Walking the Artist’s Path

January 17, 2019 organizationalhabits Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Finding your "why", Setting organizational priorities, Working with your guides Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, Defining who you are, forming a new habit, getting things done, How to stay focused, organizational tips, Prioritizing tasks, tips to be more productive, tips to stay healthy, working on big projects, Working with your guides

I met last night with a group of 11 women to start working our way through the book The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. I read this book about 20 years ago with a couple of friends. Reading it got me back into the theater – first teaching it to kids. That lead to getting back on stage. Then I started writing for the theater, and now I’m writing, directing, and running a theater group. All good. All high energy!

What I like about The Artist’s Way is that it assumes that creativity is part of everyone’s nature but that it can get lost in the day-to-day shuffle of life. The book has fun, simple exercises that help you remember who you are and get you back to practicing “the art of creative living.” Continue reading →

Free Meditation Challenge with Zen Master Sharon Salzberg

January 11, 2019December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Decision making, Getting started, Meditation, Planning impacts on your health, Staying focused, Working with your guides Changing habits, Decision making, Defining who you are, forming a new habit, getting things done, Getting work done, How to stay focused, Meditation tips, organizational tips, tips for being kind, tips to be more productive, tips to stay healthy, Working with your guides

Sharon Salzberg offers a 28-day meditation challenge each February. If you’ve been thinking about starting a meditation practice, Sharon’s prompts cover a lot of territory which is a great way to find something that works for you. Recent studies show short-term and long-term benefits from meditating even for short periods of time each day. Meditation helps you be calm. It helps you focus. It helps you detach from the day-to-day crazies. And it helps your body heal itself. What’s not to love!?

And when you do something for 28 days, guess what? You’ve formed a new, healthy habit. Yay!

I met Sharon over a decade ago at a weekend retreat in NYC. The irony of having a meditative retreat in the heart of NYC is not lost on me. :). When I signed up for Sharon’s meditation challenge this year, I remembered why I like her so much. I’ve told you this story before, but here it is again. Continue reading →

Looking back at the path you’re on

December 27, 2018December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Organizational Exercises, Staying focused Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, Defining who you are, figuring out my life work, getting things done, Getting work done, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, working on big projects, Working with your guides

December is a great time to look at the path you’ve been on over the last year. If you want to shape the direction you’re headed, it helps to look back at where you’ve been.

If you can find a quiet moment this week, take out a clean sheet of paper and jot down the big events that happened to you this year. Brainstorm first, then think month by month to help spur your memory.

What events did you experience this year for… Continue reading →

5 steps to complete any project

December 18, 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 for organizing your house, Tips on decluttering, Tips on using a planning calendar Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, decluttering your life, Defining who you are, getting organized, getting things done, Getting work done, how to get organized, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, organizing big projects, Prioritizing tasks, Tips on decluttering, tips to be more productive, working on big projects

The number one question I get when I give talks on organization is about finishing projects. This might be something big like writing a book. It could be losing weight or starting an exercise program. Or it could be a nuisance task – like clearing boxes out of the basement or cleaning out a closet.

No matter what you’re working on, here are five steps to help you complete a project. Continue reading →

Need motivation to get more sleep?

December 4, 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, Staying focused Changing habits, Decision making, Defining who you are, forming a new habit, getting things done, Getting work done, how to get more sleep, how to get organized, How to stay focused, impact of lack on sleep on your health, organizational tips, tips to be more productive, tips to stay healthy, ways to get more sleep

Deborah Kris had an article in The Washington Post last week on the importance for teens to get enough sleep. The thing is, sleep isn’t just important for teens! More and more research is being done on the impact of sleep deprivation across all age categories.

We’ve all experienced periodic lack of sleep and you know the feeling.

Your cognitive functioning is impaired.
It’s hard to focus, to concentrate.
Your body feels heavy, achey, and clumsy.
You feel grumpy and might have head spins and negative thoughts.
You feel more sensitive and impatient.

One teen in a recent study summed it up beautifully: “When I don’t get enough sleep, everything is harder.” Continue reading →

Welcoming conflict as an opportunity

November 27, 2018December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Productivity tips for work, Staying focused, Working with your guides Changing habits, Decision making, getting things done, Getting work done, How to stay focused, organizational tips, tips to stay healthy

When you’re trying to get something done, the last thing you want is something, or someone, standing in your way. But sometimes conflict is exactly what you need to stop, to reconsider the direction you’re heading, and to make a change.

I’m in the middle of a great book called Sacred Instruction by Sherri Mitchell. Here are some of Sherri’s thoughts on the beauty of conflict. Continue reading →

Almost done

November 20, 2018December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Productivity tips for work, Staying focused Decision making, Defining who you are, getting organized, getting things done, Getting work done, organizational tips, working on big projects

At a talk I was giving a few weeks ago, someone in the audience mentioned the problem of the 90/90 rule.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“You know,” he said. “How the first 90% of a project takes 90% of the time. And the last 10% takes 90% of the time.”

Hah! That rang true. But why is that? Continue reading →

Is clutter blocking your energy?

October 30, 2018December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Organizational Exercises, 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 organized, getting things done, how to get organized, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, Tips on decluttering, tips to stay healthy

I challenge you this week to look around your house and clear one area that has gotten a little cluttered over the summer. We get busy and things pile up and stagnate. Putting things back in order takes a little time but you’ll feel calmer in your space. You can breathe. You can settle in. Your energy will lift just looking around.

Perhaps there’s a counter with supplies out at the ready. A table with this week’s mail. A nightstand with tissues, hand lotion, and a few unread books. An entryway filled with boots, coats, and umbrellas. A bookshelf packed to overflowing. A desk with open files, a coffee cup, and surplus pens. A closet filled to overflowing. Continue reading →

The Joy of Color

October 16, 2018 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Organizational Exercises, Planning impacts on your health, Working with your guides Changing habits, Decision making, Defining who you are, forming a new habit, getting things done, organizational tips, tips to stay healthy, Working with your guides

I’m reading a great new book: Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness by Ingrid Fetell Lee. Lee opens the book with studies and thoughts about what makes a moment joyous and settles in on something quite simple: color.

If you want to change a drab day, a drab building, or a drab party, add bright, warm colors and you add a pop of joy to the world. Think birthday party balloons. Chinese dragon parades. Maypole ribbons. Hot air balloon festivals. Fields of wildflowers. Can you picture any of these in black and white? No! Just thinking about these colors brings up a bubble of joy.