Half of 2020 has gone by and I think everyone would agree that it isn’t like anything we planned for when the year began. Since I’ve been social distancing for major part of the year because of the pandemic and global unrest which this year has seen, it’s easy to say there’s no point in planning because no one knows what to expect. This way of living however, I have realized leads to days which spill into each other, weeks and months which fly by without notice. When I look back, it makes me wonder what I did with all my time. Hence, I feel that there is value to live life intentionally even when there’s so much uncertainty around rather than just go with the flow. So here’s a list of intentions for the the first month of the second half of the year, July:

Read at least 30 pages every single day

I am 4 books behind my reading goal for this year. Because of working from home I have realized that it has been hard for me to live a balanced life. Work seems to spill over to my personal and family time making it hard for me to spend enough time reading. I am currently reading 3 books from different genre’s and I am hoping that consistently reading at least 30 pages each day from one or multiple books will help be reach my goal.

Practice the Kalimba for 20 mins every day

Back in May, I discovered this beautiful instrument called the Kalimba aka Thumb Piano. Ever since, I have fallen in love with it and the times when I am learning a new song or playing an impromptu song has been some of the best moments in the day. I wish to keep my practice going strong and some day be able to play like Eva Auner (give this song a listen, if you’re interested to see how this instrument sounds).

Breathe, Journal and Meditate

Early this year, I decided I was going to bullet journal and plan everything out. I started strong but with the pandemic, I stopped planning and checking in with myself because my routine was completely thrown out the window and I found myself not seeing a point in picking up my journal. In the past, journaling has helped me work through some of my hardest problems. I want to make sure to set aside some time just to breathe and be mindful this month and adapt my journaling to fit the day.

Create boundaries and be assertive about them

I have realized the importance of setting boundaries and ensuring that I keep them even when someone tries to break them. Being assertive about these boundaries can definitely help others around me understand that these boundaries were not created lightly. In order to help others, I need to make sure that I take care of myself first.

Do you write down your intentions? Has it helped you live your life better?

Feature Photo by Jordan Wozniak on Unsplash