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Building Intentionality Into Your Day

Jul 8
4 min read

How to improve your mood and possibly your financial life with a daily intention practice.



According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, intentionality is — “the power of minds and mental states to be about, to represent, or to stand for, things, properties and states of affairs.”


So often we are running on autopilot, constantly task switching, being productive, doom scrolling, or being distracted by the latest viral trend, that we rarely take the time to bring our focus to what we are experiencing internally.


Applied to everyday life, intentionality is deciding to build meaningful time into your day to become more aware of your feelings, so you can make decisions that align with your values and long-term goals. You are actively taking time to stop reacting to the world around you and instead assess what’s happening within. A moment of mindfulness.


Instead of letting the driver who cut you off in traffic or the rude barista who took your coffee order dictate your day, practicing intentionality to reflect on what you’re feeling allows you to reclaim your sense of agency.


“Life imposes things on you that you can’t control, but you still have the choice of how you’re going to live through this.” – Celine Dion

In my own life, I try to practice being intentional everyday throughout the day to help improve my mood. You could call it a self-check-in or a vibe check, but it’s a way to identify how you are feeling at any given moment and then choosing whether to continue going through the rest of your day in those feelings.


“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” – Albert Einstein

Why not tie it to the goal of practicing intentionality every day? What do you have to lose? A happy life that comes with the opportunity to strengthen relationships, improve your mental health, better your financial well-being, and prioritize living in alignment with your values?

It is far too easy to fall back on the “I’m just too busy” excuse, when thinking about another thing to add to your to-do list.


Now, maybe you’re reading this and thinking, there’s no way I have time in my day to do one more thing. Between work deadlines, time pressures, school pickups and drop offs, sport practices, yardwork, grocery shopping, exercising, cleaning, cooking, walking the dog, and ensuring I get adequate sleep each night, there’s no way I’m adding “practice daily intentionality” to the list.


To that I say, why not include it with something that you are already doing. Something that you do every day throughout the day. What comes to mind is bathroom time. Between the bio breaks, showering, brushing your teeth, and getting ready for the day, you have moments of time already built in to hit pause on your autopilot mode and reconnect with yourself.


There are also the times in life when you’re just waiting. For example, waiting in line at the grocery store checkout, going through the carwash, or if you get to the school pickup early take that idle time to check in with how you’re feeling.


✨Choosing Your Mood On Purpose✨


When you have a moment to yourself, stop and ask:


  • “How am I feeling right now?”


  • “Is this the energy I want to carry with me for the rest of my day?”


  • “How have I been talking to myself today?”


  • “Am I in a mood because of something someone else did?”


  • “Does it really have to be a whole bad day, or can I just have a bad moment?”


If you conclude that how you are feeling is unhelpful or unkind to yourself, one way to shift your attention is to express gratitude. (I wrote a post about that).


When practicing gratitude don’t just list the material things or people or pets that you have that make life great. Take it even deeper and express gratitude for yourself. Acknowledge your strengths, your growth, and your accomplishments.


Connect with your heart, not just your brain. Don’t just list all the things you are grateful for, take the time to really connect to them emotionally and feel what it is like to have all the goodness within you and within your life.

Your awareness of how you are feeling at any given time in the day and your choice in response to what you identify matters. Intentionally choosing to shift your mood from one that is emotionally reactive or negative to one that is thankful, positive, or calm significantly impacts how you feel about yourself and how you interact with others.


So much of our life is spent pursuing the next big thing. Saving and planning for our wedding, buying a home, graduating school, getting that promotion, etc., etc. And whether we chase these milestones because we were told that’s what we’re supposed to do or we truly believe it will provide us satisfaction and happiness, we must remember to slow down and take a moment to be in the moment. That includes just being in the moment with ourselves.

“Life isn’t a matter of milestones, but of moments.” – Rose Kennedy

Strengthening Your Financial Life


Improving your mood can influence your financial decisions thus impacting your financial life. When you approach your day with intention, becoming aware of the external pressures and your emotions that could be influencing your money-related behaviors, (spending, saving, and investing) you are able to act in accordance with your priorities.


Feeling in a funk, down, stressed, anxious, fatigued, or fearful can have us acting in ways that don’t consider long-term consequences or don’t support our financial goals.


While income and financial knowledge are significant factors in determining our financial well-being, we must also recognize the importance of how we relate to money psychologically. Practicing intentionality or being more mindful throughout your day can help increase awareness about how you are feeling and how those feelings might influence your financial decisions.


With greater awareness comes greater choice.

“Lean forward into your life. Begin each day as if it were on purpose.” – Mary Anne Radmacher

If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading!!!

I hope today you’re met with kindness, especially from yourself.

💚💚💚


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