If you don’t have time for one more thing in your life, read Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity. While that advice may seem counterproductive, and a little crazy, (where will you find time to read it?) this book will assuredly give you some realistic advice about getting all those projects completed while staying sane.

This first thing that’s apparent about this book is the author’s enthusiasm. He presents workable solutions with this contagious “can-do” attitude. He uses a basic premise that everything we do—whether it’s an assignment or work-related task—has a specific place and time. Once that’s understood, it’s easier to put those activities into the right slot in our lives. This provides a sense of freedom even though deadlines are mounting. Time is no longer the enemy; it’s merely the container.

By having all these tasks in their proper places, it’s almost like opening a filing cabinet, working on a specific project, then replacing the file and closing the drawer. There is a start and finish time and everything gets done. That terrible overwhelming feeling vanishes.
Another interesting aspect the author develops is how to achieve those wonderful moments when we are so in tune with our work, that it’s really effortless. His strategies for managing time actually open up the unconscious mind by freeing it of negative stress.
In other words, when our work is properly scheduled, we are cut loose of time constraints and are able to grab hold of maximum creativity and productivity. Even though there are still deadlines to meet, we would have already dealt with them before starting the project. Time is put in its proper place as well.

While author David Allen’s advice is really on the mark, at times his system gets a little complicated. He coins some fancy terms and sub-terms that make these principles seem complex. But the gist of his ideas is presented on a one-page flowchart that makes the price of this book worthwhile. This single page is a terrific review of the key concepts.
Although some of his ideas may seem like good old-fashioned common sense, the author takes these thoughts and puts them within a system that operates in the contemporary workplace. Readers should be prepared to actually try out these ideas and not just read the book and put it on a shelf. Have a notebook handy to start organizing your thoughts and begin prioritizing your actions based on the advice presented.
One of the best pieces of advice, and one that can be immediately put into action, is the Two-Minute Rule. This states that if you need to do something and you can do it in two minutes or less, do it now, and therefore free up your mind and time. Ultimately, by completing these smaller, quicker tasks, you will gain an enormous amount of time and freedom of thought for those larger assignments. It works!
These pages have the power to unlock you from the chains of time that limit your actions and thinking. When you are finished reading this book, you will have learned some genuine principles that can be put into your life right now. The investment of time you put into reading this book will increase your productivity level and decrease your stress.

Spring Into Action

Spring Into Action

When springtime rolls around, thoughts turn to sunny days, warmer weather, and getting motivated to cross tasks off your list of things to do. As you look around, you see your neighbors power-washing the driveway and sprucing up their homes.

Even your best friend seems to be infused with energy these days; she’s already cleaned out her closets and waxed her car and it’s only April 1st!

You, on the other hand, have a bunch of tasks weighing on your mind. You’re tired of thinking about them. But which one should you do first? And how can you summon the energy that seems called for this season?

These suggestions can help you painlessly gear up for action:

1. Find peace in the garden. If you like to garden, it’s time to explore the changes that fall and winter brought to your planting spaces. If you’re new to gardening, you can look forward to feeling tranquility when you’re raking, planting and weeding.

* Why not start now working in the yard for 30 minutes a day? Gardening is good for your soul and will lead you to achieve in other areas of your life.

2. Deepen connections with your family. Complete projects together instead of alone. Make time to listen to what your kids and partner want to do now that spring’s here. Focus emotional energy on your family.

* Spending time with your spouse on a project you both want done is a great way to deepen your connection. You’ll also gain momentum to do other tasks.

* Spring is also a lovely time to accomplish something with your kids. You’ll enjoy the opportunity to have some quality time with them as you teach the values of working together on a project.

3. Reach out. Ask for a psychological or physical “push” from a parent or close friend. Maybe your mother loves to do interior painting or your friend is a master at organizing drawers and cabinets.

* Asking for help is an exercise in humility and builds character. There’s no shame in acknowledging that you feel challenged to get motivated. Those you care about would love to help. Embrace the support and love you get from them.

4. Help yourself. Plan each week to complete just one task on your list, no matter how small. You’ll build momentum each week to achieve another goal. Give yourself permission and enough emotional space to take it slowly. You’ll feel like a rock star if you keep a steady pace by finishing one task every week.

