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 →

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 →

Could you live a simpler life?

November 23, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Organizational Exercises, Setting organizational priorities, Staying focused Big project ideas, getting things done, Getting work done, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, Prioritizing tasks, tips to be more productive

Thanksgiving is a great time to focus on what you feel grateful for.

If you aren’t feeling grateful this week, try brainstorming a list, or make a cool graphic like the one to the left, of everything in your life that brings you joy. Push yourself to make the list as long as possible so you remember to include the goofy things and the cool things – like chocolate. Or playing with your dog. Or sunrises.

Continue reading →

Living your dream time

November 16, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Decision making, Finding your "why", Organizational Exercises, Setting organizational priorities, Staying focused Big project ideas, Decision making, figuring out my life work, getting things done, Getting work done, How do I use a planner?, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, organizing big projects, Prioritizing tasks, tips to be more productive, Using a planner, working on big projects

When you have a million things to do, everything feels important, and whatever’s next on the list gets done. You may have an edgy feeling that you’re missing out, that there’s something you should be doing, but who has time to think about it, right? You’re getting stuff done, so go go go.

Then you wake up in the middle of the night. You glance at the clock. It’s 4:00 AM. It’s quiet and dark. You can’t go back to sleep and start to think about things that never intrude on your busy days.

What would it be like to take a year off to travel to all the national parks in the United States?
If you wrote a novel, what would it be about? Time travel? History? Mystery? You have ideas that are just at the corner of your thinking.
Continue reading →

How do you spend your time?

November 14, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Decision making, Finding your "why", Organizational Exercises, Productivity tips for work, Setting organizational priorities, Staying focused Big project ideas, Changing habits, figuring out my life work, getting things done, Getting work done, how to get organized, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, Prioritizing tasks, tips to be more productive

How do you spend your time? Do you choose with focus and intent? Or are your days more random?

When you’re surfing the net or watching TV, is your energy up, or down? When you stop, do you feel lighter or heavier? Are you learning something? Sharing something?

Do your activities make a difference in your life or in the lives of others? Are you using your time well? Does what you’re doing affect you at a soul level? Continue reading →

You are an expert

October 31, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Finding your "why", Organizational Exercises, Staying focused Big project ideas, figuring out my life work, getting things done, How to stay focused, organizational tips, State of "flow"

You are an expert. When you do that thing you do, energy flows through you and time slows down.

How do you do it?

You focus on the subject at hand
You take classes
You read books and listen to audio books
You practice
You write about your expertise so you process the information you’ve learned
You find others who do what you do, ask them questions, share what you know, and compare notes
You are curious and listen and watch for information that relates to your expertise
You spend time thinking

Continue reading →

What’s a single moment when you were living “the good life”?

October 24, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Finding your "why", Organizational Exercises, Setting organizational priorities Big project ideas, Decision making, figuring out my life work, getting things done, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, organizing big projects, State of "flow", working on big projects

Organizational Zen is about the peace you find prioritizing your time by working on the big stuff in your life. Not sure what your “big stuff” is?

I recently attended a class taught by the very wise, Dr. Alice Bandy. Alice helps people figure out their “Why”. Why?

Because you were born with unique gifts to share with the world and it’s hard to share something that you don’t know you have.
Most of us underestimate what we can bring to the universe.
If you don’t do the work that’s in your heart, it’s a big loss for all of us, and you won’t have as much fun while you’re here on earth.
Your work isn’t what you do – it’s who you are.
Your gift to the world is to take action.

To get a glimpse of your “why”, take a deep breath and ponder this question. Continue reading →