A friend from high school asked me a question.
“How do you take that next step when you don’t want to hear the criticisms…. constructive or not? I am a big believer that art, whatever the medium, is a personal expression… So how can one tell you what you created is wrong?”
What a great question as we try to do good work, try to be helpful, and try new adventures.
I have so many thoughts on this. Here are the big three. Continue reading
Sharing ideas on “best practices” is a great way to learn from someone who’s doing work that’s similar to what you’re doing. When you learn something new, you feel a jolt of positive energy. And when you share best practices in return, it can make someone’s day. You win. They win. And we all get better work done.
A couple of years ago, I was getting back into consulting work and decided to go on a road trip to hear what friends in the direct marketing industry were doing for best practices. I planned a week-long trip through western Massachusetts with a zig to upstate New York, then down through the mountains of New Hampshire with a few final stops in Vermont.
I headed out and all was well until day #4 when I realized I was on the last disk of a Dennis Lehane novel – and that was it for audio books. Anytime I’m in the car I listen to audio books. I get them from the library and listen to them to learn new stuff as well as to be entertained as I drive. I’m pretty much never without an audio book in the car. But as I pulled into the parking lot at Kripalu in western Mass, I broke into a cold sweat. My next stop was Burlington, Vt. There’d be plenty of bookstores in Burlington, but that was four hours away. Continue reading
I read a science article this week that said we are completely different at age 77 than we are at age 17. I found that hard to believe. Inside, I feel like I’m the same “me” I’ve always been; it’s just the circumstances around me that have changed.
But when I think about how much I’ve read. And how much I’ve learned. And how differently I think now than I did growing up, I get the change. Maybe it’s just my energy and core interests that are the same.
So here’s what I think is important: If we’re completely different, then other people are too. And how often do we recognize that? When someone you’re close to changes, do you accept it? Or do you hold onto who you think they are, to the person they used to be? Continue reading
What you eat is at the core of how you feel. And how you feel has a direct impact on your ability to get good work done.
If you’re looking for healthier ways to eat this year, here are 10 ideas to get you started. Continue reading
At the core of how we feel, how we function, and how we think is how healthy we are. If you’re not healthy, it’s hard to get organized – and don’t even think about getting big, cool projects done!
A huge part of being healthy is eating healthy.
I’m loving listening to Sharon Salzberg’s free daily meditations this month. I met Sharon in 2007 when she was speaking at an Omega Institute Conference in NYC. Of all the classes I took that weekend, Sharon’s is the one that has stayed with me the longest. Sharon lives a Zen life, and her advice and teaching are always about finding the middle path – not too relaxed and not too tense!
In her meditation prompts this week, Sharon focused on breathing, something we barely notice and yet… try not taking a breath! I start each of my talks on Organizational Zen with quiet breathing. This is a great way to help you feel focused. And I like how even five minutes of quiet breathing helps transition you from one space, or project, or idea, to another.
Here are a few of Sharon’s exercises to get you breathing. Start each of these sitting quietly in a comfortable chair or on the floor. Make sure your back is straight. There’s something magical about having a straight back when you breathe. Your backbone is like an antennae to the Universe! However you sit, you don’t want to feel either too tense or too relaxed. You want to feel attentive and alert. Continue reading
There are so many ways to get good work done. Getting grounded in a hygge atmosphere can bring you back to simple pleasures in life that are easy to miss in our over-planned, e-driven world. Hygge (hoo-gah) is a Danish word that has many, many layers – each one more inviting than the next.
I just finished reading Meik Wiking’s Little Book of Hygge. Here is Mike’s “Hygge Manifesto.”
How many of these elements can you invite into your life, praise them for being in your life, and talk about how cool they are to have in your life?
Atmosphere
Create an atmosphere at home and at work that’s warm and inviting. With lamps that create pools of light. Candles. Great music mixed with times quiet enough to listen to the weather outside. Natural wood and colors. Vintage furniture. Plenty of books. Plump pillows. Continue reading
My #1 suggestion for anyone thinking about getting organized is to start by getting healthy. If you aren’t feeling healthy, the last thing you want to tackle is a major decluttering/reorg of your life.
An important part of getting healthy is being really picky about everything you put in your body – including medications. Personally, meds don’t work well for me. I know for many, they seem to work well but are they good for you in the long run?
Consider this from an article published last Friday in the Washington Post. Continue reading
Do you have something you really want to do but never seem to make time for? Here’s a simple idea: Set a deadline.
Right, you say. I’ll just break it if it’s my deadline.
How about this?
Organizational Habits 