5. Reward yourself for progress. As you complete those tasks that have been simmering in the back of your mind, remember to reward yourself for your accomplishments.

* If Mom helped you paint the kitchen, invite her and Dad over next weekend for a family dinner. Spending some family time together is a special way to thank your mom and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

* When you and your spouse spend a day cleaning up the yard or sprucing up the garage, suggest you enjoy an intimate night out the following weekend.

* You’ll be continuously motivated to complete more of those spring tasks when you take the time to recognize and reward yourself for what you’ve accomplished.

Some of us will get more charged up about spring’s arrival than others. Remind yourself that it’s okay to move forward at your own pace. Whether you go after your goals a little bit at a time or all at once, your sense of accomplishment will always be there waiting for you when you spring into action.

Quality of Life

How to Improve Your Quality of Life

Making your life better requires focus and planning. Looking at any psychological or medical research, you’ll find several ways to improve your life’s quality. Some of them won’t be any big surprise, but a couple might peak your interest. Read on for the best of the bunch.

1. Take care of your health. Eat right. Get regular dental care. Exercise. Move more. Use sunscreen. Limit or forego alcohol and sweets. Watch your weight. The medical experts assure us that doing all of these things will improve your quality of life. Even doing just a few of them will benefit you enormously!

• Drink tea. According to the health experts, tea has all kinds of antioxidants in it that promote good health. Decaffeinated is best because it’s less dehydrating. Hot or cold, drink tea every day to improve the quality of your life.

2. Embrace your passion. Find something you love to do or have great interest in and dive into it. Make time to get involved in activities that bring you joy and pleasure. You’ll discover more meaning and purpose when you consciously engage in activities and interests you adore.

• Spend the bulk of your free time with people you like, doing activities you love. If you’re looking to turn up the quality of your existence, then find who you love and what thrills you. Include them in your life all you can.

3. Cultivate healthy social relationships. Experts in psychology tell us that we’ll have a happier, more fulfilling life if we establish and maintain deep and meaningful social relationships. Having friends you can call whenever you want brings comfort.

4. Think positive. When your thoughts are more positive in nature, your approach to life will also be more upbeat. Sure, there will be times when things don’t go as planned, but if you think positively, you’ll make it through whatever is put before you. Life will improve immeasurably when you have a positive attitude.

Quality of Life

5. Live the life you truly want. You have a responsibility to yourself to ensure you live the kind of life you’ve always wanted. Set goals for what you want and make a plan to get there. Do something each day to move you forward toward accomplishing these goals. When you take steps to make it happen, your quality of life will drastically increase.

6. Manage finances responsibly. Because living under the constant stress of unpaid bills and financial hubbub can wear you down, decide to be responsible with your money. Your existence is easier when you have your finances under control.

7. Be grateful for what you have. Recognize the good things in your life. The roof over your head, a steady job, and time for golf or reading just might be the basic structure for the life of your dreams.

8. Embrace simplicity. Keeping life simple is a great way to give your life purpose and meaning. After all, if you only include in your life the activities and possessions you truly love, you’ll find that life is good to you.

As you strive to improve your quality of life, you’ll come to recognize that the key is being truly engaged in your own existence. When you make conscious efforts to include all these important elements, you’ll naturally discover the great life you desire and deserve!

Quality of Life

Personal Development

Planning an Inspiring Summer

Planning an Inspiring Summer

As the seasons change, we tend to reflect on how we’ve progressed the past few months and what we’d like to do now. Would you like to feel motivated to learn new things, do something interesting and accomplish worthwhile goals? You can use this summer to bring these desires to life!

How will you ignite your passions as the weather heats up?

Explore these ideas for planning your most inspiring summer ever:

1. Take a personal inventory.

Think about what you want and need in your life right now. Do you desire closer relationships? Perhaps you want to develop knowledge in a particular subject area. Maybe the one thing you seek most is more adventure in your life. This summer is a good time to try these things out.

* For example, if you’ve been working a lot of overtime, maybe you’ll conclude that what you really need is more quality time with family and some fun in your life. Think about what’s missing emotionally for you right now and promise yourself to include it in your life this summer.

