12 Daily (Intuitive) Rhythms for a Slow & Intentional Lifestyle

Mom and dad were entrepreneurs. By age 14 I had read the "12 Habits of Highly Successful People" and "Slight Edge". I had this intrinsic desire to create daily habits that could transform my life and allow me to live my dreams.

My intention was good, but this kind of pressure and expectation set me up for failure and low self esteem from a young age. Let me explain...

Why habits don't work (for me)

I had learned that in order to be successful in life, my mornings had to start early, and I needed to accomplish a certain number of priorities. This process is meant to create momentum to reach your goals.

The problem with morning routines and habits is that you are ruled by tasks. If tasks are not complete in a certain order, I had failed. Which means I started off my day with failure. This greatly affected my self worth and self-efficacy. It caused me to lose track of my priorities - putting tasks ABOVE my dreams.

It also created an challenge when the habits I'd created to reach certain goals were not sustainable in every season of my life.

While these methods have nurtured many to great success - including my parents - the method does not work for me.

I had to make a shift away from productivity. Now, I focus on intentionality.
I lean into daily rhythms, not habits, to nurture my dreams.

What are daily rhythms?

Daily rhythms are actions that align with your intention. They are the result of internalized desires. Rhythms honor your boundaries and values. They work within the natural order of earth's rhythms (24-hour days, moon cycles, seasons) to create a symbiotic energetic relationships. It is a more loving, intuitive and sustainable way to reach your desires.

Some may read this and think, "you're just rebranding habits to seem more appealing, but it's all the same thing". If you are a person of strict logic, this may be true. But for people like me who are ruled by emotion and shifting of energy...this rebrand may be exactly what you're missing.

Morning routines and intensive habit tracking felt like working against my nature, energy, and against earth's natural rhythms. I was always failing and rarely felt on top of it. Cultivating daily rhythms has felt like coming home to an aesthetic, compassionate and productive way of life. It's taught me about intrinsic motivation, self reflection, and how to feel success daily.

As you internalize your desires to this extent, your actions will follow. But you will not desert your body's needs (your boundaries) in the process. It becomes an intuitive process of trust, self-care, and intrinsic discipline.

Daily Rhythms are:

Rhythms are intentions you turn into actions

Rhythms take into account energy and capacity

Rhythms align with your values and desires

Rhythms allow you to prioritize needs over productivity

Rhythms change with your intention, season, and energy

Rhythms help you fulfill your life's purpose

Daily Rhythms are not:

Rhythms are not an excuse to be idle

Rhythms are not assigned to your worth

Rhythms are not set in stone

12 Daily (Intuitive) Rhythms for a Slow & Intentional Lifestyle

Morning Rhythms

Greet the morning with gratitude. Sometimes this looks like smiling when I wake up. Sometimes this means snuggling my honey for an extra few minutes. Sometimes it means rising with my first alarm to make my bed and open my curtains. Sometimes it means lighting a candle.

Notice my body. Our body is easy to dismiss. Especially in the morning when so many other priorities reign. One of the morning rhythms I've tried to implement is to assess my body from head to toe while breathing slowly. I do this sometimes while laying in bed, or while I'm in the shower. Bringing attention to your temperature, your bones and muscles, your skin and color, your eyes. Are you breathing easy? Are you feeling swollen or stiff in any areas? Are you thirsty or hungry?

Awaken my senses (as many as I can first thing). If I have minutes to spare, I walk outside with my dogs while they do their morning business. It gives me a chance to listen to the sounds of birds or rain or rustling leaves. Feel the crisp or damp air on my skin. Smell the earth. If I have the forthought, I may even have a cup of something in my hand. Prioritizing awakening has been a joyful act of self care, and one that only costs a few extra minutes (less than 10), and an intention.

Fill your body with nutrition (meds, healthy breakfast).

Afternoon Rhythms

Movement and breaks. Protected time for breathing, resting and movement throughout the day is important to keep my spirits and energy up, but this is one I am still working on being mindful about daily.

