Changing habits

Breaking the habit loop

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Have you ever noticed when you’re doing something out of habit, like taking a shower or driving to work, that you think of all sorts of things that have nothing to do with taking a shower or driving to work? That’s your brain on autopilot. You are in a habit loop.

Think about the last time you learned something new, drove a new route, or started a new job. When something’s new, your brain slows down to make a myriad of decisions. Once you’ve done something for a while, your brain shifts to autopilot.

Because your brain saves energy being on autopilot, old habits can be hard to break. And new habits can be slow to form because new habits take full brain power.

So how does a habit loop work? Continue reading →

Getting grounded in self-care

organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Decision making, Organizational Exercises, Planning impacts on your health , , , , , ,

When I give talks on Organizational Zen, I always end with a slide that says, “Take Care of Yourself”. It occurred to me recently to move this slide to the front of the pack because if you aren’t healthy, getting organized is the last thing you want to tackle.

“Take Care of Yourself” sounds simple, but we know it’s not. Are you careful about what you expose your body to? Are you getting enough sleep? How are you doing for exercise? Do you have quiet time each day to help manage stress?

How could I give this only one slide? 🙂

In this post, I’ll tackle my favorite part of self-care: Things you expose your body to.

Food
I’ll admit it: I’m a foodie. I read every ingredient label and agonize over the food I eat. Where was it grown? Does it include additives? Did anyone suffer from the collecting of this food?

Bottom line: Is it healthy for the planet, and for me to eat this? Continue reading →

The Vertical Declutter

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I’m a big fan of decluttering – your workspace, your closets, and your mind! But when someone recommended Marie Kondo’s book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up I hesitated to read it. My house and life are pretty much decluttered. Was reading this book a good use of my time?

It was, and here’s why: Vertical Storage.

Marie Kondo is adamant that after you pile up similar items, sort them to get rid of most of the pile, and are ready to put the few remaining items away in their own unique spot, that you fold or stack items vertically. I scoffed. My socks like being balled like potatoes. And my t-shirts could never possibly fold to sit vertically. And yet, I’m a geek for organizational ideas so I had to try it.

Here’s what vertical storage looks like in a sock drawer. Continue reading →

Stand tall and get more done

organizationalhabits Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Organizational Exercises, Planning impacts on your health, Staying focused , , , , , , ,

Does slouching contribute to procrastination?

According to a study highlighted this week in FastCompany, Erik Peper, PhD, says that when you stand tall, chin up, shoulders wide, your body relaxes into a safe and confident state. He says that when your body is erect, whether sitting, standing, or walking, you have more energy and more positive thoughts.

Conversely, when you’re hunched over, you don’t breathe as well, put pressure on your stomach, and don’t think as clearly.

“When you collapse, you signal to the body that you are in a defense reaction. Your cortisol goes up and testosterone goes down,” says Peper. “In our research, we have demonstrated that in the collapsed position, you have easier access to hopeless, helpless, powerless, defeated thoughts and memories, and it takes more brain activation to think of positive empowering thoughts than it does in the erect position.”

Peper calls depression a “sitting disease” and attributes it to too much time spent at a desk, on a couch in front of a TV, or hunched over a screen.

Let’s test out this theory. Continue reading →

Consider a leaf

organizationalhabits Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Finding your "why", Meditation, Organizational Exercises, Staying focused, 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.

  1. Consider a leaf.
  2. Be present.
  3. Do good work.

Continue reading →

Life is a game

organizationalhabits Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Meditation, Organizational Exercises, Planning impacts on your health, Tips on using a planner , , , , , , ,

Roll the dice. Draw a card. Move a colored peg around the board.

Life is a game with an unpredictable outcome, and the fun is in the playing. When you wake up in the morning, are you grateful to be alive? Do you feel energy in your gut anticipating the day?

What will you learn today? Who will you meet? What conversations will you have?

Back to the game. Draw a “Habit” card and see where it takes you…

Continue reading →

Now playing: The role of “you”

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As an actor, I like playing roles – the weirder, the better! When you play someone with a strong personality, with a distinctive accent or a certain gait, it’s easy to slip into the role and become the character the author created.

In life, we play a mix of roles without thinking much about it. Each one can have its own look, and each comes with expectations – some that you impose on yourself, and some that you think others expect of you.

You may be open with your spouse but guarded about who you are at work. Or maybe you play the role of “spouse” at home and are more open and unguarded at work. Your parents and siblings know you better than anyone. Or do they? Are you “you” around them? Or a version of “you” that they’ll understand and accept? And maybe with one friend you’re a goof, and with another you’re a listener and problem solver. Continue reading →

Making writing a habit

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Having a passion in life helps you resist the urge to waste time. Writing is my passion but it took me years to develop it into a habit.

What I learned along the way was that for me to write a novel, I had to treat writing like it was a job. It took time, intent, commitment, focus, and prioritization to turn an idea for a historic story into a book.

Here are my big take-aways that can be applied to any new habit.

Continue reading →

Finding your balance

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Organizational Zen is about being organized in a way that brings you peace. It’s not about trying to nail down every aspect of your life, to be neat as a pin, or to always be perfect and in control. And it’s not about trying to organize others – you’re concentrating on your own good work.

Organizational Zen is about deciding how you want to spend your time, then prioritizing and focusing on what you’re doing.

Here’s an exercise I learned in Lissa Rankin’s book Mind Over Medicine that gives you a visual of the essential things you need in your life to feel balanced.

  • Picture your life as a cairn of rocks where each stone supports the one above it.
  • What are the essential rocks that give you a feeling of peace and balance – bottom to top?
  • What’s missing from your stack?

I did some thinking about what the rocks are in my cairn and came up with a long list. Continue reading →