Today, the world does not reward the most sophisticated or naturally gifted people. It rewards those who are intentional—intentional with their lives, their goals, and especially their time.
It’s easy to set annual goals and New Year resolutions. Anyone can do that. The real challenge is having the discipline and intentionality to bring those goals to life.
One evening, around 9 p.m., a friend called me. I was at home, relaxed, settling into my night. He asked if we could go for a drive. He explained that his wife had friends over at their house, and he felt out of place, so he stepped out. Clearly, he needed company.
I gave a few excuses, but he insisted. Eventually, I agreed. We drove around, visited another friend, and started chilling. None of this was planned. I hadn’t intended to be out that night. Before I knew it, three hours were gone—just like that.
That’s how time gets stolen when you’re not intentional with it.
Being intentional starts with knowing what you want in life and guarding your ambitions jealously, without compromise. Ask yourself:
- What do I want in 2026?
- What do I want this month?
- This week?
- In the next 24 hours?
Intentionality also demands specificity. Don’t be vague. Be clear about how you want to use your time. If you don’t decide how to use your time, someone else will decide for you.
You can’t, for example, keep picking phone calls during your meditation hour and still expect meaningful results. If it’s meditation time, then it’s meditation time. That’s how life works.
To be intentional with your time, you must have goals—and not shallow ones. Ask yourself:
What do I want?
How much do I want it?
How badly do I want it?
When do I want it?
How am I going to get it?
What resources do I need?
My advice? Write it down.
With your own handwriting—no matter how awful it looks. Writing engages your brain differently. As you write, you’re imprinting those goals into your subconscious. At least, that’s how it works for me.
Every day should have its own goals. And no—“going to work” is not a goal. Of course you’re going to work. Everyone does. The same applies to “going to business.” That’s not a goal; that’s routine.
A real daily goal answers questions like:
- What exactly do I want to accomplish at work today?
- What extra mile will I go to achieve extraordinary results?
Don’t settle into the mindset of “sizakwathu izi mmm.” That attitude is one of the biggest reasons people stagnate in their careers. Growth demands extra effort.
If you’re in academia, a meaningful daily goal could be:
“Today, I will dedicate one or two focused hours to developing a research topic for my next publication.”
Don’t be content with just going to work, lecturing, and going home—year after year—while recycling other people’s publications and contributing nothing new to the body of knowledge.
In finance, your daily goal could be as simple as:
“Today, I will not spend more than 2,000 kwacha, or $30, or whatever currency I use.”
That’s how intentionality works.
If you’re not intentional with your time, others will benefit from it. That’s why it’s easy to spend four to six hours a day scrolling through social media, watching random funny stuff. You’re losing time, while content creators are making money from the time you’re giving away.
So sit down today and ask yourself:
What do I want in the next 24 hours?
This week?
This month?
This year?
Because if you’re not intentional, you’ll be the same person year after year:
- An academic with zero publications.
- An employee with no measurable impact at work.
- An entrepreneur with no innovation or added value.
- A student with no independent thinking—only memorising lecture notes and fearing deep engagement with books.
When you become intentional, you’ll realise that some goals will demand you go offline—for a day, a week, or even a month—because you have something important to execute.
On some days, intentionality may require less sleep. Other days, it will demand “ghost mode”—ignoring calls and distractions, not out of rudeness, but out of purpose.
I’m not saying you should be mean.
I’m saying you should be intentional—with your life, your time, your goals, and your resources.
Be intentional this year.
And be fruitful.
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