Standing firm in a time of change

September 12, 2018December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Decision making, Finding your "why", Productivity tips for work, Setting organizational priorities, Staying focused, Working with your guides Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, Defining who you are, figuring out my life work, getting things done, Getting work done, How to stay focused, organizational tips, Prioritizing tasks, tips to be more productive, Working with your guides

From your first breath as you emerged from the water of the womb to your last sigh as you leave the earth, each breath connects you to nature, to your work, and to fellow human beings across the world.

Can you tell I just finished reading a book on Wind work? 🙂

Author and shamanic healer Renee Baribeau’s book, Winds of Spirit, blows you around in all manner of directions. Here’s my #1 takeaway:

If you’re feeling disconnected from your work or your life, take off your shoes, step outside, and take a “wind bath.” Start off with a few deep breaths. Then ask yourself a question. Continue reading →

Feel gratitude for everything

June 10, 2018December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Finding your "why", Setting organizational priorities, Staying focused, Working with your guides Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, Defining who you are, figuring out my life work, forming a new habit, getting organized, getting things done, Getting work done, How to stay focused, organizational tips, Prioritizing tasks, working on big projects, Working with your guides

My daughter, Samantha, graduated from Duke a couple of weeks ago. Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, was the commencement speaker and gave a great talk. I love that we have guides everywhere. When you’re open to new ideas, a hot morning in a football stadium can turn into a cool well of inspiring thought.

Here were a few of my favorite take-aways from Mr. Cook. Continue reading →

Mapping your energy

June 3, 2018December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Finding your "why", Organizational Exercises, Setting organizational priorities, Staying focused Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, figuring out my life work, getting things done, Getting work done, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, Prioritizing tasks, tips to be more productive, working on big projects

If you’re trying to bring more energy into your life, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans prescribe making a fun, mind map in their book Designing Your Life.

It starts off easy! Think back on a time when you felt energized and engaged with life. Continue reading →

The significance of choices

February 11, 2018December 10, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Finding your "why", Meditation, 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, Getting work done, How to stay focused, organizational tips, tips to be more productive, working on big projects, Working with your guides

Is it too mysterious to think that for every major choice in your life where you headed off in a new direction that you also continued in the original direction?

That you simultaneously went to more than one college.

That you have your current friends and you have friends from that other life, the one you’re not living.

That you got divorced and you stayed with your ex. Continue reading →

When things go out of control

January 28, 2018December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Finding your "why", Helping kids get organized, Staying focused, Working with your guides Changing habits, Decision making, Defining who you are, figuring out my life work, getting things done, Getting work done, organizational tips, tips to be more productive, Working with your guides

Do you ever have one of those days, or weeks, or months, where everything seems out of control? People tell you not to worry, that, “Mercury’s in retrograde.” And you’re like, “My life is in retrograde!”

When you’re faced with the overwhelming, it helps to picture your mind as a big sky – vast, and limitless. And this “thing” that’s happening? It’s such a small thing in that vast sky. The “thing” isn’t everything. It’s a tiny piece of a big sky. That’s everything.

And that immovable block? What can you build on it? Continue reading →

Five tips to get something GREAT done

December 28, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Finding your "why", Organizational Exercises, Productivity tips for work, Setting organizational priorities, Staying focused, Tips on decluttering, Tips on using a planner Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, forming a new habit, getting organized, getting things done, Getting work done, how do I exercise more?, how to get organized, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, organizing big projects, Prioritizing tasks, Tips on decluttering, tips to be more productive, Using a planner, working on big projects

The start of a new year is a great time to think about stuff you’d like to get done. If there’s something you’ve been putting off or something you’ve started by can’t seem to finish, why not make 2018 your year to say, “You’ll never believe what I did this year!”?

Doing interesting work that lifts your energy is a guaranteed happy-maker. And you’ll have a good story to tell this time next year!

Here are five tips to get something GREAT done in 2018.

Know why this is on your list
I’m a big believer in following an energy path and if you’ve been stalling on something for a long time, maybe you don’t really want to do it. Is this something you think you ought to do? Or something someone else wants you to do? Why is getting this done important to you? Continue reading →

No regrets

December 10, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Finding your "why", Organizational Exercises, Staying focused, Working with your guides Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, Defining who you are, figuring out my life work, forming a new habit, getting things done, Getting work done, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, Prioritizing tasks, tips to be more productive, Working with your guides

In case you were wondering, I have to say something about my last post that started with the mysterious “444444444.” Does anyone else work on a computer where your cat stretches out between the monitor and the keyboard? And MOST of the time it’s okay? Yeah, well right as I hit “publish” last week, Flynn stretched out and added his little signature line, which is apparently, “444444444.” And once you hit “publish” in a blog post, there’s no going back. So from Flynn to you, I wish you a very happy “444444444.” And now on to to my current post 🙂

A common regret you hear about from people near the end of their lives is that they didn’t live a life that was true to who they were, and instead lived a life others expected of them.

You don’t want that! You want to go out a big smile on your face because you’ve done the things you’ve dreamed about. You want to think back on the opportunities you created. The people’s lives you touched. The energy you brought to the earth. Continue reading →

The importance of mentoring

November 2, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Finding your "why", Organizational Exercises, Staying focused, Working with your guides Big project ideas, Defining who you are, getting things done, How to stay focused, organizational tips, tips for being kind, Working with your guides

When we started rehearsals for a show I’m directing this fall, I saw the line-up of kids in the show and got a flash from the past. “Oh, my gosh. I’m Helen Todd.”

Helen cast me as Napoleon in The Nerve of Napoleon at the Little Theater of Alexandria when I was about 10 years old. You remember big moments like that in your life. And you remember the person responsible for giving you a break. A person who saw something in you that other people hadn’t seen. Who gave you encouragement. Who showed you how to do something. Who pushed you past your limits.

You had a mentor.

And now you can be a mentor. Continue reading →

Finding your Element

October 26, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Decision making, Finding your "why", Organizational Exercises, Setting organizational priorities, Staying focused, Working with your guides Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, Defining who you are, figuring out my life work, getting things done, Getting work done, How to stay focused, organizational tips, tips to be more productive, working on big projects, Working with your guides

I’m reading The Element by Ken Robinson and am finding all sorts of deliciousness. Here’s a point I was pondering today.

Recognizing where you feel most yourself is a clue to figuring out what your “element” is.

If you feel most at home in a library, then loving books and loving to read may be your “element,” and your soul may want to be a writer, editor, or publisher. Continue reading →