2. Ask yourself, “What do I really want to do?”

Make a list of the short-term and long-term goals you wish to accomplish. This is the time for some serious soul-searching. When making your list, decide whether to focus most on your professional or personal life.

* If it’s a personal list, you might include items like, “Keep my cool when dealing with my teenagers” and “Exercise five times a week.” However, plans such as, “Save for a trip to Italy next year” and “Walk a section of the Appalachian Trail in September” might also appear. Consider this list your short-term bucket list.

* On your professional list, list entries like, “Research topic X” or “Complete a quarterly report on my achievements for the boss.” Also, “Resolve negative feelings toward Jane Doe at work” and “Talk with my manager about taking on Project B” may appear.

* When writing your professional list, keep in mind that your ultimate goals are to ignite deeper interests, resolve troubling issues, and promote your work life this summer.

3. Discuss summer schedules now.

For many, becoming inspired will involve other people. Tell your spouse or friends that you’re planning a summer that will be stimulating, motivating and full of accomplishments. Share your intentions. Listen to their ideas.

* If you’ve got a close friend, they might want to jump on board to plan their own inspiring summer along with you and share some of your activities, too.

* Schedule time with people you learn from and admire. After all, getting inspired is a spiritual journey you take with the help of others.

4. Plan a trip this summer.

Speaking of journeys, even if it’s only a long weekend, nothing inspires us like seeing brand new sights. When you travel, your mind is removed from the more mundane tasks of everyday life. You’re physically and spiritually transported to a place where everything is new and different.

* Maybe you’ll outline that novel you’ve always wanted to write or create a master financial plan for the next 20 years. Taking a vacation will invigorate your thinking and deepen your interests in new people, places and things.

5. Select three short-term goals to accomplish by summer’s end.

Clip them from the list. Stick them on your refrigerator. Place a second copy on your bathroom mirror. Stash them in your car. Gear up to achieve success.

If you take time to assess what you want and how you intend to get there, you’ll experience one of your most inspiring summers ever. Don’t delay! Start today to plan your best summer ever.

Speed Reading

Speed Reading for the Rest of Us

Wouldn’t you love to dramatically increase the speed at which you read and comprehend? Imagine how many more books you could get through or how much time you could save!

Speed-reading isn’t some magical process. Instead, it’s largely good habits coupled with effort. Nearly everyone can increase his reading speed to over 1,000 words per minute when reading content of average difficulty.

If you want to learn to read faster, you’re in the right place. But before you get started, you should measure your current reading speed. You can only assess your improvement if you know where you started.

Grab a book that’s of average difficulty for you, set a timer for 5 minutes and read. When the timer goes off, count the number of words you read and divide by 5. That’s how many words per minute you read currently.

Techniques for Speed-Reading

1. Cultivate chunking. Chunking is the idea of reading more than one word at a time. Slower readers tend to read one word at a time, while fast readers can read 5 or more words per glance. So someone reading 5+ words per glance is only looking at 2 or 3 spots per line of text.

* Obviously, this is much faster than reading a single word, moving your eyes, reading another word, moving your eyes, and so on.

* How do you get better at chunking? Start with two words at once, then move up to three words, and continue in this manner. This technique is more of a habit than anything else. With a little practice, you’ll be reading several words at a glance.

2. Avoid sub-vocalization: This occurs when you say to yourself the word that you’re reading. It can be silent (in your head), or you may actually move your lips as if you’re saying the word very quietly. This is very slow, and interferes with speed-reading; the average person can process words in their mind much more quickly than they can speak.

3. Keep an eye on yourself. Slower readers tend to have undisciplined eye movements. They are all over the page: they backtrack and re-read the same words, and they tend to lose their spot. This is simply bad habits and poor concentration. Good reading speed requires intent and focus. Force yourself to concentrate and keep moving forward.

4. Set your intention. One of the best ways to learn to speed read is to simply read faster. Even though at first you’ll be reading slightly beyond your ability to comprehend the reading material, pushing yourself trains your eyes and brain to work at a higher rate.

* If you’re pushing yourself to 1,000 words per minute regularly, when you fall back to 800 words per minute, you’ll feel like reading is a piece of cake! Just keep pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone.

