Decision making

10,000 hours

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Malcolm Gladwell describes “outliers” as people who are at the ends of the spectrum – the few who stand out for their artistic success, their business acumen, or their athletic achievements. His book, Outliers, studies these winners like scientific specimens and comes to an awesome conclusion: to be successful in any field, you need smarts. You need opportunities. And mostly, you have to work hard. Really hard. Like “10,000 hours” hard.

Great artists, successful business people, and uber-athletes make what they do seem easy. It’s not. Yes, there are savants, but to be a success in any field, you have to be intentional about the work you choose to do. You have to stay focused. You have to prioritize getting your work done.

And you put in those 10,000 hours to get really, really good. Continue reading →

Finding energy balance

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I just finished reading one of Cesar Millan’s books on understanding dogs and was struck by this idea: When you’re choosing a dog, you’ll be happier in the long run not by picking a certain breed, but by picking a dog that matches your energy. I was helping place puppies last weekend at the Animal Refuge league and offered this advice to a number of folks looking at puppies – some of whom were mellow and others rowdy – and it seemed to help our visitors choose a puppy that was a good “fit”.

Afterward, I got to thinking about how this same energy assessment applies to work. If you’re at a company where everyone works 60-70 hours a week and you like spending less time at work and more at home, good luck feeling in balance. Conversely, if you have a job that requires you to sit all day and you’re high energy, you either sit and aren’t happy. Or you’re up and around all the time making it hard for others to work! I felt this when I worked for a big company that was all about the status quo when I wanted to try new things, to create change. It was a bad match! Continue reading →

What’d you have for lunch today?

organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Changing habits, Decision making, Planning impacts on your health , , , , ,

At the core of how we feel, how we function, and how we think is how healthy we are. If you’re not healthy, it’s hard to get  organized – and don’t even think about getting big, cool projects done!

A huge part of being healthy is eating healthy.

  • How careful are you about the food you put in your body?
  • Do you read labels and understand what the ingredients are?
  • When you go out to eat, do you know the ingredients used by the restaurant?

Continue reading →

The power of “Yes”

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I was walking Grace this week and decided to take one of her favorite paths up behind Crescent Beach. The path alternated between open dry grass in the sunny areas, and a mix of snow and ice in the tree-shaded areas. I was carefully choosing my steps with Grace off-leash when I heard voices up ahead. I could see a couple of moms with little kids so I clipped on Grace’s leash.

Grace the dogJust as the leash clicked, Grace spotted their dog and with a “woof” of greeting, took off at full tilt with me riding behind her, on my butt, across what turned out to be a particularly icy stretch of path. Continue reading →

About those meds…

organizationalhabits Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Decision making, Organizational Exercises, Planning impacts on your health , , ,

My #1 suggestion for anyone thinking about getting organized is to start by getting healthy. If you aren’t feeling healthy, the last thing you want to tackle is a major decluttering/reorg of your life.

An important part of getting healthy is being really picky about everything you put in your body – including medications. Personally, meds don’t work well for me. I know for many, they seem to work well but are they good for you in the long run?

Consider this from an article published last Friday in the Washington Post. Continue reading →

“The future has an ancient heart”

organizationalhabits Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Finding your "why", Organizational Exercises, Setting organizational priorities, Staying focused, Working with your guides , , , , , , , , , ,

“The future has an ancient heart.”

I love this line from Italian writer Carlo Levi. The thought is that you are who you are from the moment you’re born, and the future reveals what’s always been there.

If you’re struggling with where you’re headed, look back at where you were when you were 5, 10, 15, 20… Continue reading →

Deadline!

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Do you have something you really want to do but never seem to make time for? Here’s a simple idea: Set a deadline.

Right, you say. I’ll just break it if it’s my deadline.

How about this?

  • Get a clear picture in your head of what you want to get done.
  • Set a realistic deadline for when you could complete this awesome thing.
  • Tell a friend what you’re going to do and what your deadline is.
  • Write out a check that would hurt financially to pay to an organization that you’d HATE to contribute to.
  • Give the check to your friend.
  • Full of incentive, go do the work you’ve always wanted to do.

Continue reading →

Secrets revealed

organizationalhabits Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Decision making, Organizational Exercises, Planning impacts on your health, Working with your guides , , , , ,

I’m reading Tiny, Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed. The book is a compilation of advice Cheryl offered in her column, “Dear Sugar”. As I read, I’m struck by the number of people who reveal a secret, a doubt, a fear, or a wish. And I’m struck by the fact that most of the secrets, doubts, fears and wishes are the same ones we all have.

When I worked as a volunteer at the Center for Grieving Children, I saw secrets of grief revealed every week. Grief is a weird, hidden thing. We think if we don’t talk about it the loss will hurt less. We don’t talk about it because it makes us cry. We don’t talk about it because we don’t want anyone to worry that we’re still sad. We keep grief bundled up and secretly tucked away, and it feels huge. Continue reading →

Changing habits

organizationalhabits Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Meditation, Organizational Exercises , , , , , ,

If you place electrodes in a rat’s brain and put him in an unfamiliar maze with a piece of chocolate hidden at the end of a path, you see an amazing thing about how habits affect your brain. I’ve personally never tried this, but Charles Duhigg talks about it in detail in his AWESOME book The Power of Habit.

But back to the rat. The first time he’s in the maze, he wanders through, sniffing the walls and working his way down the path. When he finds the chocolate he happily settles in for a quick snack. All this time, his brain activity is high. He’s learning something and his brain wants to capture every minute. Continue reading →