking for SEO work, Pinterest management, or blogging consulting, send me an email! I’d absolutely love to work with you.

Until my next blog post…

XO, Cathrin

KEEP READING…

     

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cathrin (Cath) creates content that encourages bloggers & online entrepreneurs to be themselves, chase their passion,  and create their success online. 1 year after started her blog (TheContentBug.com), Cath left her full-time position working in the digital marketing industry to pursue her dreams of being her own boss. In weekly blog posts, sporadic YouTube videos, and constant talking on Instagram stories, Cath hopes to spread her story and be an inspiration to others who desperately want to change their lives.

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