5. Regularly measure yourself. Once a week, measure yourself to see where you stand. Keep in mind that some books are tougher to read than others. Be sure you’re comparing apples to apples.

Speed-reading is really just a collection of good reading habits, intention, and concentration. Anyone can dramatically improve the rate at which they read. Start practicing today and you’ll read faster in no time.

Personal Development

More Information on Speed Reading:

How can you learn to speed-read without decreasing comprehension Business Insider

How can you learn to speed-read without decreasing comprehension Business Insider. Equally popular are speed reading courses many of which promise to increase people’s reading speeds from a mere 100 or 200 words per minute to 10000 or even 25000 words per minute Carroll 2003 Yet researchers have found that of these courses boost.…

Journaling

How Journaling Can Benefit Your Self-Development

Journaling is a fantastic way to supercharge your self-development efforts. When your thoughts are still in your mind, they can be challenging to analyze objectively.

Getting things out of your head and down on paper provides a totally different perspective.

Thinking tends to be very sequential; one thought leads to the next, which leads to the next. We get caught in a linear track and miss out on the bird’s-eye view of the whole thought process. With journaling you gain the ability to see things from a third-person view versus a first-person view.

Three Great Benefits of Journaling

1. Solve complex challenges. When you write the issue at hand down on paper, the solution for a complex challenge often suddenly becomes obvious.
   The ability to re-examine the issue from a third-person perspective can make all the difference.
2. Increase clarity. 
3. One of the best times to lean on your journal is when you’re filled with uncertainty about what action to take. Many things become clearer when you can get them down in writing.
4. Validate your progress.
5. Sometimes we feel like we’re spinning our wheels and not making genuine progress.
   When you’re feeling this way, go back and review your old journal entries. You’ll be amazed at how much progress you’ve made since then. And you’ll also probably realize that you’re taking huge strides right now, too!

How to Start a Journal

 You might envision creating a journal in a one of those blank books you can pick up in the bookstore. While this option certainly has a romantic feel to it, you might want to consider keeping an electronic journal.

• Electronic journals can be essentially free; you could start a blog on a free website or simply use your word processing program.
• The big advantage with electronic journals is the ability to search for things. Imagine going back through 10 years of written records, trying to find a specific entry.
• Additionally, if you type faster than you write, an electronic journal can be beneficial when you’re trying to get complex thoughts out in a short period of time.
• Also, there are several software programs available specifically developed for journaling. If you can spare the $20-$30, they’re worth checking out, and provide a lot more flexibility than the traditional pen and paper approach.

Even if you think that there aren’t enough interesting things happening in your life on a daily basis to bother recording them, don’t let that deter you. New habits are much easier to implement if the activity is performed on a daily basis. Even getting down a couple of sentences every night is a great idea. You’ll be surprised how often you’ll write much more.

This practice can even help make your life more exciting and fulfilling.

Just knowing that you have to journal each night may compel you to make your life a little more adventurous, just so you have something interesting to write. Try it! During the day, you’ll notice that little thought in the back of your mind wondering what you can write about tonight.

Get started with your journal today. It’s an activity that has little to no cost but provides numerous benefits. You’ll see your clarity increase and have a much better sense of just how much progress you really are making in your life. Start journaling today and watch your self-development take on a new perspective.

I got a Fitbit Ultra on January 5 2012 and my friends have been asking for a review.

Fitbit Ultra Online Dashboard

As I believe fitness/health should be part of everybody’s self improvement plan I decided to oblige
In a nutshell: I really love it!

Why is it so easy to become an exercise dropout when fitness offers such wonderful health benefits? Perhaps because a personal fitness plan is missing. 
Or maybe just a simple tool to inspire you with your first steps to better health.

If you are searching for such a simple tool/device I believe the Fitbit might be just the thing for you. 
[Full Disclosure: I have no financial stake in the company, nor do I gain and (monetary) rewards if you decide to buy one]

The Fitbit Ultra can help you:

• set realistic short and long-term goals (fitness/calorie intake)
• focus on your progress, not the end result
• gauge your progress by the healthful habits you are adopting rather than by the numbers on the scale
• let go of old patterns and habits that do not work

What Fitbit Ultra is:
It’s a small pedometer-like device that tracks steps, distance, stairs (in flights of stairs), sleep (based on movement: how long it takes you to fall asleep, how often you wake up over the course of the night, and how long you are actually asleep), calories burned (based on movement – mostly steps).
It records information about your physical activity (duration and intensity) as you move through your day.
The Fitbit Tracker uses a three-dimensional accelerometer to sense user movement. 
It’s OLED display displays this and other information too, such as the battery level.
After you buy the device, there is no monthly fee for the software, etc., although you can pay $49 a year for a “premium” service that gives you more analysis and compares your activity with others.

