Intention Setting

Órbita Semanal
May 20
5 min read

Updated: May 21

This is my blog on purposeful work through clarity and action.

When I first started writing, I was searching for clarity on what mattered most to me and what steps I needed to take to act on it. I was absorbing a lot, but eventually learned:

Life is constantly throwing information at us, yet bad information is worse than no information. So how do we discern what is actually useful? How do we cancel out the noise? I will go over how Intention setting and some other key practices that are helpful in empowering ourselves to say no to what is not for us - and to stay focused on what is.

This blog is a reflection of the story many of us live: learning through failure, recalibrating through experience, and ultimately sharing insights so we can help each other grow.

Today’s post is about setting intentions - as a practice for aligning how we think, plan, and live.

1. The Rule of 3: A Pattern for Clarity

Three points. Three steps. Three priorities. There’s something deeply intuitive about organizing thoughts this way - enough to create rhythm, not too much to overwhelm.

When we write using the Rule of 3, we invite simplicity and strength into our process. It becomes easier to take action, easier to remember, easier to trust.

Use these guiding questions to help clarify:

3. What are my top three priorities this month? ♊︎ 2. What are two things I can accomplish this week? 🌗

1. What step toward that goal can I take today? ☿

This framework creates momentum, not just insight. It helps us cut through the noise and stay present with what matters.

2. Capturing, Organizing, Doing → Writing + Reading + Action

We can only act on what we’ve captured and clarified. Journaling continues to be a powerful aid on how we capture and organize our thoughts. Creating our own systems like in the books "How to Get Stuff Done" and "Building a Second Brain" taught me how to hold space for ideas without letting them pile up into anxiety.

Capture what feels alive. Organize what feels important. Do what feels aligned.

Without action, ideas remain fantasies. But without structure, action becomes overwhelming. So the goal is to build bridges between inspiration and implementation.

Here are three frameworks I recommend:

Core Process Focus from "How to Get Stuff Done"
- Capture - Collect everything that has your attention in trusted external systems
- Clarify - Process what you've captured into clear actions
- Organize - Put items where they belong (next actions, projects, waiting for, someday/maybe)
- Reflect - Review regularly to stay current
- Engage - Take action with confidence based on your trusted system
C.O.D.E Framework from "Building a Second Brain"
- Capture - Save valuable information that resonates
- Organize - Sort into actionable categories using PARA (Projects, Areas, Resources, Archives)
- Distill - Extract the essence and make it findable for your future self
- Express - Create and share outputs based on your personal knowledge
Our Creative System of Writing, Reading, and Action by ÓS
- Writing | The ÓS Approach to Capture: Create a personal "Collection Garden" where you gather fragments of inspiration without judgment or immediate organization. This is your space for raw, unfiltered impressions and ideas.
  Keep this practice sacred by:
  - Setting aside consistent daily journaling (morning clarity, midday observations, evening reflections)
  - Using a combination of analog and digital tools that feel frictionless to you
  - Embracing a "catch and release" mindset—capture everything that sparks interest, knowing you'll process later
  - Including diverse input forms: quotes, observations, questions, sensory details, emotional responses, and creative sparks
  The Collection Garden thrives on quantity and variety rather than quality or structure. Its purpose is to create a rich soil of impressions that will later nourish your creative work.
- Reading | The ÓS Approach to Processing: Transform your raw captures through organization; extracting meaning and creating useful connections. This is where personal insight shapes our thoughts into a useful foundation for learning.
  Implement this process by:
  - Organizing your writing through the use of symbols.
    - Using a simple tagging system with dimensions: what type of content, theme/subject matter, and intended mode of expression.
    - Asking key reflection questions for each capture: "Why did this resonate?" "What pattern does this connect to?" "How might this serve future work?"
  This is the binding force of our thoughts and ideas as we organize meaningful connections, building a personal knowledge ecosystem that becomes increasingly valuable over time, and in turn create the foundation for our creative endeavors.
- Action | The ÓS Approach to Expression: Convert processed insights into tangible creative outputs through intentional "Creation Cycles" that move from possibility to completion.
  Structure your expression through:
  - Defining clear creative projects with specific outputs and timelines
  - Using a "creative compass" to determine which direction each project should take (expand, focus, transform, or complete)
  - Implementing uninterrupted time blocks dedicated to bringing specific elements from your system into creative reality
  - Concluding each project by archiving your content - What worked? What didn't? What seeds to plant for future work?
  This system helps ensure that your captured and processed ideas don't just accumulate but actively fuel ongoing creative expression in a sustainable rhythm.

These are not about productivity for the sake of being busy. They’re about staying clear-headed in a world full of distractions.

3. The Power of Intention

An intention is different from a goal. A goal is a destination; an intention is the north star.

Intention setting invites us to ask:

Why am I doing this?
What kind of experiences do I want to have?
Is it aligned with my grander vision?

Without intention, even the best actions can feel empty. With it, even small steps feel meaningful.

Set intentions with care, clarity, and a thread to our bigger vision.

Whether you’re writing your morning journal, heading into a conversation, or planning your next project - bring purpose to your presence so that all questions feel easy to answer in the light of your north star.

Closing

Setting intentions is about living on purpose.

It’s about choosing to move through life deliberately and it is truly a practice. One that matures with time, with writing, and with reflection. Remember to be gentle with yourself throughout this process. Embrace change when needed, and be willing to adjust your approach. While intentions are important, they must be paired with mindful action. The true power lies in understanding the deeper motivations behind our choices and following through with meaningful steps. Finding this balance is what makes intention-setting truly transformative.

Try this today: