Book SummaryIntentional, by Chris Bailey

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Intentional

Why is it so hard to reach the goals we set for ourselves? Productivity expert Chris Bailey says that, in many cases, the missing ingredient is intentionality—choosing goals that reflect your values and chasing them with deliberate, purposeful action. This guide to Intentional (2026) will teach you how to set goals that are important to you and how to design your schedule so you’ll actually follow through. Bailey’s system emphasizes focused work on your most important tasks, but it also leaves you space to improve your goals and processes as you go. This balanced approach will allow you to do your best work and find greater meaning in your life.

Bailey is a best-selling author and productivity consultant who’s spent over a decade researching and writing about personal achievement, goal attainment, and intentional living....

Intentional Summary What It Means to Be Intentional

Before we begin, it will be helpful to clarify what Bailey means by intentional. In Bailey’s system, there are two key aspects of intentionality:

1. Acting intentionally: Making deliberate choices about what to do before you act, as opposed to simply acting on autopilot.
2. Living intentionally: Aligning your short-term goals with your long-term goals, and your long-term goals with your core values. Phrased more simply, this means setting goals...

Intentional Summary Set the Right Goals

Before you can take any sort of intentional action, you must first decide what you’re actually trying to accomplish. Therefore, the first step in Bailey’s approach is to clearly define an outcome you want, how you’ll achieve it, and why it’s important to you.

We’ll begin this section with a brief explanation of outcome goals and process goals, and why both are important. We’ll then explain how you can align your goals with your personal values in order to boost your motivation.

Set Both Outcome Goals and Process Goals

Bailey says there are two different types of goals: outcome goals and process goals. He argues that people tend to set ambitious outcome goals, but fail to achieve them without the structure and consistency that process goals provide. Therefore, both are crucial if you want to make major changes or accomplish great things.

An outcome goal describes the end state you’re working toward. This should be something you truly want for yourself—a vision of your future that keeps you motivated and focused. Some examples Bailey gives include losing 15 pounds, writing a novel, achieving financial independence, or building stronger relationships.

(Shortform...

Intentional Summary Make Plans and Schedules

After considering outcome goals and process goals, the next step is establishing the day-to-day process of pursuing those goals. We’ll start this section by explaining why Bailey says you should set aside time specifically for planning your next steps. We’ll then review two methods of making a daily schedule: time blocking and ordered productivity.

Plan Time to Make Plans

Bailey says that life is an endless barrage of demands and distractions. As a result, people tend to handle whatever task feels most urgent or most convenient at the moment—they go on autopilot, which is the opposite of acting with intention. His solution is to set aside specific times when you can step back from the “busyness” and deliberately choose what to do next.

The simplest form of this practice is a daily intention-setting ritual: Before you get to work, take up to 15 minutes to identify the three things you most want to accomplish that day. Bailey then extends this practice across larger time periods—he suggests you take some time each Sunday to set three intentions for the coming week, and do the same for monthly goals at the start of each month. You can also set longer-term intentions...

Intentional Summary Continually Improve Your Goals and Methods

No matter how carefully you choose goals and make schedules, you’ll inevitably need to revise your plans along the way. That’s why a key part of Bailey’s system is to regularly examine what’s working for you and what isn’t, and make intentional improvements where you can.

We’ll begin with an explanation of why you should frequently review your goals and how to do so. We’ll then go over some of Bailey’s suggestions for improving your daily work practices—ways for you to overcome mental barriers and keep yourself motivated during the daily grind toward your goals.

Revise Your Outcome and Process Goals

Bailey urges you to view your goals as educated guesses about what you want, rather than absolute commitments to yourself. You’ll need to revise your goals as you learn more about what works for you. Some of your goals will need to be tweaked, others will need to be reworked—occasionally, you’ll even realize that a goal isn’t right for you, and you need to abandon it.

The ideal time to update your goals is during the planning sessions we discussed before. Bailey suggests that you examine your progress toward each of your goals, your processes for working toward...

Intentional Summary Next Steps: Celebration, Review, and Upkeep

So far we’ve discussed Bailey’s methods for setting and reaching goals, but what happens once you actually achieve one? According to Bailey, you need to do three things after a major accomplishment: Celebrate your success, do one final review of the goals and methods you used, and (if relevant) determine how you’ll maintain the progress you’ve made.

Celebrate What You’ve Achieved

Bailey argues that celebrating your successes is one of the most important—and most overlooked—parts of personal achievement. Celebration rewards your efforts, which helps you feel like the work was worthwhile and makes you more likely to maintain your progress. It also connects positive feelings with the general concept of pursuing goals, thereby making future goals seem more attractive. Finally, celebrations can mark key transition points in your life where you can recognize and appreciate your own growth.

(Shortform note: In The Molecule of More, Daniel Z. Lieberman and Michael E. Long offer one explanation for why celebrating successes is such an effective practice: Making progress toward a goal causes your brain to...

Shortform Exercise: Plan for Purposeful Action

You’ve read about Bailey’s system of meaningful goals and intentional actions. Think about what you want from your life and how you can start turning those intentions into reality.

Recall the 12 values we all share: self-direction, stimulation, pleasure, achievement, power, face, security, tradition, conformity, humility, universalism, and benevolence. Which of those feels most important to you and why?