Take a walk!

May 17, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Organizational Exercises, Planning impacts on your health, Productivity tips for work, Staying focused Changing habits, forming a new habit, getting things done, Getting work done, how do I exercise more?, how to get organized, how to lose and sustain weight loss, How to stay focused, losing weight, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, tips to be more productive, tips to stay healthy, ways to get more sleep

Inspired by the recent Food Revolution Summit, I am reading Dr. Dean Ornish’s book, The Spectrum. The bottom line of Dr. Ornish’s thinking: If you want to live a long, healthy life, pay attention to what you eat. Exercise, but not to excess. And practice stress reduction techniques like meditation or yoga.

There’s no big news there, but what was news to me is how exercise helps you beyond being in better shape and maybe losing a little weight.

According to Dr. Ornish’s studies, regular exercise: Continue reading →

The Science of Meditation

May 5, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Building your personal brand, Business tips, 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, how to get organized, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, tips to be more productive, tips to stay healthy, Working with your guides

New scientific studies on meditation liken it to a workout for your brain. When you pair meditation with a healthy lifestyle, what can’t you accomplish? And, if you look at exercise, eating right, and meditation as three legs of a healthy lifestyle stool, meditation takes the least amount of time and effort. You just need to carve out a quiet moment to get started.

Still not sure? Ponder this. Science says meditation can help you:

Improve your memory
Hone your focus
Increase your brain size and density
Increase blood flow to your brain
Decrease your blood pressure
Regulate your emotions
Release antibodies
Decrease stress
Improve your mood
Be less bothered by physical pain

Continue reading →

6 ideas from The Food Revolution Summit

May 2, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Planning impacts on your health Changing habits, Decision making, forming a new habit, getting things done, Grocery shopping tips, How to stay focused, organizational tips, tips to be more productive

I’m three days into the Food Revolution Summit (3 hours of talks per day now through Saturday; free if you listen to them live or within 24 hours of when they are presented).

I’ve listened to the Summit for the past two years and it’s pretty much changed how and what I eat. I deeply believe that to be organized, productive, and to get your best work done, you have to be healthy. And food is clearly at the core of staying healthy.

My takeaways so far from this year’s Summit: Continue reading →

The Book of Coincidences

April 21, 2017April 21, 2017 organizationalhabits Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Organizational Exercises, Staying focused, Travel tips, Working with your guides forming a new habit, How to stay focused, organizational tips, Travel tips, Working with your guides

A few years ago, I was driving home from a business trip and asked my travel guides for a place to pull off the road to get water, a cup of tea, and a clean bathroom. I expected to see Mecca at each bend in the road but nothing appeared. As I started to doubt my guides – and my sanity at asking travel guides for help – I happened on Chester, Vermont. With just a slight turn off the road, I was in an awesome little town with a general store that had fresh baked goods, water, tea, and a nice bathroom. It was all I’d asked for and more.

There were a couple of shops along Main Street so after I finished my tea, I took a stroll. I pushed open the heavy door of a small independent bookstore and a jingle above the door greeted me. Inside, I breathed the air of a real bookstore with wide-plank flooring and rows and rows of interesting books. Continue reading →

Hurdling the obstacles of change

April 17, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Organizational Exercises, Staying focused Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, forming a new habit, Getting work done, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, tips to be more productive

If you’re trying to make a change in your life, whether it’s small or huge, you’re going to run into obstacles. Here are five ideas to help you hurdle the obstacles and stay on your new path. Continue reading →

It’s time for a Food Revolution!

April 15, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Planning impacts on your health, Staying focused Changing habits, forming a new habit, getting things done, how to lose and sustain weight loss, How to stay focused, losing weight, organizational tips, tips to be more productive, tips to stay healthy

If you’ve been thinking about eating healthier, I’d highly recommend the upcoming Food Revolution Summit. The FRS is a week of free talks sponsored by the Food Revolution Network. There are 3 talks a day; each one is about an hour. This year’s Summit runs from 4/29-5/7 from 11 AM – 2:00 PM EST.

I’ve listened to the Summit the last two years and have learned a ton. The cool thing is because it’s free, you don’t feel bad if you skip talks that don’t interest you, or when you don’t have time. And they’re not sequential – you can listen to one – or all. Continue reading →

How can we be more inclusive?

April 10, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Finding your "why", Helping kids get organized, Organizational Exercises, Setting organizational priorities, Staying focused Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, forming a new habit, Getting work done, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, Prioritizing tasks, tips for being kind, working on big projects

I heard a great segment on NPR last week about a Council of Mayors from around the world who meet annually to share best practices about how to get things done. Mayors aren’t like national politicians. Mayors live in the communities where they work. They have to know which roads and bridges need repair. Which schools need help. And how, or if, the community is working together for the good of all. They deal with local businesses as well as residents, and they have to get things done because they’re going to run into you at the grocery store or at a school event, and they know that you’re expecting them to do good work.

In Thank You For Being Late, Thomas Friedman writes about this from a slightly different angle. In St. Louis Park, the city in Minnesota where he grew up, the City Council awards grants to neighborhoods to help them organize community events to help foster a spirit of inclusion across a neighborhood – whether someone’s lived there for 30 years or they’re brand new. Continue reading →

Tackling the sugar habit

April 4, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Decision making, Organizational Exercises, Planning impacts on your health Changing habits, Decision making, forming a new habit, Grocery shopping tips, How do I use a planner?, how to lose and sustain weight loss, losing weight, Organizational Exercises, tips to be more productive, tips to stay healthy, Using a planner

Before the Easter Bunny shows up bearing baskets of holiday treats, consider this: Sugar.

Need I say more? Okay, I will.

An Australian documentary filmmaker did an experiment on his own body maintaining calories but ingesting 40 teaspoons of sugar a day – all from what we think of as “healthy” food – like juice and sauces.

The resulting impact on his health in just 3 weeks tells a powerful story. Here’s a link that includes clips from this documentary. Continue reading →

Crossing the finish line

March 26, 2017December 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, Setting organizational priorities, Working with your guides Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, figuring out my life work, forming a new habit, getting organized, getting things done, Getting work done, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, organizing big projects, Prioritizing tasks, tips to be more productive, working on big projects

In an organization class I took about 20 years ago, one of the exercises we did was writing our obit. When you spend time puzzling out what you want to be remembered for, top priorities on your daily to-do list are magically re-arranged.

When I did the obit exercise, a top priority that popped out for me was that I wanted to write a novel. I love books. Books on the shelves. Books by the bed. Libraries. Bookstores. I still have many of the books I read as a child because the characters and stories are real to me and have helped shaped who I am.

How could I die without adding to the book-ness of the world? Continue reading →