Guest Post: Be More Than Good Intentions

I’m currently away getting hitched and honeymooning on a secluded beach somewhere.  In the meantime, I hope you enjoy these guests posts that I have lined up for you!  I’ll be back online and back to reality on Wednesday, June 22, 2011.  — Amber

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This is a guest post from SS4BC, the blogger behind Small Steps for Big Change.

I truly believe at the heart of (just about) everyone is a swarm of good intentions. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve heard "Oh, I meant to do that, but I just didn’t!"

Oh, I meant to call my grandma this weekend, but I just didn’t.

Oh, I meant to donate to my local charity during their fundraiser drive, but I just didn’t.

Oh, I meant to go donate my clothes to the women’s shelter, but I just didn’t.

I think it is so important for us to be more than just a series of good intentions, but instead to be people of good actions. Here are some tips that I’ve learned along the way to helping become a person of good intention AND of good action:

Schedule Your Action

One thing I’ve learned is that carrying a calendar with reminders makes it a lot easier to be a person of good actions. When I think about something that I need/want to do, I don’t just put it off in my mind as something I’ll "do later". Instead I pull out my calendar and schedule it. Need to call my grandma? I schedule it. Then I know at 5:30pm on Wednesday I have plans! I’m talking with my grandma. The very act of scheduling a time solidifies that this is an intention that I want to make an action and I have set apart time in my day to make that action occur.

Act Now

Don’t procrastinate or make excuses for why you can’t get the action done immediately. A lot of times we can do the action at that moment, but we don’t and make excuses to put it off. If you’re thinking about your local charity you also probably have time to pick up the phone and make a donation or to log on to their website. Often our good intentions take less time than we think they will. It only takes a few minutes to make a donation or to write a thank you note or to make a phone call. Sometimes the time to do it is when we’re thinking of it.

Find Balance

You can’t do everything. It is impossible. Sometimes the best way to not be a "flake" is to only commit to things you are passionate about. If people can’t trust your word, you may be giving your word too often. You can’t be everything, to everyone, all the time. Figure out what is important for you and only act on those things.

Just because you think that giving nice homemade gifts to everyone is nice doesn’t mean that this is the most prudent use of your time. Sure, for some people it is. But is it for you? Once you realize that you’re not superwoman and you can’t do everything, you’ll learn to pick the things that are important for you. Suddenly you’ll have a lot more time to put action into the things YOU care about.

Step Away From the Screens

The major way that most of us lose time is from sitting in front of the television, the computer, the cell phone, the video games. Want to magically find about 2 more hours in your day? Step away from the computer screens. Next time you find yourself on Facebook harvesting corn on your virtual farm or stalking your ex-boyfriends best friend’s new girlfriends photos from three summers ago, ask yourself: What else could I be doing with my time? Chances are you have a list of intentions that you "just didn’t get around to" because you were glued to your computer screen.

What about you? How do you turn good intentions into good actions?

This is a guest post from SS4BC, the blogger behind Small Steps for Big Change.