Words can start a revolution

September 4, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Organizational Exercises, Setting organizational priorities, Working with your guides Big project ideas, Changing habits, Defining who you are, organizational tips, State of "flow", Working with your guides

“Every conversation won’t change your life. But any conversation can.”

Like much of what I’ve posted for the past week, this idea came up at the Good Life Project camp last weekend. I’ve been thinking about this in a couple of ways.

Listen – new ideas and insights can turn your head.
Start a conversation – you never know what you’ll learn.
Speak up – your voice is a gift and it’s important to speak your truth.
The world is mysterious. And being open to the idea that new thinking can come from anywhere is one of the most delightful mysteries.
You don’t always plan change – sometimes it just falls on you.

Continue reading →

Being grateful for the irritant

September 1, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Building your personal brand, Decision making, Staying focused, Working with your guides Defining who you are, figuring out my life work, How to stay focused, organizational tips, tips to stay healthy, Working with your guides

At the Good Life Project camp last weekend, founder Jonathan Fields did a talk on podcasting. We were chatting about what makes a great interview, and of course, it’s when the presenter has a good story. But a good story is rarely a story where everything goes right.

Why? Because:

No one believes the presenter.
There’s little emotion or take-away.
We don’t tend to like a person who tells us everything in their life is perfect.

Jonathan gave the example of a person who says he grew up in a terrific family, got into a great school, and ended up in investment banking – only to find out he really, really loves investment banking. This may sound like a great life but it isn’t a great story. Continue reading →

What if?

August 28, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Finding your "why", Getting started, Organizational Exercises, Productivity tips for work, Working with your guides Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, Defining who you are, getting things done, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, working on big projects, Working with your guides

At the Good Life Project camp this weekend, the opening and closing question was the same: “What if?”

GLP is a camp for entrepreneurs who would like to change the world, so the keynote speakers’ “What ifs” were bold. Continue reading →

Fresh sailing

August 25, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Finding your "why", Organizational Exercises, Productivity tips for work, Staying focused, Working with your guides Big project ideas, Changing habits, Defining who you are, getting things done, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, tips to be more productive, working on big projects, Working with your guides

I’m spending the weekend at an entrepreneur’s conference in upstate New York. Our host is podcaster and author Jonathan Fields. About four years ago, Jonathan published a video blog about how cool summer camps were for kids and wondered why adults didn’t have the same kind of fun. So he invented The Good Life Project Camp.

I have attended every summer since.

Here’s why. Continue reading →

Keep things moving

August 22, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Organizational Exercises, Productivity tips for work, Staying focused, Tips for organizing your house, Tips on decluttering, Tips on using a planner Changing habits, Decision making, decluttering your life, getting organized, getting things done, Getting work done, how to get organized, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, tips to be more productive

My favorite advice from the list of 100 declutter ideas in the book One Thing at a Time by Cindy Glovinsky was to keep things moving. This can be applied to your house, to your work space, and to how you live your life. Continue reading →

Taking time to ponder

August 20, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Decision making, Meditation, Organizational Exercises, Productivity tips for work, Staying focused, Working with your guides Changing habits, forming a new habit, getting things done, Getting work done, organizational tips, State of "flow", tips to be more productive, Working with your guides

Do you wake up to an alarm? If you do, you may be missing some of your best thinking time. When an alarm goes off, your mind is jarred and any thoughts are generally lost. If you can get to bed early enough to get a solid night’s sleep without waking up to alarm, it’s fun to let your mind wander before you jump out of bed.

“Theta time” is when you’re kind of groggy but awake. If you can push yourself to stay in bed and float for 10, 20, or even 30 minutes, you might be surprised what you come up with. Continue reading →

Giving in to organization

August 17, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Organizational Exercises, Setting organizational priorities, Staying focused Changing habits, Decision making, Defining who you are, getting organized, getting things done, Getting work done, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, Prioritizing tasks, tips to be more productive

If you resist getting organized, feeling like organization might box you in or make you less creative, consider this: Continue reading →

Decluttering with a mission

August 14, 2017 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Decision making, Helping kids get organized, Organizational Exercises, Tips for organizing your house, Tips on decluttering Changing habits, Decision making, decluttering your life, getting organized, getting things done, how to get organized, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, organizational tips for kids, Tips on decluttering, tips to be more productive, tips to organize a closet

I get more questions about decluttering than any other organizational issue. What to me is great fun is, apparently, quite a chore to most people. If you’ve got a drawer, closet, room, or HOUSE to declutter, it helps to have motivation and a deadline.

I had two brilliant motivators descend on me this week: a theater where I work is holding a garage sale and is looking for items to sell, including clothing items. And our library asked for art supply donations for an upcoming project.

My house is mostly decluttered but two areas where things seem to stick are my potential-costume rack, and my art closet. The potential-costume rack includes things I’ve worn in past shows, dress-ups for the kiddos, and clothes I “demote” until I’m ready to part with them. The art closet includes bits and pieces of recent and past craft and sewing projects. Continue reading →

The glass is already broken

August 10, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Decision making, Meditation, Organizational Exercises, Staying focused, Working with your guides Changing habits, Decision making, decluttering your life, Defining who you are, getting things done, How to stay focused, Meditation tips, organizational tips, tips to be more productive, Working with your guides

When I’m feeling too attached to something – an object, a person, or an outcome – I meditate on the Buddhist saying, “The glass is already broken.”

When you start to sweat the small stuff, and remember that it’s all small stuff, you have to know that this will pass. We’re in a constant state of change with new beginnings and new endings every day.

And, like the glass, we’re here for a short time. Continue reading →