In today’s busy world, it’s not surprising that more and more people are turning to slow and intentional living. No one wants to be living a chaotic and stressful life.

What is intentional living?

Essentially, intentional living is a lifestyle that allows you to focus on what you want and work towards that. Through intentional living, we can define our goals, work on our priorities and live slowly.

Intentional living helps us live life rather than life just happening to us.

How to live more intentionally?

The best way to start living an intentional life is by making a series of small, daily habits and changes. Gradually you’ll notice little lifestyle changes.

So, here are some habits to live more intentionally.

Declutter.

This isn’t something that you need to do every day but it is an idea to keep in the back our your mind. I’ve mentioned so many times on this blog how important decluttering can be for your wellbeing but I think it’s important to mention it again. We have probably all experienced the joy of walking into a clean and spacious space, so it’s no wonder that when we walk into a cluttered room, our minds feel overwhelmed. I’m not saying everyone should turn into a minimalist, but being mindful of what you allow into your space is always worth thinking about.

Related post: Do you need to be a minimalist to declutter?

Pay attention to your mood

Pay attention to your mental health and be aware of your emotions. If you notice yourself feeling a strong emotion then sit with it for a couple of minutes. Ask yourself why you feel this way and what made you feel this way? By thinking about your emotions, you can develop skills and coping mechanisms that can help you improve your mood. Whatever you’re feeling, just know that your feelings are valid.

Practice self care

We’ve all heard so much talk about self care that I’m sure we are all sick of it by now but hear me out. We often fill our lives until our to-do list is too long and we have no time left for ourselves. We don’t seem to see ourselves are the priority that we are. By practising self care, we take a little bit of time out of our days to put ourselves first and make sure we are looking after ourselves. Self care doesn’t need to be complicated. It could be as simple as putting on your cosiest pyjamas and watching your favourite film. The most important part is taking the time to do something for yourself.

Spend money wisely

This links closely with decluttering. We often find ourselves making impulse purchases that we then have to find space for and tend to. By really thinking about what you spend your money on, the only things that will enter your life are things that will benefit you and help you to live the lifestyle you want. I know it can be super tempting when you see a great deal on the shelves, but by taking some time to think about it before your purchase, you’ll notice that you probably didn’t want the thing as much as you originally thought.

Gratitude

Practising gratitude can be a great habit to get into. It’s a wonderful self care exercise that can help improve your wellbeing and mental health. Noticing and being aware of what we’re grateful for each day allows the feeling of gratitude to lead us in a more positive direction. Practising gratitude can help you feel more positive emotions, appreciate the little moment in your life, improve your mental health and improve the relationships within your life.

Related post: 100 Things To Be Grateful For

Work on the relationships within your life

One of the things that make our lives special is the people we fill them with. Whether it’s family, friends, strangers you meet at parties or your partner, it can be amazing to really start working on the relationships that you have with people. Spend some time getting to know people more. Ask them questions about themselves and really listen to them while they answer.

Social media

We all know how easy it can be to find ourselves endlessly scrolling social media. We say we’ll watch TikToks for 5 minutes but before you know it, it’s been two hours and you haven’t moved. Trust me, we’ve all been there. Social media is a great tool to see what people are up to and socialise from the comfort of our homes. But sometimes you need to know when to step away. Although there are so many great things about social media, it can also be a pretty toxic place and you need to give your mind some time away from that. By consuming social media mindfully, you can learn how often your mind needs a break and become aware of what adds value to your life.

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Have you tried intentional living? Is it something you’d be interested to learn more about?