What Fitbit Ultra Is not
It’s not a heart-rate monitor. So you  can’t follow your cardiovascular ups and downs during competitive  or recreational activity.

I purchased my fitbit in January as part of my self improvement plan for this year and in just a few months I have already lost weight and gained endurance.
The fitbit is one of the tools I am using to track how well I am doing, what I need to change and what I am doing correctly. So far it has inspired me to exercise (including long walks) more, eat better and live a healthier lifestyle.

As walking approximately 10,000 steps a day is recommended by many exercise experts as a target number for improving your fitness and health I decided to adopt that number. By doing so I hope to prevent diabetes and heart problems. And it is recommended as one of the best ways to lose weight. Every day now I check my numbers!

Fitbit also makes it possible to develop a personal Food Plan for myself on their site or the mobile app based on a chosen weight goal. The Plan has four different intensity settings you can choose from, and supplies you with a range of calorie consumption to aim for each day. This calorie number updates dynamically with any activities logged on the Fitbit website or synced with the Fitbit Tracker. Unfortunately though it is geared to the English market and I find it cumbersome to translate the food I eat from Dutch to English. So I have skipped recording my food intake.

As the Fitbit is a clip it can be stashed on your belt, in your pocket, or anything else you can clip it on.

The website is very impressive. Good overall feedback of your productivity on any given day/night. You can track just about anything you can imagine with regards to health/wellness.

And there is also a social function where you can find friends to follow as a source of inspiration or to compete with.

The Fitbit Pros and Cons?

Fitbit Pros

• Simple to use
• It measures your motion in three dimensions.
• It tracks steps taken, calories burned, distance traveled and physical activities
• Measures your overall sleep quality
• It’s smooth, unobtrusive design is great, but genius is it’s bluetooth which will sync to its docking station by itself within 15 feet .
• Size: It’s small and inconspicuous. It can be fastened on anywhere on your clothing and it also has a wristband for wearing it in bed.
• The web profile and analytics are simple to access and understand, and they’re even social- you can add friends and compare activity. 
Online tools include calorie counter, historical data, trends, awesome graphs and charts of your results. You have the opportunity to enter, store and analyze your data.
• 10 day battery life, 90 minute charge time on docking station
• Free Fitbit Mobile and free Fitbit app for Android.
• Fun to use (you’ll notice when you do)
• It offers automatic integration with wifi weight scales

Fitbit Cons

• Not all food is listed in their food catalog for calorie counting (but you can enter them manually though)
• More advanced data analysis is optional through a $49 premium online upgrade
• Sleep monitoring based on movement. The sleep monitoring really just tracks movement. So it’s not going to be 100% accurate.
• Calorie burn is basically optimized for walking and running. Not for cycling or boxing for instance. So you might still want a heart rate monitor for those exercises
• Fitbit motivates me to workout more and burn more calories.

Fitbit Social

To sum up, I strongly recommend this Fitbit Ultra. It’s definitely worth the money. Meanwhile, it’s not necessary to own a Fitbit in order to make use of the web site. If you are undecided, why don’t you join their site and begin recording things such as weight and get active in their helpful forum?

If you decide to participate in their program online I’d love you to add me as a friend (I’m user 22PTGT: Raymond Le Blanc)

Guest post written by lchi Lee

Spring Cleaning

Springtime is traditionally a time for deep cleaning and de-cluttering of the home. After the homebound, stuffy days of winter, it feels great to clean out the cobwebs and scrub off the grit and grim as we welcome the new season. As we do so, we feel as though we’re making a brand-new start, and through this tradition we celebrate the newness that comes with spring.