Perform an unplanned act of kindness. Having this intention in the back of my mind has helped me to grow as an employee, friend and co-worker. And creates opportunity for unexpected joy throughout my day. It does not have to be something that takes a lot of time or energy, but sometimes it is. Sometimes this means leaving a note for a friend, or packing an extra lunch serving to share. Sometimes it's a meaningful conversation, or driving to grandma's for a visit. Sometimes it's taking my dogs on a date to a new trail. The point is, it's unplanned, and takes me out of myself for a few minutes or more, depending on my capacity that day!

Make a connection at work. Similarly, this intention has helped me to go beyond my introverted nature and establish relationships. I often get 'zoned in' to tasks and forget that there are people around me. This daily rhythm has become a part of my work identity and continues to help me grow as an individual.

Evening Rhythms

Cultivate coziness. To be productive, creative and restful, I like a house in order. Not sparkling, but clean and cozy. Often, I do this by leaning into the aesthetic and ambiance of my home. I visualize sitting in a cozy room with a book and fluffy blanket. Or baking in a clean kitchen with an empty sink. I stimulate my senses, much like I do in the morning, light a candle, burn incense, get my potpourri boiling in the kettle. I get myself a cup of water, clothe myself in the comfiest of clothes, and set to work. Sometimes I have energy enough for one room (the room I'm want to settle in for the evening). That is enough. My goal is not to clean the house, my intention is to cultivate coziness in my life. Other times I move from room to room, setting each one in order. I take my orders from my energy, not my to do list.

Read, Rest or Create. I fuel my mind with fantasy stories, more often than not. I like to read how good wins out, over evil. Stories where sacrifice and selfless leadership is valued, and happily ever afters are earned. I escape into creative, chaotic worlds that are not mine. If I don't have the capacity or interest in reading, there are a number of creative projects I have going on any given day. These projects are ongoing and require different levels of concentration.

Prepare for the morning, prepare for sleep. Sometimes all I have energy to do is pulling out meat from the freezer and locking the doors. Sometimes this looks like setting out clothes, morning meal prep, answering some emails, confirming appointments. Sometimes it means plugging in my phone, taking a long bath to relax my mind and muscles, and drinking a large glass of water.

Journal, Diary, Gratitude. This is an 'as needed' rhythm in my life currently. But I try to do this every sunday, before my week starts. On hard days, this is how I process events of the day and metabolize the emotions and feelings stuck inside. It's also a place to record moments I want to remember, thoughts and ideas that have come to me. It's a place for gratitude and self love. Weekly, I write an extensive agenda that can be reviewed and edited throughout the week.

Before I sleep, I pray (meditate). I turn my mind to spiritual matters for a few minutes. Often, I meditate on my loved ones. My desires and hopes. I visualize the next morning and the hopes I have for tomorrow. I express gratitude.

Creating Your Daily Rhythms - an exercise.

Your daily rhythms should be a reflection of who you are, your intention for who you wish to become, and acts of self care for what your body needs. So maybe, start with that. Write a identity statement with a list of your most important values. Then write a list of intentions and desires for your life, and circle the top 3. Meditate on what your body and mind need from you every day, to make this a reality.

Then do this: For the next few weeks, turn your mind to your identity statement, and desires and needs. Think about how you want life to feel, and what you can do now to feel that way today. Do this 3-5 times a day.

What this does is creates a center of gravity for your actions. Your body will gravitate towards your desires, and naturally begin to crave activities that fulfill them. Notice when this happens! What are you thinking and feeling more often? Are you waking up earlier or sleeping later? Have you started doing something different? Have you stopped doing something?

Identify rhythms that work for you, and start leaning into them more often.

Note: Rhythms change with the season, capacity and life events. For example, during winter months, I am not a morning person. The cold air and dark windows make it hard for me to get up and fuel my body. During winter season, I know to be intentional about evening rhythms that focus on preparing for the morning. I fill the kettle, pick out clothes for the morning, place my bathrobe and slippers next to my bed. This act of self love helps me to win, even on days where I sleep through my final alarms.

Revisit your rhythms often. And I promise you, it will change the way you view yourself, the world, and your success.

Warmly, Brooklyn