Ring bells. Light candles.

February 4, 2018December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Meditation, Staying focused, Working with your guides Changing habits, Decision making, Defining who you are, forming a new habit, getting things done, Getting work done, Meditation tips, organizational tips, tips for being kind, tips to be more productive, tips to stay healthy, Working with your guides

As much as I love organization, I’m not a big fan of organized religion. I hope you don’t take offense; I know many love the church. But I struggle with churches that: Continue reading →

Making a new habit a priority

January 23, 2018December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Meditation, Organizational Exercises, Planning impacts on your health, Productivity tips for work, Setting organizational priorities, Staying focused, Working with your guides 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, tips to stay healthy, Working with your guides

When you’re working on something you really connect with, you get more done. It’s weird to think that adding something to your “to do” list helps you do more – but it does. When you work on stuff you love:

Your energy goes up.
Your focus improves.
You manage your time better because you want to make sure you have time to get to your good work.
You’re more interesting to be around.
You feel better.

Quiet, mid-Winter days are a great time to ponder a new habit. Successful new habits start with intent – why do you want to do this?

Then you have to figure out how to make this new habit a priority. Doctor and author Lissa Rankin has a great exercise to help you figure out your priorities. Take a plain piece of paper and draw a stack of circles. Each circle is a core part of who you are. Each is something that makes you tick and makes you happy. Continue reading →

Ode to brain power!

January 17, 2018December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Meditation, 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, How to stay focused, Meditation tips, organizational tips, tips to be more productive, tips to stay healthy

You know how important it is to exercise your body, but do you know how important it is to exercise your brain? One of the coolest ways to take care of your brain is to meditate. AND if that sounds really intimidating, help is on the way.

Sharon Salzberg, one of my favorite teachers for her practice around loving kindness, is hosting a 28-day meditation challenge starting on 2/1. It’s free to take part, so there’s no risk trying it… And if you love some or ALL of it, well, hurrah! Your brain will thank you. Here’s a link to sign up for Sharon’s Real Happiness Meditation Challenge. Continue reading →

The importance of JOY

January 13, 2018December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Decision making, Organizational Exercises, Planning impacts on your health, Working with your guides Changing habits, Decision making, forming a new habit, getting things done, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips for kids, tips to stay healthy, Working with your guides

George E. Vaillant, a psychoanalyst and research psychiatrist at Harvard, directed a 30-year study on adult development. According to Vaillant, joy, love, compassion, happiness, and delight “help us to broaden and build. They widen our tolerance, expand our moral compass and enhance our creativity,” as well as help bind us to others. Vaillant’s experiments document that while negative emotions like shame, guilt, anger, and hate narrow our attention, positive emotions, especially joy, make thought patterns far more flexible, creative, integrative, and effective.

On the flip side, when you dwell on negative feelings, you damage your physical and spiritual well-being. Negative emotions cause stress on your body – and you’re less pleasant to be around so they can have a huge effect on relationships. Continue reading →

Nat Geo on happiness

January 1, 2018December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Planning impacts on your health, Working with your guides Changing habits, Decision making, Defining who you are, forming a new habit, how do I exercise more?, organizational tips, tips to stay healthy, Working with your guides

I read a great article in National Geographic about places where people are happier than most. The article looks specifically at the effect of “place” and how your environment shapes you. But it’s never really the place, is it? It’s a package. And what Nat Geo was looking at was long-term happiness – not a simple “good time” vacation get-away.

In Costa Rica, happiness comes from strong family bonds, universal healthcare, strong faith, lasting peace, equality, time spent outdoors, and generosity. In the 1940s, Costa Rica elected a teacher as president. This resulted in a decision to provide free education for all, to eliminate the army, and to set up a universal healthcare system with a goal of keeping people healthy rather than trying to cure them after they’re sick. Continue reading →

Five tips to get something GREAT done

December 28, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Finding your "why", Organizational Exercises, Productivity tips for work, Setting organizational priorities, Staying focused, Tips on decluttering, Tips on using a planner Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, forming a new habit, getting organized, getting things done, Getting work done, how do I exercise more?, how to get organized, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, organizing big projects, Prioritizing tasks, Tips on decluttering, tips to be more productive, Using a planner, working on big projects

The start of a new year is a great time to think about stuff you’d like to get done. If there’s something you’ve been putting off or something you’ve started by can’t seem to finish, why not make 2018 your year to say, “You’ll never believe what I did this year!”?

Doing interesting work that lifts your energy is a guaranteed happy-maker. And you’ll have a good story to tell this time next year!

Here are five tips to get something GREAT done in 2018.

Know why this is on your list
I’m a big believer in following an energy path and if you’ve been stalling on something for a long time, maybe you don’t really want to do it. Is this something you think you ought to do? Or something someone else wants you to do? Why is getting this done important to you? Continue reading →

The Feng Shui of Organizational Zen

December 14, 2017December 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 work done, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, Tips on decluttering

Feng Shui is an ancient art of figuring out how to create and sustain energy within your environment. Like most practices, I don’t love the “naming” of parts – I just like the action. Here’s some Feng Shui action that ties in with my thoughts on creating and sustaining Organizational Zen in your life.

If your stuff is bugging you, fix it or pitch it!
If something’s bugging you, get it out of your head, into your planner, and take action. In Feng Shui, this might mean getting rid of a chipped bowl in the cupboard that you notice first thing every time you open the cabinet door. Or getting rid of stained coffee mugs. Or choosing to have all matching dishes – or not have all matching dishes!

There’s no “right” within this. It’s a matter of paying attention to yourself and figuring out what kind of stuff makes you feel happy. Continue reading →

No regrets

December 10, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Finding your "why", Organizational Exercises, 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, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, Prioritizing tasks, tips to be more productive, Working with your guides

In case you were wondering, I have to say something about my last post that started with the mysterious “444444444.” Does anyone else work on a computer where your cat stretches out between the monitor and the keyboard? And MOST of the time it’s okay? Yeah, well right as I hit “publish” last week, Flynn stretched out and added his little signature line, which is apparently, “444444444.” And once you hit “publish” in a blog post, there’s no going back. So from Flynn to you, I wish you a very happy “444444444.” And now on to to my current post 🙂

A common regret you hear about from people near the end of their lives is that they didn’t live a life that was true to who they were, and instead lived a life others expected of them.

You don’t want that! You want to go out a big smile on your face because you’ve done the things you’ve dreamed about. You want to think back on the opportunities you created. The people’s lives you touched. The energy you brought to the earth. Continue reading →

Making a small change

December 6, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Decision making, Organizational Exercises, Staying focused, Working with your guides Changing habits, Decision making, Defining who you are, forming a new habit, getting things done, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, Working with your guides

You know the theory that the air stirred by a butterfly’s wing can eventually cause a hurricane? Well, I would posit that making a tiny, simple change can lead to an avalanche of energy!

Test this out for me, would you?

Change one thing this week on your body from your shoulders up.
This could be a new hat. A haircut. New earrings. Add or don’t add make-up. Buy new shampoo. Shave off your mustache. Shoulders up – what’s one simple thing you can change? Continue reading →