Have you ever considered that you can also do spring cleaning for the mind? You can, and it might be the most important kind of cleaning. Just like your home can get cluttered with too much stuff, your mind can get bogged down with too much thinking. That’s why I recommend taking some time to look at the content of the mind and how it can be made simpler and more efficient.

First of all, notice how busy your mind can be. Most of us produce new thoughts at an amazing rate, causing our minds to jump from one thing to another at lightning speed. This is especially true in our media driven culture, in which various sources of information and entertainment constantly compete for attention. In addition, we may have many demands upon us, including those related to work and family life. All these thoughts can make it very difficult to focus our minds in any one direction.

Fortunately, it is possible to train the mind to focus better. In the Brain Education methods that I have developed, I recommend meditation and relaxation techniques that help to quiet the mind. Through these practices, you can learn to cut out the mind’s chatter while focusing completely on a sensation or a particular task. Even a walk outdoors can become a kind of meditation if you focus on your breath and your steps while consciously letting go of extraneous thoughts. In addition to improved concentration, these sorts of practices are known to increase a person’s overall sense of well-being, as well.

As you’re doing your mental spring cleaning, you may also want to consider the kinds of thoughts you have. Just like you may decide to toss out some old junk that you don’t use anymore, you may also want to get rid of thought patterns that no longer benefit you. The key is to look very closely at the ways in which your mind undermines your happiness and success. Usually, our minds have latched on to all sorts of negative thoughts about ourselves and others, which makes it very hard to achieve our own success and to have positive relationships with other people. For example, perhaps you try to lose weight, but then become depressed, losing track of your fitness routine. You may find that there is some thought pattern behind this tendency. Maybe you think to yourself, “I always fail, so I’ll probably fail again.” And thus, you have created a self-fulfilling prophecy.

But how do we stop this kind of thought process? After all, these thoughts seem to pop up automatically. That is true, because we have created a habit in our brain. The same self-defeating thoughts come up again and again because we have literally wired our brain with that thought pattern. Fortunately, you have the power to rewire your own brain, a trait neuroscientists refer to as neuroplasticity.

As with any habit, it is best to replace the negative habit with a positive habit. If you find that you have negative thoughts about yourself, then try replacing that with a positive message for yourself. Most of us are very critical of ourselves, and this is a kind of mental dirt that you can clean away with positive thinking. For example, change “I never have enough money” to “I have all the ability and skills I need to succeed.” You will need to repeat this to yourself many times in order to make a new thought pattern in the brain.

Mental spring cleaning is simply a matter of making the mind work best for you. Just as a jumbled mess in your home gets in your way, your mind produces a lot that can trip you up on your journey through life. So take a moment to take stock of what’s in there, and rearrange things to create the life you really want.

Ilchi Lee

ILCHI LEE is an educator, mentor, and trailblazer who has developed many mind-body training methods including Dahn Yoga and Brain Education.  He is also the founder of Sedona Mago Retreat and the author of thirty-three books, including the New York Times bestseller, The Call of Sedona: Journey of the Heart.  For more information about his teachings, visit www.callofsedona.com.

Simple Living

While having a career is important, you also need time to pause and ponder about the life you lead. Sometimes, you rush from one meeting to the next, and while it can be exhilarating, it can also be draining. What kind of life do you really want? You need to find out what you treasure the most. Your friends and family are there to help you through the most difficult times, and sometimes, you need to experience adventure, independence, and control to see that there is more to life than work. You should have more time to appreciate what’s going on around you.

While reinventing yourself is not always the solution, you still must find ways to simplify your life. You decide what you value most, build your life around those core values, and rid yourself of the clutter that doesn’t contribute to your goals. First and foremost, you have to consider what counts and before you can even simplify, you need to figure out what qualifies as a high-quality life.

The idea of simplifying seems to contradict our consumer way of life. We accumulate more stuff over the years and our society seems to think that the purpose of our existence is to find pleasure through consumption. It’s more than just physical stuff too. We can only be satisfied if we collect activities as well. We become like pack rats and we race from one experience to the next. Though we may feel needed and important, we aren’t always satisfied.

Out of this flood of stuff has emerged a simplicity movement. When we’re constantly working, we can be likened to a hamster on a wheel. Our expenses eat up most of our salary until we only have a fraction left for ourselves. We need to remember just how short life can be.

