The gift of presence

December 24, 2016December 24, 2016 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Organizational Exercises, Productivity tips for work, Setting organizational priorities, Staying focused, Working with your guides How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, Prioritizing tasks, tips for being kind, Working with your guides

I worked as a volunteer at the Center for Grieving Children for about five years. The Center is a place families go to help express their grief in a safe and kind setting. Families go on a specific night each week and each member of the family meets with an age-appropriate group. Families attend for as long as they want – which is sometimes a few weeks, and sometimes over a year.

One adult who was in my group for a long time told me her time at the Center was the only time all week she was herself – the rest of the time she was faking it, even with her kids, trying to seem happy and “get over” the death of her husband.

Some weeks at the Center she had no words. Other weeks she was depressed. Sometimes her issues were the loss. Other times she needed to talk about how hard it was to suddenly be a single parent. And some weeks she was happy and didn’t feel guilty about expressing that. Continue reading →

Spend time with your senses

December 22, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Meditation, Organizational Exercises, Staying focused, Working with your guides getting organized, Getting work done, How to stay focused, Meditation tips, Organizational Exercises, Working with your guides

If you’re looking for a way to decelerate for a few minutes, I’d highly recommend spending time with your senses. I work my way through some or all of these when I meditate.

Start with the senses you’re most familiar with, then work your way into the senses you don’t think about as often. That’s where the sensations really get interesting! Continue reading →

Drawing inspiration from Lisa Congdon

December 13, 2016December 13, 2016 organizationalhabits Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Finding your "why", Setting organizational priorities, Working with your guides Big project ideas, forming a new habit, getting things done, organizational tips, organizing big projects, tips to be more productive

If you’re looking for inspiration for starting a new life pursuit, go no further than Lisa Congdon.

Last summer, I had the privilege of meeting Lisa, a prolific artist, illustrator, and writer from Portland Oregon. Lisa works for clients around the world including the MoMA, Harvard University, Martha Stewart Living, Chronicle Books, Simon & Schuster, and Random House Publishing.

She’s the author of six books, including the starving-artist-myth-smashing Art Inc: The Essential Guide to Building Your Career as an Artist, and illustrated books The Joy of Swimming, Fortune Favors the Brave, Whatever You Are, Be a Good One, Twenty Ways to Draw a Tulip and A Collection a Day. Her seventh book, A Glorious Freedom: On Being a Woman, Getting Older, and Living an Extraordinary Life will be released by Chronicle Books in 2017. 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 →

Finding awe

December 6, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Organizational Exercises, Staying focused, Working with your guides Changing habits, Decision making, Getting work done, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, tips to be more productive, Working with your guides

If you want to feel inspired, to feel your energy lift, to set off in a new direction, try a dose of AWE.

Gaze at a newborn baby.
Lift your eyes to a starry night.
Take a hike to a mountaintop – or go to the top of the tallest building you can find.
Sit by a body of water.
Listen to an incredible piece of music.
Walk around in a rain storm or in swirling snow. Continue reading →

Being open to the BOOM

December 1, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Decision making, Staying focused, Working with your guides Big project ideas, getting things done, Getting work done, organizational tips, Working with your guides

I love having a to-do list, a calendar, a daily planner. Most days this works really well for me to get lots done. But other days, I start with a BOOM.

Some days the BOOM hits me as I’m waking up. Sometimes it hits in the shower. Sometimes I’m halfway up the stairs on the way to my office when I get an idea to do something that is definitely not on my list for the day. I feel my energy lift, a smile spreads across my face, and I dive in. 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 →

We’re in this together

November 10, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Building your personal brand, Decision making, Meditation, Staying focused, Working with your guides getting things done, Meditation tips, State of "flow", Working with your guides

In times of uncertainty and divisiveness, it helps to be mindful of the people around you and to recognize that we’re all in this together.

Patriot’s Day weekend, 2007, I was at an Omega Institute class in mid-town Manhattan with Zen teacher Sharon Salzberg. The topic was mindfulness. At the end of the class, Sharon asked us to look around the room and imagine that we were going to be stuck in a subway car with this specific group of people – for eternity.

“If you know you’ll be with this group for eternity, does that change how you feel about them? Does it make you more curious? Are you going to get to know them? Or are they going to continue to be strangers?” Continue reading →

Consider a leaf

October 28, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Finding your "why", Meditation, Organizational Exercises, Staying focused, Working with your guides Changing habits, figuring out my life work, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, State of "flow", Working with your guides

I just finished listening to Eckhardt Tolle’s audio book A New Earth. I love audio books and listen to them regularly when I drive. This started as a habit when I was driving long distances, but has evolved into an everyday habit. It’s weird to look forward to running errands or heading to the grocery story because you get to learn something new – but it’s a great use of time when you are in the car.

So back to A New Earth – there was so much to take in. Here are three big take-aways that relate to getting organized and finding the peace within that.