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
You’d like to be more productive.
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.
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
I love to write and create as an individual, but my energy lifts and flows when I collaborate with focused, tight groups. This includes my team work at Catalog University, and with the volunteer work I do – especially in the theater. My family is also a great team. We get a ton done and have fun doing it!
So I was super psyched when Charles Duhigg’s new book Smarter Faster Better (awesome read) took a dive into figuring out what makes a great team. Charles writes about how Google spent four years on this problem. First, they looked at who was on a team and could find no pattern. It was only when they looked at how teams worked that they found magic.
So what do the most productive teams have in common? Continue reading
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
If you want to feel inspired, to feel your energy lift, to set off in a new direction, try a dose of AWE.
Have you ever uttered these words?
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
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.
Getting through a holiday-laced December can be fun – and it can be exhausting. Having a plan in place will help you feel more in control and help tilt things more toward fun and less toward stress. Planning also helps you stick to your priorities rather than making last-minute decisions on the fly.
Good planning starts with a schedule. Take a look at December and block out time now for:
Special events and family events
Organizational Habits 