Are You Crashing Into Your Day?

Denise Roistacher • February 2, 2026

How Intentional Entry Shapes Your Leadership Presence

Have you ever woken up and felt like you were already behind?

Maybe you rushed through your morning, barely aware of your first thoughts. You might drink your coffee while running for the train, drop the kids off at school, and answer emails in transit. These morning actions are anything but calming, and all of it happens before you ever set foot in the office.

Despite all this, almost every time you leave the house, a low-grade sense of unease hums in the background—a nagging feeling that you’ve forgotten something.

It isn’t that you forgot your keys.

Perhaps you forgot yourself.

That feeling of being launched straight into the day is more common than we realize. And it’s worth pausing to ask:

What if you could begin differently?

At a yoga retreat years ago, a teacher shared a phrase I’ve never forgotten: crashing into your day.

She wasn’t describing anything dramatic. She was naming something routine and familiar: rushing out the door, moving on autopilot from one moment to the next, entering the world already feeling behind.

She invited us to notice the difference between charging into our day and stepping into it with intention.

That distinction stayed with me.

The way we begin—whether with intention or on autopilot—matters more than we think.

This shift in approach can set the tone for everything that follows.

A Different Way of Beginning

When it comes to approaching the new year—or any new chapter—we’re often encouraged to set ambitious goals or create detailed plans. But what if there were a more meaningful, gentler way to begin?

That same weekend, we were given an exercise exploring twelve core areas of life: work, relationships, health, community, finances, creativity, and more. Rather than trying to tend to everything at once, we were asked to identify just three areas that mattered most to us in that moment.

We then reflected on how we were actually doing in those areas.

What was working well?
And where did something need to shift?

Then—rather than defaulting to traditional goal-setting, which can sometimes feel rigid or stressful—we turned to intention, focusing on the qualities we wanted to embody.

The practice was simple, but profound.

Instead of concentrating on outcomes or tasks, we were invited to imagine how we wanted to enter those prioritized areas of our lives.

We wrote a short paragraph describing the energy, mindset, and presence we wanted to bring to them.

Not what we would do.
But how would it be?

That subtle shift quietly changed how I moved through my days. Reviewing my approach, I found more presence and calm, even in busy moments.

What This Means for Leaders—and Why It Matters

Just as intention can transform our personal mornings, it also shapes how we lead others.

When leaders practice intentional entry, the impact extends far beyond individual well-being.

Teams notice when a leader arrives present and grounded. Meetings feel more focused. Conversations open more easily. Even difficult decisions are approached with greater calm.

A leader’s energy sets the tone for trust, collaboration, and productivity.

Yet leaders often underestimate how much beginnings matter.

Pause and consider:

What tone do I want to set at an all-hands meeting?
How do I want to enter a challenging conversation?
When I walk by my team, what do people experience?

When leaders move into moments already rushed, distracted, or cognitively overloaded, others feel it immediately. The tone is set before a single word is spoken.

The way a leader enters a room ripples outward—shaping how teams connect, collaborate, and respond.

Over time, these small acts of intention compound. They shape presence, regulate reactivity, and anchor leadership behavior in conscious choice.

Intentional Entry at Scale

I once worked with a senior leader who understood this intuitively.

Every Monday morning, he sent a brief email to the organization. It always opened with a simple, grounding quote—nothing lofty or abstract, just human. Alongside it were practical updates, recognition for recent accomplishments, and an honest acknowledgment of any headwinds ahead.

That email did more than convey information.

It set the tone for the week.

Before meetings began and decisions accelerated, he created a moment—however brief—for the organization to pause and orient toward how they wanted to lead and work together.

It was a small ritual.

And it had a meaningful impact.

Intention as a Grounding Practice

To this day, I write weekly intentions.

They aren’t affirmations or wishful thinking; they’re grounding statements that help me orient.

How do I want to be at work this week?

At home?
In my relationships?
In my community?

Over time, I’ve learned to pay attention to the qualities I bring—approachable, curious, grounded.

There will always be pressure. And mornings that don’t go as planned.

The goal isn’t perfection.

It’s awareness. And choice.

Even a brief pause, a deep breath, or naming the quality I want to carry helps me begin the day differently.

How you enter your work, your leadership, and your relationships shapes what follows. A deliberate beginning sets direction.

Tomorrow morning, before the rush begins, pause for a moment.

Here are some tailored ways to make intentional entry part of your routine:

Identify your top priority for the day and write an intention—focusing not only on what you want to achieve, but how you want to show up in that moment.
Set a simple morning ritual—such as mindful breathing, brief journaling, or stepping outside for fresh air—that helps you transition from home to work with presence.
Before key meetings or conversations, take a 30-second pause to clarify the energy and mindset you want to bring—especially when challenges await.
Simply take one full breath before opening your laptop.

That inner GPS signal will anchor you when demands compete, and urgency pulls.

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