“All beginnings wear their endings.” – astrophysicist Chet Raymo
As we start into a new year, please remember that if you don’t take care of yourself you can’t do your best work. You may get started with a great idea, but you need to be healthy to get to the end.
Here are 9 reminders from a Washington Post article on a recent London study on ways to practice wonderful self-care. Continue reading
December is a great time to look at the path you’ve been on over the last year. If you want to shape the direction you’re headed, it helps to look back at where you’ve been.
If you can find a quiet moment this week, take out a clean sheet of paper and jot down the big events that happened to you this year. Brainstorm first, then think month by month to help spur your memory.
What events did you experience this year for… Continue reading
The number one question I get when I give talks on organization is about finishing projects. This might be something big like writing a book. It could be losing weight or starting an exercise program. Or it could be a nuisance task – like clearing boxes out of the basement or cleaning out a closet.
No matter what you’re working on, here are five steps to help you complete a project. Continue reading
There’s no warmer feeling that being accepted for being who you are in a community you love. So why not build more of those? At home, at work, in your volunteer work, with organizations you belong to… What can you do to make sure everyone feels included and appreciated? Continue reading
Deborah Kris had an article in The Washington Post last week on the importance for teens to get enough sleep. The thing is, sleep isn’t just important for teens! More and more research is being done on the impact of sleep deprivation across all age categories.
We’ve all experienced periodic lack of sleep and you know the feeling.
One teen in a recent study summed it up beautifully: “When I don’t get enough sleep, everything is harder.” Continue reading
When you’re trying to get something done, the last thing you want is something, or someone, standing in your way. But sometimes conflict is exactly what you need to stop, to reconsider the direction you’re heading, and to make a change.
I’m in the middle of a great book called Sacred Instruction by Sherri Mitchell. Here are some of Sherri’s thoughts on the beauty of conflict. Continue reading
At a talk I was giving a few weeks ago, someone in the audience mentioned the problem of the 90/90 rule.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“You know,” he said. “How the first 90% of a project takes 90% of the time. And the last 10% takes 90% of the time.”
Hah! That rang true. But why is that? Continue reading
I just finished Joyful by Ingrid Fetell Lee, a product designer and student of JOY in the world. One of Lee’s last studies in the book is on the joy of being in nature. Participating in a natural life helps you slow down. It keeps you grounded. It helps you be meditative and at the same time lifts your energy. And it makes you feel healthier and happier which helps you be more productive.
Think about when you were a kid and everything outside felt new and exciting. I’ve been thinking about elements of nature and what we can do to be more observant of them to appreciate them more to get back some of that kid-energy. Continue reading
I challenge you this week to look around your house and clear one area that has gotten a little cluttered over the summer. We get busy and things pile up and stagnate. Putting things back in order takes a little time but you’ll feel calmer in your space. You can breathe. You can settle in. Your energy will lift just looking around.
Perhaps there’s a counter with supplies out at the ready. A table with this week’s mail. A nightstand with tissues, hand lotion, and a few unread books. An entryway filled with boots, coats, and umbrellas. A bookshelf packed to overflowing. A desk with open files, a coffee cup, and surplus pens. A closet filled to overflowing. Continue reading
Organizational Habits 