This week, we’ve talked a lot about creativity. We covered barriers to creativity, the cluttered mind, identifying your creative type, and the balance of discipline and distraction. The last post of the series will build on the theme of distraction we discussed...
This week we continue to explore creativity and the ways in which we can foster our creative thinking. There seems to be a delicate balance between discipline and discovery. The discipline is to create even during times that ideas aren’t naturally flowing....
As we reviewed in Monday’s post, many people do not think of themselves as creative. The incorrect assumption is that if you aren’t an “artist” or in a “creative job/department”, you aren’t creative. Studies have shown that our creativity peaks when we are under...
A few weeks ago, there was an Everyday Style Guide podcast episode titled “How to Trust your Gut When it Comes to Style” that really connected with me. I appreciated the literal message that Jennifer provided and saw how this concept could be applied to other areas of...
We all have goals. Become a writer. Lose weight. Get a promotion. Be more organized. Improve a relationship with a co-worker. The list is endless. Most goals we set are within reach. Yet, we struggle to make them happen. Why do we self-sabotage...
I’ve spent a lot of time struggling with the fact that personal development tends to fall into the category of “self-help”. Today, I did some research, dug under the surface, and came to some conclusions about the genre. Rooted in HELP The source of my challenge with...
Last week, The Next Big Idea Daily podcast (S4; E1-5) focused on Greg McKeown and his book Effortless. Each day, there was a lesson from the book and then a conversation between Greg and host Michael Kovnat. The week was full of interesting ideas and...
Ten to fifteen years ago, multi-tasking was a part of many conversations on how to be more productive. Making calls while driving. Answering emails while in a meeting. Dealing with text messages while working on a presentation. Watching TV while playing with...
We all have flaws – no escaping it. There is a word in the urban dictionary that we might want to embrace and use more often – flawsomeness. The concept is to embrace your flaws and know that you are awesome with them. Perhaps you are more awesome because of...
With lives that are often overworked and overwhelmed, finding space to “Charge” throughout the day can become a challenge. So, we’ll wrap this week of personal energy posts with five easy ways to charge back up when you are finding yourself in a slump without...
This week, we’ve been focusing on our energy. The self-awareness of our natural tendencies can make us better able to understand situations that will drain us and strategies to recharge. Once we have this personal understanding, we can also begin to have conversations...
Continuing the momentum this week on the topic of personal energy, today I wanted to connect to a Gallup podcast where there was a discussion about getting in “flow” at work. The primary conversation was how to recognize which of your CliftonStrengths are...
Yesterday, the blog covered a foundational understanding of your energy each day. When it peaks and what you need to recharge. This post will take that knowledge and introduce activities that make up our days. By combining your understanding of your daily...
We focus a lot on maximizing our time and money. While both are important, I’ve also started thinking a lot more about maximizing energy. Knowing how your energy changes through the day can allow you to experiment with the types of activities you schedule to align...
We all procrastinate. In fact, Darius Foroux conducted a survey of 2200 of his newsletter readers and found that 88% of professional workers procrastinate at least one hour per day. You can read all his findings here. There are many reasons we give ourselves for...
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average person holds 12.4 jobs between the ages of 18 and 54. Those jobs often span 5-7 different careers. I often hear when someone wants to make a career change that the main thing holding them back...
The other day, I heard someone mention “OOPS Syndrome” in a conversation about calendars. I questioned what OOPS was and the response was “it’s Overly Optimistic Planning Syndrome”. This made me laugh out loud with familiarity – both something I see in myself as...
A lot has been written about time vs. money and which is more valuable. This has me thinking about time gaining interest. Is this possible? How might this happen? An interest rate on your financial investments is a fixed, annual percentage applied to your...
Today, I’m combining thinking from Gretchen Rubin and Laura Vanderkam with a bit of my own perspective sprinkled in. Several years ago, Gretchen started talking about alternatives to the “to do” list. She turned her concepts into a cute gift. You might want to...
Yesterday, I covered how we need to plant seeds so that things grow in the future. This got me thinking about how to work “seed planting” into everyday routines. That’s when the realization hit me. Most of us spend so much of our days watering and...
This morning I listened to a podcast by Laura Vanderkam titled “Plant Seeds to Enjoy the Harvest”. The concept was that you need to intentionally plant seeds so that things have an opportunity for a harvest in the future. I think this is an interesting concept...