Ideal teamwork and the concepts of SCRUM

January 10, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Organizational Exercises, Productivity tips for work Big project ideas, Changing habits, getting things done, Getting work done, how to get organized, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, tips to be more productive, working on big projects

I’ve talked to a number of companies about changing corporate habits. In the midst of one discussion, a friend and former colleague at L.L.Bean recommended a book about SCRUM. SCRUM business concepts started in silicon valley and are now crossing over into all sorts of new thinking.

Picture your next group project and…

Imagine redefining the concept of “team”

Each team is cross-functional, autonomous, empowered, and has a transcendent purpose.
Team members know their work is important to the company and is personally meaningful.
Each team has the necessary skills and mix of experience and thinking they need to solve issues they’re tasked with solving.
Hand-offs are limited or eliminated; keep the work with this one group rather than have separate teams develop individual parts and pass their work along, group to group.
Teams work without titles and no one is limited to one type of work on a team; you contribute anywhere you have strengths.
Each team has the direction, freedom, respect and authority to do things without asking permission.

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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 →

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 →

Lessons from “Creative Week”

December 29, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Decision making, Organizational Exercises, Staying focused, Tips on using a planner, Working with your guides Big project ideas, Decision making, getting things done, Getting work done, How do I use a planner?, How to stay focused, organizational tips, Prioritizing tasks, tips to be more productive, Using a planner, Working with your guides

The week between Christmas and New Year’s tends to be quiet for business, so I decided to christen this “Creative Week”. I have a number of projects I love to do that I don’t make a top priority – so they don’t get done. I thought this week could be rich for creative production – layered in with just two hours of work-work each day.

Normally, I set an intent for what I want to carry out, plan in time, and track what gets done – but that didn’t feel right for Creative Week. However, working on a complete whim was too big a challenge for a planner/tracker, so I brainstormed a list of creative stuff I wanted to get done. This included everything from running and meditation, to practicing the guitar, to making beaded bags, to reading, to writing for long periods of time. Continue reading →

Spend time with your senses

December 22, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Meditation, Organizational Exercises, Staying focused, Working with your guides getting organized, Getting work done, How to stay focused, Meditation tips, Organizational Exercises, Working with your guides

If you’re looking for a way to decelerate for a few minutes, I’d highly recommend spending time with your senses. I work my way through some or all of these when I meditate.

Start with the senses you’re most familiar with, then work your way into the senses you don’t think about as often. That’s where the sensations really get interesting! 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.

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Finding balance in crazy times

December 15, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, Getting started, Organizational Exercises, Setting organizational priorities Big project ideas, Decision making, 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

It’s easy to feel out of balance in crazy, hectic times (post-election, holiday, end-of-year). But as crazy as the world feels, balance comes from within you. It’s not what’s going on around you; it’s what you do and how you react to things. Balance is something you have control over.

Not convinced? Try this.

Sit quietly for five minutes (set a timer) and think about what the most important things are in your life that help you feel balanced. Five minutes isn’t long and that’s intentional. You don’t need deep thinking on this. You know what’s important to you.

Jot your ideas down as you go. Your list could be three things or twenty things. What matters is that this is your list of whatever comes up in five minutes. Continue reading →

Tips for working together as a team

December 11, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Building your personal brand, Business tips, Getting started, Organizational Exercises, Productivity tips for work, Staying focused getting things done, Getting work done, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, organizing big projects, tips to be more productive, tips to organize a closet, working on big projects

I love to write and create as an individual, but my energy lifts and flows when I collaborate with focused, tight groups. This includes my team work at Catalog University, and with the volunteer work I do – especially in the theater. My family is also a great team. We get a ton done and have fun doing it!

So I was super psyched when Charles Duhigg’s new book Smarter Faster Better (awesome read) took a dive into figuring out what makes a great team. Charles writes about how Google spent four years on this problem. First, they looked at who was on a team and could find no pattern. It was only when they looked at how teams worked that they found magic.

So what do the most productive teams have in common? Continue reading →

Getting in the flow

December 8, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, Organizational Exercises, Productivity tips for work, Setting organizational priorities, Staying focused, Working with your guides Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, getting things done, Getting work done, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, State of "flow", tips to be more productive, Working with your guides

Can you remember a time in your life when you were working on something that completely captivated you – and how delicious that felt?

Author and thinker Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes this as being in a state of “flow”. Flow isn’t a random thing that just happens from time to time. Flow is something you can look for and welcome into your life.

How can you bring flow into any activity?

Choice
Choose what you’re working on. Think about why you’re doing what you’re doing. What is your intent? There’s lots of stuff you have to do. What do you want to do? Continue reading →