3 Areas of Intention I'm Focusing On

Can you believe that as of today, we are at 2016’s halfway marker? I’ve been thinking a lot about the goals I want to achieve, work I want to do and changes I need to implement before this year lets out. At this rate, December will be here before we know it!

When it comes to goal setting, a less is more approach always seems to work best for me. Sitting and writing out pages of maybes and I’d like to’s only results in a long list of things I probably won’t do.

I’ve decided to focus on being more intentional in three main areas that directly impact so many other areas in my life:

How I manage money

I usually sit at the end of each month and plan out a budget for the month ahead. It’s always detailed, frugal and has my best future interests in mind. And then, happy hours, random sales and the dollar aisle at target happens and before I know it my budget is a mute point.

Saving needs to be more of a priority for me, and the only way this is going to work is if I change some behaviors. Limiting shopping to set points in the month, avoiding Target all together and taking a serious look at where and when I spent frivolously.

I’m working on a 30 day track and save type spending challenge, which I’ll be sharing here in case any one else is trying to get their coins in check!

#SoMuchAdulting

How I celebrate friends

I’ve written before about how after graduation, keeping up with friends becomes a different challenge. It requires much more effort and intention to maintain some friendships at the same level.

And I get that some relationships have to change and run their course as time goes on, but it’s important to me that the people in my life know that I’m grateful to have them share in my journey.

I’ve been filling my Erin Condren perpetual calendar* (which comes inside of any Life Planner* purchase) to mark down birthday’s, anniversaries and special occasions that I want to remember so that I can make birthday cards, just because notes and anniversary flowers a more regular thing.

* Full disclaimer: The links above are affiliate links meaning if you purchase an Erin Condren planner, in addition to you receiving $10 towards your purchase, I’ll also receive $10.

How I manage and plan my time

With a new job on the horizon, side projects in the works and no plans to stop freelancing any time soon, time management is going to be even more of a necessity than ever before. I recently purchased an Erin Condren planner (affil.) when they went on sale, and while I think it’s awesome, I don’t think I’ll continue using it.

Instead, I’ll be using The Happy Planner by Me and My Big Ideas. I won this planner in an Instagram giveaway and have been thumbing through it for the past few weeks, determining if it would work for me. I love the design and aesthic much more than the EC planner (though their new designs are better) and can’t wait to use this to plan my day to day.

What are you putting special focus on in the second half of 2016?