I love having a to-do list, a calendar, a daily planner. Most days this works really well for me to get lots done. But other days, I start with a BOOM.
Some days the BOOM hits me as I’m waking up. Sometimes it hits in the shower. Sometimes I’m halfway up the stairs on the way to my office when I get an idea to do something that is definitely not on my list for the day. I feel my energy lift, a smile spreads across my face, and I dive in. Continue reading
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.
In times of uncertainty and divisiveness, it helps to be mindful of the people around you and to recognize that we’re all in this together.
Patriot’s Day weekend, 2007, I was at an Omega Institute class in mid-town Manhattan with Zen teacher Sharon Salzberg. The topic was mindfulness. At the end of the class, Sharon asked us to look around the room and imagine that we were going to be stuck in a subway car with this specific group of people – for eternity.
“If you know you’ll be with this group for eternity, does that change how you feel about them? Does it make you more curious? Are you going to get to know them? Or are they going to continue to be strangers?” Continue reading
I just finished listening to Eckhardt Tolle’s audio book A New Earth. I love audio books and listen to them regularly when I drive. This started as a habit when I was driving long distances, but has evolved into an everyday habit. It’s weird to look forward to running errands or heading to the grocery story because you get to learn something new – but it’s a great use of time when you are in the car.
So back to A New Earth – there was so much to take in. Here are three big take-aways that relate to getting organized and finding the peace within that.
At the end of one of the first talks I gave on Organizational Zen, a participant said he understood that if he wanted to stop wasting time it would be great to have a larger goal in mind.
It’s just that he didn’t have any bigger work to do. He had raised his children and run a successful business, and as a retiree, felt like no one needed him anymore. He asked how he should spend the last years of his life.
Oh, my. No one can answer that question for you; it’s something that comes from inside and only you can bring it to life. Continue reading
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been organizing people – neighborhood kids, playground antics, school functions, friends, and businesses. I like getting things going. I like getting everyone involved. I like big conversations. I like to make things happen.
So it’s no surprise that I ended up working as an account executive for an advertising agency. I thrive on being the organized one amidst chaos. And ad agencies are the epitome of business chaos. Get a room full of Art Directors and Copywriters. Add in Presidents and CFOs who are former Art Directors and Copywriters. And try being the only one who has a deadline to meet. Yeah. I can do that. I can make that happen.
Then how about a bigger challenge? How about keeping an entire direct marketing company organized? Boston. Appleseed’s. I thrived.
Organizational Zen comes from spending time on your best work. It’s that “ah” feeling of knowing you’re using your time wisely, of being in the zone, of being on top of your game.
If you’re not feeling the Zen, ask your guides for help. We have all sorts of guides who help us through life. We have the ones you expect – teachers, parents, bosses. And we have surprise guides – authors, song lyrics, a perfect stranger who sits next to on a plane, even the voices in your head.
The trick to working with guides is to recognize that they are everywhere – both visible and invisible. My most reliable guides include my husband, my mom – and writers like Seth Godin, Leo Baubata, David Allen, Pema Chodron, and Elizabeth Gilbert. I also think there are mystical guides who help us through the day. Elizabeth Gilbert calls this magic and I think she is right. You would not believe how much my travel guides help me – especially when I am looking for a parking space downtown! If that isn’t magic, I don’t know what is. Continue reading
Organizational Habits 