What’s the best part of your day?

May 22, 2018December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Organizational Exercises, Productivity tips for work, Setting organizational priorities, Staying focused, Tips on using a planner Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, Defining who you are, forming a new habit, getting organized, getting things done, Getting work done, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, Prioritizing tasks, tips to be more productive, Using a planner

I love this exercise from Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans. You do stuff everyday. Some of it you choose to do. A lot of it you have to do. Each day your energy flows around your tasks, sometimes up and sometimes down.

If you want to have more up-energy, try tracking your energy flow for a week. You can either set up an activity log, or better yet, just mark up your planner. At the end of the day, look at each thing you did and check off or highlight things that raised your energy.

What’s cool about us is that we’re all different. A high-energy part of your day could be: Continue reading →

Start where you are

May 17, 2018December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Organizational Exercises, Productivity tips for work, Staying focused Changing habits, Decision making, Defining who you are, forming a new habit, getting things done, Getting work done, How to stay focused, organizational tips, tips for being kind, tips to be more productive

How’s this for a premise: “If a problem isn’t actionable, it’s not a problem. It’s reality.”

Bill Burnett and Dave Evans develop this idea in their new book, Designing Your Life; How To Build a Well-lived, Joyful Life as they apply “design thinking” to making important life choices.

When you’re organized, you don’t like to waste time. And what’s a huge waste of time? Worrying – especially when you worry about stuff you can’t change. This doesn’t mean you don’t have stuff you wish you could change – a grouchy boss, a noisy neighbor, an obnoxious family member. But if you can’t change them, then they aren’t a problem – they are reality. And you can’t outsmart reality or bend it to your will. It’s still reality. Continue reading →

Relaxing into a schedule

April 29, 2018December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Organizational Exercises, Productivity tips for work, Setting up a planner, 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, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, tips to be more productive, working on big projects

If you’ve been thinking about doing something cool, set a deadline and put together a schedule. A deadline is effective even if it’s something only you know about; when you write a due date on a calendar you’re making a written commitment to yourself to get something done.

A cool benefit of having a schedule, besides meeting deadlines and getting stuff done, is the peace that comes from deciding what you’re working on and when you’re going to do it. You may feel like a schedule limits you. I would counter that when you schedule something, you quiet your brain and the idea stops nagging at you.

“Are you going to work on me now? Now? Now?”

Continue reading →

All roads lead to decluttering

April 13, 2018December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Decision making, Planning impacts on your health, Productivity tips for work, Setting organizational priorities, Staying focused, Tips for organizing your house, Tips on decluttering Changing habits, Decision making, decluttering your life, Defining who you are, forming a new habit, getting things done, Getting work done, How to stay focused, organizational tips, Prioritizing tasks, Tips on decluttering

When I give talks on Organizational Zen and ask attendees why they’re there, the #1 thing I hear is that they have clutter problems. Yes, nearly everyone you know has a clutter problem! Just knowing that kind of helps, doesn’t it? 🙂

But here’s the thing. In class, I save my thoughts and tips about decluttering for last. Why? It’s not that I’m being mean. It’s just that decluttering to me is a symptom of so many other things and my wish is that at the end of our time together, folks will realize that simply tidying up isn’t going to solve their problem.

What will? Figuring out how to nip clutter in the bud. Or deciding that clutter is not actually that big of a deal. And let’s start with that. Continue reading →

Two tricks to stop procrastinating

April 1, 2018December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Decision making, 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, forming a new habit, getting things done, Getting work done, How to stay focused, organizational tips, tips to be more productive, Working with your guides

I run the adult programs at our town library, and one of my favorites is a new Songwriting Workshop. The leader, Jud Caswell, has mad skills at being able to hear what someone plays and sings, then offering bits of advice that seem small but that help immensely.

Last week, Jud offered this advice to stop procrastination in its tracks: Continue reading →

Getting things done by adding levels

March 25, 2018December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Organizational Exercises, Productivity tips for work, Setting organizational priorities, Staying focused Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, forming a new habit, getting things done, Getting work done, How to stay focused, organizational tips, organizing big projects, Prioritizing tasks, tips to be more productive, working on big projects

“Action leads to insight more often than insight leads to action.”
– Dan and Chip Heath, The Power of Moments

In The Power of Moments, the Heath brothers have some great ideas about breaking big goals into small parts – and rewarding yourself along the way. They compare this to video games where you feel accomplished each time to go up a level.

Let’s say you’ve always wanted to learn to play that guitar you’ve had hanging around for years. In a standard scenario, you know to break big goals into small parts so you make a plan to:

Tune up the guitar.
Find a great book on how to play.
Find some online class options.
Commit to practicing for a half-hour, 3x a week.
Block out time this week and get to work.

This plan works great for the first week or two, but then it gets a little boring and you start to skip practice time. And before you know it, the guitar is banished to its case, collecting dust at the back of the closet. Continue reading →

The Olympics and DNA

February 19, 2018December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Planning impacts on your health, Productivity tips for work Changing habits, Decision making, Defining who you are, forming a new habit, getting things done, Getting work done, organizational tips, tips to be more productive

We’re watching the Olympics on a pretty regular basis (at least until 10:00 PM or so). While I love seeing incredible performances, the practical side of me can’t believe the amount of physical effort that’s needed to carry out Olympic feats. And I can’t comprehend how you put that much work into something that has mostly a negative impact on your finances, where the smallest error takes you out of the running, and where you only get to compete every four years!

That being said, look at these folks! Those who succeed have incredible physical abilities built into their DNA. AND I love hearing about the incredible habits that got them this far.

Coinciding with the Olympics, I got results from my 23&Me spit test this week, supplemented with additional info from a site called Promethease. I am amazed at some of the stuff that’s hard-baked into my body. Do I have the genes of an Olympic athlete? No! But here’s a bit of what I learned: Continue reading →

The importance of showing up

February 15, 2018December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Productivity tips for work, Setting organizational priorities, Staying focused Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, Defining who you are, getting things done, How to stay focused, organizational tips, Prioritizing tasks, tips for being kind, tips to be more productive

Like any business, you have a brand. If your brand is strong, it might be “100% guaranteed.” Or “Always on time.” You may be known for having an open heart. A generous soul. A guaranteed laugh.

If your brand is feeling a little tarnished, you have the power to change that simply by showing up – physically and mentally. When you show up to a conversation, you listen with intent. When you show up to a function, you show up on time and fully take part. You make promises only when you know you can keep them. Continue reading →

The magic of choosing with intent

February 8, 2018December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Productivity tips for work, Staying focused, Working with your guides Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, Defining who you are, getting things done, Getting work done, How to stay focused, organizational tips, tips to be more productive, Working with your guides

Every presentation I give on organization starts with a discussion of intent. I ask people to take a quiet moment to think about why they came to the talk. And then there’s that awkward moment: If someone can’t think of a reason why they’re there, I suggest they step out. No one’s ever taken me up on this, but I’m serious! If you’re somewhere you don’t want to be, your focus and energy aren’t there. And other people pick up that which means you’re not only wasting your time, but you’re messing with the overall energy in the room. Continue reading →