The importance of spending time alone

January 3, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Finding your "why", Meditation, Organizational Exercises, Staying focused, Working with your guides Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, figuring out my life work, getting things done, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, Prioritizing tasks, tips to be more productive, Working with your guides

An artist needs time to create. A writer needs time to work out a story. A musician needs time to play and to compose. A saint needs time to pray.

Alone-time lets you refill the pitcher of your life from all the little daily leaks and keeps your soul from running dry.

Such are the musing of Anne Morrow Lindbergh in Gift from the Sea. Anne was married to Charles Lindbergh and was a fellow aviator and accomplished author. She survived the abduction and murder of her first child, went on to have five more children, and outlived her famous husband by decades finally passing at the age of 94. Continue reading →

Make one New Year’s resolution

January 1, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Organizational Exercises, Setting organizational priorities, Staying focused, Tips on using a planner, Tips on using a planning calendar Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, forming a new habit, getting organized, getting things done, Getting work done, How do I use a planner?, how to get organized, losing weight, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, Prioritizing tasks, tips to be more productive, Using a planner, working on big projects

Here are the top four New Year’s resolutions. How many of these have been on your make-and-break list?

Lose weight
Get organized
Spend less/save more
Enjoy life to the fullest

I’m not big on making New Year’s resolutions because I don’t like to waste time. Statistics say that only 8% of us stick to New Year’s resolutions. Why spend time wishing for something that doesn’t happen most of the time for most people?

But these are great goals! So what can you do to make a resolution stick this year? Continue reading →

Getting in the question habit

December 26, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Organizational Exercises, Staying focused, Travel tips Changing habits, forming a new habit, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, Working with your guides

I recently read a great study by psychologist Arthur Aron positing whether two strangers could fall in love simply by asking each other a series of 36 questions. The first 13 questions are about how we present ourselves. The next 13 are about what we dream of and what we value. The last 13 are about friendship, family, and partners.

And here’s the clincher. At the end of the 36 questions, the two strangers have to face each other and look into each other’s eyes for 4 minutes. Aron says 2 minutes doesn’t do it – that’s simply terrifying. It’s at 4 minutes that things start to happen. Continue reading →

Organizational Tips for Kids

December 20, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Helping kids get organized, Organizational Exercises, Tips on decluttering Changing habits, decluttering your life, getting organized, how to get organized, organizational tips, organizational tips for kids, tips to be more productive

When I give talks on Organizational Zen, I’m often asked by frazzled parents if I have tips for helping kids stay organized. My best advice is to lead by example. If your stuff isn’t in order, your kids see it, so why should they get their own stuff in order? Right?

If you’ve got that down, then I’d add these seven guidelines to help your kids create their own Organizational Zen. Continue reading →

9 tips to be more productive

December 18, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Organizational Exercises, Productivity tips for work, Setting organizational priorities, Staying focused, Tips on using a planner Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, decluttering your life, forming a new habit, getting organized, getting things done, Getting work done, how to get organized, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, Prioritizing tasks, tips to be more productive

You’d like to be more productive.

You want to get more done
You want more control over your time
You want to be dependable
You feel edgy about things that aren’t getting done
You want to look back on 2017 and realize it was your best year yet

So how do you get there? There are lots of right ways. The trick is to make your own rules and to give yourself time to form new habits.

You can put this off. Or you can get started. Here are a few thoughts to get your energy flowing in a new direction.

Continue reading →

Finding balance in crazy times

December 15, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, Getting started, Organizational Exercises, Setting organizational priorities Big project ideas, Decision making, getting organized, getting things done, Getting work done, how to get organized, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, Prioritizing tasks, tips to be more productive

It’s easy to feel out of balance in crazy, hectic times (post-election, holiday, end-of-year). But as crazy as the world feels, balance comes from within you. It’s not what’s going on around you; it’s what you do and how you react to things. Balance is something you have control over.

Not convinced? Try this.

Sit quietly for five minutes (set a timer) and think about what the most important things are in your life that help you feel balanced. Five minutes isn’t long and that’s intentional. You don’t need deep thinking on this. You know what’s important to you.

Jot your ideas down as you go. Your list could be three things or twenty things. What matters is that this is your list of whatever comes up in five minutes. Continue reading →

Getting in the flow

December 8, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, Organizational Exercises, Productivity tips for work, Setting organizational priorities, Staying focused, Working with your guides Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, getting things done, Getting work done, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, State of "flow", tips to be more productive, Working with your guides

Can you remember a time in your life when you were working on something that completely captivated you – and how delicious that felt?

Author and thinker Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes this as being in a state of “flow”. Flow isn’t a random thing that just happens from time to time. Flow is something you can look for and welcome into your life.

How can you bring flow into any activity?

Choice
Choose what you’re working on. Think about why you’re doing what you’re doing. What is your intent? There’s lots of stuff you have to do. What do you want to do? Continue reading →

The disorganization habit

December 4, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, 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, Tips on using a planning calendar Changing habits, decluttering your life, forming a new habit, getting organized, getting things done, Getting work done, How do I use a planner?, how to get organized, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, Tips on decluttering, tips to be more productive, Using a planner

Have you ever uttered these words?

I’m not messy – I’m creative
I’ve always been disorganized
Someone will remind me if I forget
I run late – people are used to it
Don’t mind the mess at my house – it’s my mess and I love it

Then you may be in the disorganization habit. And maybe it’s working for you. But if you’re reading this post, then maybe you’re looking for a change. Continue reading →

The plot thickens…

November 29, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Finding your "why", Organizational Exercises, Setting organizational priorities, Staying focused, Working with your guides Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, figuring out my life work, forming a new habit, getting things done, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, State of "flow", tips to be more productive, working on big projects, Working with your guides

In the secret world that only you know, what does your ideal life look like? This isn’t the world that other people see for you. Or a world that everyone else wants. This is your world.

If you were writing the novel of your life…
What’s the plot line? Is this a historic novel? A romance? A mystery? High adventure?
What century is it? Are you in revolutionary war France? The wild west? Ancient Rome? Current-day America?
Where do you live? Is it warm or cold? Mountain or shore? Continue reading →