Changing habits

January 17, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Meditation, Organizational Exercises Changing habits, Decision making, forming a new habit, How to stay focused, Meditation tips, Organizational Exercises, tips to be more productive

If you place electrodes in a rat’s brain and put him in an unfamiliar maze with a piece of chocolate hidden at the end of a path, you see an amazing thing about how habits affect your brain. I’ve personally never tried this, but Charles Duhigg talks about it in detail in his AWESOME book The Power of Habit.

But back to the rat. The first time he’s in the maze, he wanders through, sniffing the walls and working his way down the path. When he finds the chocolate he happily settles in for a quick snack. All this time, his brain activity is high. He’s learning something and his brain wants to capture every minute. Continue reading →

Getting to the BIG stuff

January 8, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits 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 using a planner, Working with your guides Big project ideas, 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, organizing big projects, Prioritizing tasks, Using a planner, working on big projects, Working with your guides

When you’re thinking of BIG things you’d like to do in this lifetime, block out some quiet time, do a little quiet breathing (in through your nose and out through your mouth helps you think more clearly!), and make a couple of lists.

List #1 is stuff you’re already working on that you want to do more of.
List #2 is stuff you’ve always thought of doing but have never dared start.
List #3 is an outrageous brainstorm list, weird stuff that is super compelling, that raises your energy just to think of it, and that you’ve never given much thought to – until maybe right now.

Set the lists aside and go about your day. These need to cook for a while. Continue reading →

The possibilities of tomorrow

January 5, 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, Setting organizational priorities, Staying focused, Tips on using a planner, Tips on using a planning calendar Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, figuring out my life work, forming a new habit, getting organized, getting things done, How do I use a planner?, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, Prioritizing tasks, Using a planner

History is filled with facts which makes it really solid. When we look back, it seems like what happened was the only possibility, that what happened was inevitable.

But then there’s “today”. You look ahead. You wonder what will happen. And you know it’s not pre-ordained because there are so many potential threads. Tomorrow could take you south, or west, or north. It could be wild or calm. Big things could happen. Or nothing special could happen. Continue reading →

Make one New Year’s resolution

January 1, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Organizational Exercises, Setting organizational priorities, Staying focused, Tips on using a planner, Tips on using a planning calendar Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, forming a new habit, getting organized, getting things done, Getting work done, How do I use a planner?, how to get organized, losing weight, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, Prioritizing tasks, tips to be more productive, Using a planner, working on big projects

Here are the top four New Year’s resolutions. How many of these have been on your make-and-break list?

Lose weight
Get organized
Spend less/save more
Enjoy life to the fullest

I’m not big on making New Year’s resolutions because I don’t like to waste time. Statistics say that only 8% of us stick to New Year’s resolutions. Why spend time wishing for something that doesn’t happen most of the time for most people?

But these are great goals! So what can you do to make a resolution stick this year? Continue reading →

Getting in the question habit

December 26, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Organizational Exercises, Staying focused, Travel tips Changing habits, forming a new habit, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, Working with your guides

I recently read a great study by psychologist Arthur Aron positing whether two strangers could fall in love simply by asking each other a series of 36 questions. The first 13 questions are about how we present ourselves. The next 13 are about what we dream of and what we value. The last 13 are about friendship, family, and partners.

And here’s the clincher. At the end of the 36 questions, the two strangers have to face each other and look into each other’s eyes for 4 minutes. Aron says 2 minutes doesn’t do it – that’s simply terrifying. It’s at 4 minutes that things start to happen. Continue reading →

9 tips to be more productive

December 18, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Organizational Exercises, Productivity tips for work, Setting organizational priorities, Staying focused, Tips on using a planner Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, decluttering your life, forming a new habit, getting organized, getting things done, Getting work done, how to get organized, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, Prioritizing tasks, tips to be more productive

You’d like to be more productive.

You want to get more done
You want more control over your time
You want to be dependable
You feel edgy about things that aren’t getting done
You want to look back on 2017 and realize it was your best year yet

So how do you get there? There are lots of right ways. The trick is to make your own rules and to give yourself time to form new habits.

You can put this off. Or you can get started. Here are a few thoughts to get your energy flowing in a new direction.

Continue reading →

Drawing inspiration from Lisa Congdon

December 13, 2016December 13, 2016 organizationalhabits Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Finding your "why", Setting organizational priorities, Working with your guides Big project ideas, forming a new habit, getting things done, organizational tips, organizing big projects, tips to be more productive

If you’re looking for inspiration for starting a new life pursuit, go no further than Lisa Congdon.

Last summer, I had the privilege of meeting Lisa, a prolific artist, illustrator, and writer from Portland Oregon. Lisa works for clients around the world including the MoMA, Harvard University, Martha Stewart Living, Chronicle Books, Simon & Schuster, and Random House Publishing.

She’s the author of six books, including the starving-artist-myth-smashing Art Inc: The Essential Guide to Building Your Career as an Artist, and illustrated books The Joy of Swimming, Fortune Favors the Brave, Whatever You Are, Be a Good One, Twenty Ways to Draw a Tulip and A Collection a Day. Her seventh book, A Glorious Freedom: On Being a Woman, Getting Older, and Living an Extraordinary Life will be released by Chronicle Books in 2017. Continue reading →

The disorganization habit

December 4, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Decision making, Organizational Exercises, Productivity tips for work, Staying focused, Tips for organizing your house, Tips on decluttering, Tips on using a planner, Tips on using a planning calendar Changing habits, decluttering your life, forming a new habit, getting organized, getting things done, Getting work done, How do I use a planner?, how to get organized, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, Tips on decluttering, tips to be more productive, Using a planner

Have you ever uttered these words?

I’m not messy – I’m creative
I’ve always been disorganized
Someone will remind me if I forget
I run late – people are used to it
Don’t mind the mess at my house – it’s my mess and I love it

Then you may be in the disorganization habit. And maybe it’s working for you. But if you’re reading this post, then maybe you’re looking for a change. Continue reading →

The plot thickens…

November 29, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Finding your "why", Organizational Exercises, Setting organizational priorities, Staying focused, Working with your guides Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, figuring out my life work, forming a new habit, getting things done, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, State of "flow", tips to be more productive, working on big projects, Working with your guides

In the secret world that only you know, what does your ideal life look like? This isn’t the world that other people see for you. Or a world that everyone else wants. This is your world.

If you were writing the novel of your life…
What’s the plot line? Is this a historic novel? A romance? A mystery? High adventure?
What century is it? Are you in revolutionary war France? The wild west? Ancient Rome? Current-day America?
Where do you live? Is it warm or cold? Mountain or shore? Continue reading →