The Intentionality Issue

"The busier you are, the more intentional you must be." — Michael Hyatt

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Can we talk about busyness for a second?

You know that feeling when your alarm goes off and before you've even had coffee, you're already behind? Emails, meetings, errands, putting out fires. By the time your head hits the pillow, you're exhausted but can't really remember what you accomplished.

Here's what I've realized: busyness isn't the problem. Busyness without purpose is.

Busyness often becomes background noise. When life gets packed, we switch to autopilot. We say yes to things we don't care about. We let everyone else's urgencies run our day. And somehow we convince ourselves that all this motion means we're making progress.

Spoiler: it doesn't.

The busiest times in our lives don't need us to do less—they need us to be way more selective about what we do. That's where intentionality comes in.

Being intentional doesn't mean being perfect or having some color-coded planner. It just means making conscious choices about what matters.

Like asking yourself, "Is this moving me toward what I actually want, or am I just staying busy?" before you commit to something new.

Or protecting your energy the way you'd protect your phone battery. Rest isn't lazy, it's smart. The people and projects that matter need you at your best, not running on fumes.

Or building little systems that make good choices automatic. Meal prep on Sunday. Block time for what matters. Schedule that call with your best friend like it's a meeting.

Here's the hard truth: every yes is a no to something else. The question isn't "Is this worthwhile?" It's "Is this worth my limited time right now?"

Before you say yes to anything new this week, pause and ask: "If I say yes to this, what am I saying no to?"

Sometimes that question makes the decision crystal clear.

Or pick one thing you keep doing that drains you and doesn't really align with what you care about. Can you drop it, delegate it, or at least do it less?

Even just taking ten minutes each morning to write down your top three priorities can completely change how your day feels.

The thing is, we keep thinking things will calm down eventually. That once this project ends or this season passes, then we'll focus on what matters.

But there's always something next. Life doesn't get less busy. We just get better at navigating it.

And when you're deliberate about where your time and energy go, busyness stops feeling like chaos. It starts feeling like purpose in motion.

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