“Intention is fascinating. It’s what makes us human, but it’s also the key to finishing what we start.” Chris Bailey, bestselling author and productivity expert, is talking about one of the overlooked, but immensely powerful weapons when it comes to better financial habits – the daily structures that compound into lifestyle changes.
His new book, ‘Intentional,’ draws on everything from neuroscience to Buddhism to explain how intentionality – not willpower – is the key to completing your goals and rewiring the way you think. “The more we activate the logical centres in our brain as we pursue our goals, the less aversive we find them, which makes us less likely to procrastinate,” he states in the book. This is about early decisions that are going to stick, and support your new habits – especially around money.
Do our own values shape intentions?
“Research shows 12 fundamental human values that we all share [see below*] but in different amounts. Knowing your strongest is critical for your goals. Our values are pretty consistent over time, so if you align your goal with your strongest values, you’re far more likely to achieve it. For example, you have a goal to save £10,000 but maybe ‘achievement’ isn’t a strong value for you, whereas ‘kindness’ might be. So you aim to save £11,000 and give £1000 to charity. This will give you more intention.”
You talk about “structuring for success” – what’s the benefit of this?
“When something is unstructured, it makes it aversive, which leads to procrastination. Structure can short-circuit that loop – you don’t have to really think about your goals. You essentially trap a goal inside a framework in your life. For example, you automatically save 20% of your income every month, or check in with your accountability partner every Monday [see more on this below].”
We talk about compounding in finance – does it work the same way in behaviour?
“Yes but they have to be the right habits – there’s different asset classes. A very ‘high return habit’ would be automating savings, so that money just flows out when you get paid. It’s a structure that our goal can live inside of.”
How do daily tools like Starling’s Last Digit Widget help?
“It’s very useful. Our goals need structure – it’s up to us to define that. We need to make sacrifices, so we don’t rely on willpower. It’s absolutely key to have rituals that you can connect to. And that’s why the Last Digit Widget works – setting money aside on a structured daily basis, synced into your routine.”
