Intentional Living, with MAMMA-MIYA

In the experience of life, motherhood is the giant step forward into a world that has some familiar elements, but in which most of it is new. It takes all of us time to understand, accept and settle into this newness, while finding the will and the space for ourselves. 

When any regular day is a rush to finish tasks that seem to be piling up faster than you can do them, just stopping and focussing on how far you have come, and relishing the present moment can be a relief and a joy.

Intentional living is about being purposeful about our energy and time, by making choices that speak to our values and our priorities.

Here are four ways to bring intention into your life:

1. Review how you’re spending your time

Make a daily time journal for a week. A time journal is a record of the various things you are spending your time on. The MAMMA-MIYA app offers this under ‘Today at a glance’. 

Use this screenshot of your life to decide where you’d like to spend more of your time. Next, make time for it by prioritizing the tasks in your daily schedule. 

 

2. Prioritize your daily tasks

When the total number of tasks and routines in your day crosses three in number, the MAMMA-MIYA app prompts you to prioritize them by picking the ones that have to be completed that day, and pushing the rest to later. 

As mothers, prioritization is a skill that we develop while balancing our many roles as mother, wife, daughter and so on. At the same time, we might also be finishing everything on our list for the day on autopilot. 

The top 3 prioritization exercise is a thoughtful, deliberate one with a goal to free up mind space so that we can get a little time to focus on ourselves. 

 

3. Find ways to nourish yourself

A balanced diet, adequate sleep and regular exercise are well documented ways of physical nourishment that can give us good health, and consequently, the strength to get through the day. At the same time, we also need to nourish our inner selves, our hearts and minds, by spending time on self-care.

Whether it’s a short walk, a few deep breaths, a little reading or a day at the spa, taking any break from the regular routine can have outsized benefits on our mental well-being.

The Self-Care ideas in the Explore section of the app has a range of options.

 

4. Ask for help 

The relationships and friendships that form our support systems are valuable to us in many ways. From being there for us without asking, to giving unconditional love when we most need it, each of us has a ‘village’, a group of people whose lives are intertwined with us in one way or the other.

Asking them to help with a task, or child care is a great way to lift that load, and to get some time to focus on ourselves.

The MAMMA-MIYA app has an option to delegate tasks from My Day through email.

 

Living with intention is about going through your day, and eventually, your life, in a way that reflects your inner values and needs. It’s an internal change, an experience of opening yourself up to life’s little joys through its moments.