Three ways to set monthly intentions (that actually work)
(Blog updated July 2026)
Let’s get intentional about setting intentions.
It sounds simple on the surface, but these days intention setting can feel like just another box to tick - a quick "I choose peace" or "Stay present" scrawled at the top of a journal page before we move on with our to-do list. You can even just Google or ask AI to give you an intention for the day (...and when did we start letting AI think for us?!).
So I’m here to give you three key ways to set your own intentions, with true authentic wording that feels like you, in this present moment (our needs are always evolving). That way we get to carefully craft a clear and committed intention that actually works.
What are intentions?
When you decide to slow down and set an intention, you’re making a considered choice. I often go to the supermarket (it’s dangerously close to my house), without a shopping list and you know what happens? I walk around the aisles feeling a little overwhelmed, consumed by endless options, choices and offers, and not really know what I want. Those trips are the ones I come back with a whole lot of nothing-very-helpful - half recipes, things the kids won’t eat, or things I actually don’t really want. I went in with no clarity and no sense of what I actually wanted, and came out with the result of that.
The times I go with a list, I’m pretty efficient and in most cases I come back with the items I need that are going to serve me well.
We’re now moving through life (or supermarkets) with awareness.
The power of setting intentions and why they work
You don’t necessarily need a list, rather a sentence, or a phrase. We’re talking motives. Your “why”. When we set these intentions (aka motives, “why” sentences, phrases etc), we’re attaching these to our psychological and emotional thinking and therefore the outcome of our actions.
“Your intentions determine the type of energy you bring to whatever it is you’re doing.” - Barb Nangle, Medium.com
Setting an intention can take a little digging and delving, but when we find that clarity, and it aligns with who we are in the world currently and where we are in our seasons ( more on this later), this data, this information carries weight.
In order to do this, we've got to get beneath the surface. But as with all good journeys, there’s a steady path to walk that will take us from focusing (and perhaps absorbing/projecting) the energy all around us, to the energy we're actually in currently.
Once you get there - your awareness is heightened, your creative thinking is triggered and you’re able to see a little clearer, allowing you to set an intention that actually works for you, right now.
Your intention works best as a positively affirming sentence which encapsulates your needs, desires and either quality or energy that you want to embody and/or receive within the month ahead.
How to set monthly intentions
I’ve developed a simple season-inspired path (or framework) to help you set these intentions from the outside - in. You can set an intention that registers on the surface but doesn’t quite align with who you are, or how you feel, right now.
I’ve given you the invitation to think about or journal around questions across three areas - I would highly recommend grabbing a pencil/pen and notebook (an excuse to get a new one? …you’re welcome!) or downloading my free workbook, which includes everything beautifully laid out as a template for you to work through.
Get my free Intention Setting Workbook here
The act of writing by hand is such a wonder (anyone who knows me knows how passionate I am about this topic) because it ‘stimulates widespread brain connectivity, improves memory retention, and deepens conceptual comprehension’ (says Pamela B. Rutledge Ph.D., M.B.A., PsychologyToday.com) - helping to deepen our thinking and intention setting process.
So let me offer you these three concepts to ponder as you walk your intention-setting path:
1 / Nature’s Season
Look outside. Wild idea, I know, but all good thoughts come from tuning into nature. Whether you’re in an urban area, like me in London, or basking under an umbrella on a beach, the seasonal sense can tell us what our external season is.
Consider these prompts to journal about:
What season are you in (spring/summer/autumn/winter)?
If you can see them, what are the plants around you doing (emerging, in full bloom, leaves falling, resting)?
What about the sun, or the moon? Can you see / feel them?
Animals, birds, sounds? Tune in and notice.
2 / Your Life’s Season
Who are you, right now? Like the external seasons, we change too. We evolve, we move through life, but often we let life move around us. So I invite you to turn your attention from the energy of nature’s season - to the season that you are in.
Consider these prompts to journal about:
Which decade are you in? Whether you’re in your 20s or 90s, you’re unlikely to be the same as you were ten (or more) years before. Just tune in to where and who you are in your current decade.
Where do you want to be right now? How would you like to be living and where would you like to be putting your energy?
