Taking the first small step

October 8, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Decision making, Organizational Exercises, Staying focused, Working with your guides Big project ideas, Decision making, figuring out my life work, forming a new habit, getting things done, Getting work done, How to stay focused, organizational tips, organizing big projects, working on big projects, Working with your guides

I had a big, cool idea in the 1990s. I wanted to write a book. I decided this at a crazy-bad time. I had two little kids at home and a demanding job. But I thought about writing all the time and had to figure out a way to bring a novel to life.

My first baby step was to make a list of novels I loved and characters I wanted to meet in real life. I gave myself a week to brainstorm all of my favorite books and characters.

Then I took another week to think about common threads. What appealed to me most in my favorite novels? And what types of characters was I most drawn to? Continue reading →

5 steps out of a rut

October 1, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Getting started, Organizational Exercises Changing habits, Decision making, Defining who you are, forming a new habit, getting things done, Getting work done, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, tips to be more productive

Feeling in a low energy rut? Here are a few ideas to spur your juices and lift your energy.

Think Creatively
Instead of saying I’m not creative, how about saying “I can be creative.” Even if you don’t feel artistic, you can always come up with a creative solution. It might be a puzzle you solve, a class you take, or a unique solution you find to a problem. If you need a push, take a trip or meet a new person. Or look at an issue you deal with every day and come up with a creative way to make your world a little better. What’s one baby step you can take? Continue reading →

Write it down

September 29, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Planning impacts on your health, Productivity tips for work, Staying focused Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, forming a new habit, getting things done, Getting work done, How to stay focused, organizational tips, tips to be more productive

What do you do when you have a great idea – but it’s the middle of the night. Or you’re in the shower. Or you’re driving your car. And you try to remember that idea by reminding yourself. And reminding yourself. But before you can take action, the idea fades away.

If you want to capture more ideas and get them closer to action, write your ideas down whenever and wherever they come to you. Put a pad of paper, a pen, and a flashlight next to the bed. Keep a pad of paper in the bathroom so as soon as you exit the shower you have a place to record your thoughts. If you’re driving, pull over. It’s better to do that and get the thought out of your head than it is to drive distracted. Continue reading →

Get some sleep!

September 24, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Planning impacts on your health, Productivity tips for work, Staying focused Changing habits, 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, organizational tips, tips to be more productive, tips to stay healthy, ways to get more sleep

Our society seems to value getting by on very little sleep. How many times have you heard someone say, “Yep, I get by on five hours a night,” and you think, “I should be able to do that.”

But the thing is your body needs deep, uninterrupted sleep every night. Sleep is when your brain reorganizes and recharges. When you cut that short, you wake up groggy. You can’t answer a question until you’ve had at least two cups of coffee. You fantasize about taking a nap as you head into a late afternoon meeting. You have a heck of a time staying focused. And good luck getting to the things you want to get done.

You may feel like you’re getting by just fine, but new medical studies show that a lack of regular sleep can have significant health implications – with brain diseases like Alzheimer’s, and on your over-all good health.

I loved a recent write-up in the Smithsonian about how even jellyfish have to sleep. This means that this sea creature becomes completely vulnerable for certain periods of the day or night – and yet has survived for millennia. Continue reading →

Starting a new routine

September 21, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Decision making, Meditation, Staying focused Changing habits, Decision making, Defining who you are, forming a new habit, getting things done, how do I exercise more?, How to stay focused, organizational tips, tips to be more productive

In Charles Duhigg’s book, The Power of Habit, Duhigg explains that most of what you think you are deciding is actually based on habit. What time you go to bed. What time you wake up. What you eat for breakfast. How you dress for work.

You say decision. Your body says habit.

Your brain depends on you developing habits because habits require a lot less brain power than decisions. Your brain accounts for about 4% of your body mass but requires about 20% of your total glucose for fuel. When your body goes into habit-mode, your brain runs on lower power than when you’re sleeping. Your brain likes this because it frees up glucose to solve new problems. Continue reading →

How to ask for help

September 12, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Helping kids get organized, Organizational Exercises, Productivity tips for work Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, Defining who you are, forming a new habit, getting things done, Getting work done, organizational tips, organizational tips for kids, organizing big projects, tips to be more productive, working on big projects

A participant in a talk I gave last week shared a great story. She’s a single mom who worked full-time while raising her daughter. For them, there was no question that household chores had to be divided or they wouldn’t get done. To survive, they made a list of weekly chores and put them into a hat. Each week they would draw to see who did what. And here’s the fun part. If you got something you really hated, you could attempt a trade. FYI: She said cleaning the cat box was always worth at least two chores in a trade. 🙂

Most of us who raised kids tried a mix of ways to get them to help out around the house – from charts and graphs to outright bribes! The “hat” method adds suspense each week. And I picture cheering as you draw certain chores or avoid drawing others.

This conversation got me thinking about how much most of us hate asking for help. We feel like we should be able to do whatever we’ve taken on and don’t want to appear weak or needy. At the same time, most of us love offering a helping hand. Think back on a time when someone really needed help and you came to their aid. Can you feel your energy rise remembering that? Continue reading →

Taking time to ponder

August 20, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Decision making, Meditation, Organizational Exercises, Productivity tips for work, Staying focused, Working with your guides Changing habits, forming a new habit, getting things done, Getting work done, organizational tips, State of "flow", tips to be more productive, Working with your guides

Do you wake up to an alarm? If you do, you may be missing some of your best thinking time. When an alarm goes off, your mind is jarred and any thoughts are generally lost. If you can get to bed early enough to get a solid night’s sleep without waking up to alarm, it’s fun to let your mind wander before you jump out of bed.

“Theta time” is when you’re kind of groggy but awake. If you can push yourself to stay in bed and float for 10, 20, or even 30 minutes, you might be surprised what you come up with. Continue reading →

Tiny bites

August 3, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Organizational Exercises, Productivity tips for work, Staying focused Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, decluttering your life, forming a new habit, getting things done, Getting work done, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, Tips on decluttering, tips to be more productive, working on big projects

If you get overwhelmed thinking, “I’ve got to declutter this house.” Or “I need to get my life organized.” Or “I need to change a life-long habit.” It’s not a surprise. Taking giant leaps forward is daring and ambitious, but it can also make a project or change seem daunting. And it makes it hard to get started.

Here are two suggestions to help make change happen at a slower pace.

#1 – Break big projects into smaller parts – even tiny parts
One of my nieces has a son who is a really picky eater. Her son decided last week that he was finally going to try rice for dinner. “Yay!” my niece thought, then agonized as her son ate his rice one piece at a time. But there’s a beauty there that maybe kids know better than adults do. He wanted to try rice but he didn’t attempt to eat a whole bowl. He tried one piece. And then another. And then another. Continue reading →

Taming the Clothing Monster

August 1, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Decision making, Organizational Exercises, Staying focused, Tips on decluttering Changing habits, Decision making, decluttering your life, Defining who you are, forming a new habit, how to get organized, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, organizing big projects, Tips on decluttering, tips to organize a closet

If your closet or drawers are so packed with clothes it’s hard to get anything in or out, the underlying problem could be you don’t want to get rid of anything. Or you love to buy new things. Or both. And it’s possible you don’t have enough space – but you’ll only know that after you pare down some of what you have.

Here’s a cool exercise to help you purge, inspired by the book One Thing at a Time by Cindy Glovinsky.

Set your phone or a timer for 10 minutes and do a deep contemplation about the image you’d like to put forward with how you dress. When the timer goes off, jot down ideas about your ideal: