The organization and productivity worlds are full of processes and systems. Those systems manage physical things as well as digital information. Both can be overwhelming. And, sometimes, so can the recommended solutions! My Perspective With everything I’ve read and...
There was an episode of Little Happier recently that talked about desire paths. The grass worn shortcuts people create when constructed paths take longer, less convenient routes. The short, 3-minute episode suggested we look for other desire paths in our lives. My...
Today, I listened to an episode of the Lazy Genius podcast. The host suggested we shift our perspective on a to-do list and instead create two lists: The have-to and hope-to list. This helps us realize what is not optional and yet we don’t lose sight of what we want...
I’ve read articles from Forbes to small companies that cover the topic of being the CEO of your Home. Lisa Woodruff also talks about this concept on her podcast – Organize365. The concept is interesting and underlines how our responsibilities at home mirror those in a...
With college far in the rearview mirror, there were classes I never wanted to consider again. One of those was Thermodynamic…right up there with Differential Equations. Anyway, in my sustainability class last week, the title of the section in the module caused panic:...
Yesterday, we talked about how flexibility and autonomy come into play at work. The relationship between employer and employee varies based on the time and place structure of the organization. In addition to considering flexibility and autonomy at work, we can...
The daily food cycle has an impact on our overall wellbeing. When our lives seem to have more to do than time to do it, meals become a challenge. We spend money on carryout. We start to eat less healthy foods. We struggle to find ways to get things back on track. My...
This post was going to be titled “nesting for retirement”. However, the concept of retirement has changed with many working for years beyond what used to be considered retirement age. We spend the first half of our lives building things – growing a career,...
The other day, we had a post about nesting being a moment when you plan, clear, and organize. In that post, my perspective was that this approach could apply at work during times you change roles or prepare for a new project. I had an opportunity to experience a bit...
According to research and personal observations, the age when someone moves out of their parent’s home has risen from age 23 in 2000 to 26 in 2017 (the most recent data point). There are likely several reasons for the rise including increases in getting advanced...
The idea of nesting during pregnancy has been frequently discussed and researched. This is the time when expectant moms clean, organize, plan, and stock up. They are preparing the home for what is ahead. We’ve also heard about empty nesting...
Over the holidays, I wanted to look at the infrastructure of my business. This is the set of digital tools connected to run my business – on my computer and on my phone. Things like website platform, hosting company, CRM system, payment gateways, and more. As I did...
My yearlong project to spend 15-minutes a day tackling projects around the house continued. For this final post of the year, I’ll highlight what happened in Q4, discuss how the project “drifted”, and on what I learned, and consider the year ahead. The Progress Like...
In an episode of Organize365, Jacqui Ioli was a guest. She and Lisa discussed the “Hot Mess theory”. This was a concept Jacqui had developed while supervising outpatient nurses. There were four situations that led to the Hot Mess: Overwork – This occurs when there is...
There was an interesting discussion on an episode of Adam Grant’s podcast Work Life. Adam spoke with psychologist and author Brian Little about how our projects impact our wellbeing. Brian wrote the books “Me, Myself, and Us” and “Who are You Really?” He...
The 4th quarter is a time to summarize the year and prepare for the year ahead. As we get closer to the holidays, the time available to do this summary becomes more difficult. This leaves many scrambling in the first quarter to pull things together while kicking...
I’m continuing updates on my yearlong project to spend 15-minues a day tackling projects. Over 20 years in the house and there are many little (and big) things that need addressed. Progress was captured in the January intention and the Q1 & Q2 summary posts. While...
When a new project comes up, the natural response is to dive right in and start to get things done. However, taking a little time to plan the activity can save time and lead to greater success. There are several reasons why planning sets us on a better path:...
In an earlier post, we talked about a pairing tied to how you might approach an hour of free time. Today, we will look at another word pair as it relates to how we balance our professional work and the work we do to run our homes. This concept covers all home...
A pack rat is a rodent who collects things. They tend to accumulate mounds of sticks and debris in their nest hole. They are prone to collect shiny things. The things they collect are often unneeded. Yet, they hold on to them. We are like this too. We may not collect...
There was an episode of the Organize 365 podcast that mentioned the concept of memory making and memory preserving. The comment was in the context of a lifetime, indicating there are years that are heavy in memory producing (possibly while raising children)....