What are your current roles in this season of your life? Look at your commitments / responsibilities to help identify these, e.g. sister, friend, 'job title' etc.
What are your passions / hobbies?
Who/what do you care for (children, parents, pets, plants, a sourdough-starter?!)?
If you were a character in a book, how would you describe yourself?
3 / Your inner Season
This is often a season overlooked. We spend much of our time making sense of the world outside of us, the world around us, what’s expected of us. But how often do we look at our season within us? You might have a body-scan or meditation practice. Or perhaps you already journal, but when we set our intentions are we paying attention to who we are and what we need, now?
Consider these prompts to think or journal about:
Reflect on the last few weeks - can you think of 2-3 words for how it has felt for you?
If you tune into your breathing, how is it? (e.g. short/fast/slow/deep) What can this tell you about the state of your inner world right now?
How does your body feel right now? Are there any areas of tension, softness, strength, fragility/pain?
What do you need? Try not to overthink it, write down whatever comes to mind - our subconscious has a deep knowing.
You’ve now got data. You’ve got some GOOOOD data. Let’s look at it and begin to formulate our truest authentic intention for the month (or days/weeks/season) ahead.
Intention setting examples
Reflect on the path you’ve just considered or written down. Just a reminder that my free Intention Setting Workbook lays this out, so download it for free if you want to make things a little easier (and get some creative ideas!).
For part 1 (Nature’s Season), recognising the seasonal environment is important because we are part of nature’s rhythm. Working alongside it can enhance our quality of life substantially. A Guardian article wrote ‘Today, scientists are rediscovering how closely tuned our biology is to the seasons’ and Dr Cathy Wyse from the University of Edinburgh said ‘the biggest advance over the past decade has been the realisation that seasonal changes in human mood are probably endogenous - that they’re part of our physiology’. So science is (finally!) catching up to it too.
For part 2 (Your Season), who we are in the world is not only just a really useful thing to think about now and again, but also allows us to explore who we want to be. Whether that’s contributing to something bigger than ourselves, or being kinder to ourselves and reconnecting with loved ones. But there also might be real life impacting events, like a death in the family, moving house, children leaving the home, etc etc. Acknowledging these within the practice above can help us understand a little of where we are in our own season of life.
For part 3 (Your Inner Season), noticing the areas you don’t want to continue feeling or living within is important, but also likewise noticing the areas you do want to feel is equally - if not more! - important. The things you don’t want can be flipped, for example:
“Last month I felt heavy and exhausted” => “This month I want to feel light and energised”
Your intention could be across all three areas, like:
In this season of summer, I feel energised by the sun and social activity, and reconnecting with friends. I am channeling my inner creativity to bring calmer mornings into my day to support my capacity to care and have fun with my family this month.
Or you can just find a single thread, like:
This month I choose to feel more joy in my home.
I will move my body in ways that feel nourishing and supportive.
I am treating myself with kindness when things do not go as planned. - gives a present-tense affirmation to the phrase, it is happening.
Setting a monthly intention (and what to do with it!)
Write your intention down. Somewhere purposeful. We want to own it and ensure we’re bringing the intention into our physical world. Decorate it. It could be a bookmark, a postcard, a vision board… the more you can see and register it the better, e.g. put it in a place where you can see it frequently. Maybe that in a notebook, take a photo and make it your screen saver or wallpaper. I have mine up on a pin board opposite my bed. It’s one of the first things I see when I wake up - usually absorbing it subconsciously, but sometimes I notice and re-read the intention I’ve set.
But, and this is key, whilst your intentions might not appear to feel much different month to month, your seasonal environment, your life around you (that you receive and contribute to) and your inner seasonal dial will almost certainly have shifted. Maybe even because you set a monthly/weekly/seasonal intention.
For me, a monthly-span works for my intention setting - not too much pressure to set it daily (although I do journal in the morning and evening), but it gives me a good amount of time to visualise and work my intention around, without feeling vast or too far away. But really it’s what works for you. You might like to do a year-long intention setting with smaller monthly ones as well.
So enjoy repeating the pathway above and making it part of your practice - however frequent.
Get creative, enjoy the process and please let me know how you get on by tagging me on Instagram @lauraletterslife - I’d love to hear how you get on with the practice and see what you create!