9 Tips for an Intentional Year, at Home and at Work

Resolutions and goals often feel overwhelming once the excitement wears off. When these promises feel like too much, try setting intentions to inspire both your work and life at home. Intentions are based on values, an anchoring baseline, which in turn aspire more ‘measurable’ goals. Knowing what matters to you allows you to then define what needs to be achieved and how. In this article, we’ll share some tips on how to work intentionally throughout the year and set yourself up for a healthier and more rewarding work-life balance:

Reflect: take your time to reflect on what matters most to you, what you want to bring forward from your existing practices, and what you want to change. If it helps, start a conversation with those around you and share the growth and struggles of the past year to better identify the way forward. 

Write it down: write down your intentions in your journal or a place where they can serve as a daily, motivational reminder. As Meredith Haberfeld, Founder and CEO of Think Human notes, “intention is the compass and goals are the clock… [When you’re] lost at sea, you can find the compass and be redirected to the path”.

Identify your why: maybe it’s more time to pursue a hobby, or more time with family – whatever your ‘why’ is, remembering it will fuel your work and your actions and keep you committed to your intentions.

Cut the noise: We’re surrounded by so many distractions at work and outside it, it can be hard to really focus. Reserve mental and physical space for deep work by silencing notifications and decluttering your work area. A clear space frees up mental energy which can be used to work on your goals… and intentions.  Check out our interview with Ciloo COO Guus van Mastrigt for some great tips on minimalism at the workplace.

Review: The intention you set now is a dot on a map, directing you towards your goals. It may be ideal at this point, but as life happens, you may also need to review. It’s counterproductive to hold to an intention if it’s simply not working for you. Take stock of what’s working and what isn’t and adjust accordingly.

Extend ‘intentional’ to work meetings: Meetings can get endless – and draining. The best meetings are those with an intention. Sending an agenda in advance, being thoughtful on attendees, and sticking to the agenda and allocated time will help you achieve your goals in less time. Learn more about getting the most out of meetings when working async in this article. 

Get the tools: With your intentions clear, find the tools that can support your pursuit, and help you achieve your goals. We’ve found these tools help us work more intentionally and support our async, multi-timezone workspace:
Twist: an async messaging app that makes collaboration easy and organized across time zones and diverse work hours

Todoist: a task manager software to organize work and life and free up headspace (all while working collaboratively)

Linear: a robust platform for teams building products and software to streamline issues, sprints and product roadmaps

Freedom – an app and website blocker to reduce distractions and help you reclaim focus and be productive. You decide what to block and when, leaving you more mental space for deep work.

And of course 😉, the Ciloo platform, a one stop shop for localized, on demand production of print and promotional products that makes saying ‘thank you’ with some branded goodies a whole lot easier!

Be time-aware: When you have intentions in place, you’re more likely to set boundaries on how you spend your time and what to focus on, in turn helping you value your colleagues’ time.

Leave people better: we’re all human after all, with our own experiences, pains and happiness. Listen intentionally and don’t hold back on micro-recognition: kind words and actions have the power to uplift and boost motivation – both for the person you’re interacting with and yourself.

Work and Life, Life and Work

They may seem like two separate worlds, but your personal intentions have a direct impact on your work. Living and working intentionally impacts those around you and contributes to greater well being, both personally and at company level.