What everyone needs is come up with a goal that you can truly be happy with. You can apply this same principle to your daily routine. Schedule a portion of your day to make time for new opportunities. Time management is all about doing fewer things of greater importance. Ultimately, simple living is a philosophy. To live simply is to unburden our lives, to live more lightly and cleanly. It is to establish more through, unassuming, and tangential relationship with all aspects of our lives: this includes the things we do, our relationships with the people around us, and our connections with the world. It is simply a manner of living that is outwardly more straightforward and inwardly more abounding.

For many, simple living means tending to your garden, walking every afternoon in the park, or spending time reading. It’s basically reducing your material possessions so that you are never hurried. You are now more mindful of the world around you because you’ve gotten rid of distractions. People think that living is all about accumulating wealth and power. For those who’ve done the opposite, they know that everyone also needs time to think, play, and reflect. Happiness just goes beyond money and control.

Termination notices are flying around, especially in today’s suffering economy. The crisis, however, hasn’t put everyone’s job in jeopardy. Yes, everyone may be at risk even if you seem to be the top honcho in the office. Economists actually believe that things will even get worse before they get better. , So, whether you think you’re secure or living with an ax hanging over your head, you need to find strategies to keep your position stable and solid.

Put yourself in your supervisor’s shoes. If you had to let go of someone, whom would you choose: the upbeat go-getter who has a smile for everyone or the sad sack who just comes to work to earn some cash for the hours put in? Productivity and salary are, of course, major factors when it comes to trimming staff, but you also mustn’t underestimate the value of a positive attitude. You have to make the best of what you have instead of spending your day moaning and complaining about your sad status. Never think that the higher-ups don’t notice. Ask for constructive feedback from managers and request to be involved in projects that interest you. If this means that you have to take on some extra load, do so by all means.

With the economy as bad as it is, there’s a good chance that the people around are just as worried about the position they are in. Even the managers could lose their jobs in a few months. Nobody really knows what can happen. That is why it is extremely important to make it clear that you share their goals and will do what it takes to achieve them. Yes, your relationship with your boss may not always be perfect. In fact, you may sometimes see them as the obstacle that hinders you from achieving true success. Why not try to see the opposite viewpoint. If they see that you are investing on them, they will also become more invested in you. They will see you as an indispensable part of the organization because you have all the tools to turn your dreams into reality. The eventual rewards are worth every time and effort you’ve put into your job.

If you’re increasing efficiency, don’t try to keep things to yourself. Tell them what you’ve exactly achieved and provide solid evidence so they will have proof on just how hard you’ve worked. Whatever you do, don’t engage in empty self-promotion. Never take credit for what others have done because you will only embarrass yourself in the end. While everybody does screw up, it’s what you do after that makes the difference. In fact, how you manage your mistakes may tell people more about you and how you can have grace under fire. Accept failure and assess your options so that you are able to do constructive action. Don’t waste mental energy being too tough on yourself. Instead, direct all your attention on working on the solution. If you immediately follow it with a perfect plan of action, people will forget about the wrong that you did more quickly. With the risks that you are faced with nowadays, remember that you have nothing to fear but everything to gain.

Organizing your closets, from the kitchen cabinets to your bedrooms to the garage. The trick is to have insight into your goal and priority. Don’t do the whole kitchen at once, start with an hour and stick to one kitchen cabinet at a time. There probably are a lot of items in there you never use of even forgot you had. Try this, if you haven’t not used it in the last year you probably never going to use it again. Throw it out, give it away. If it’s broken, throw it away. If you want to keep it, clean it and store with similar items. Check your refrigerator regularly, throw out what is passed the expiration date.

Are you one of those people that is trying to juggle your demanding job with running your home and family?

Does this sound familiar? You have to leave at 7 am but your daughter has wet her bed again and your son cannot find his gym clothes. You come home exhausted after work but you still have to cook dinner, put a load in the washing-machine and your son needs help with his homework.

You have to get better organized but how? You want to create peace in your space (home) and make room for the things you want and which gives you pleasure.
The keyword is setting goals for yourself. Do not expect too much at once, it will only give more stress. What you need is insight into your goals and priorities. How do you do that? You need to start by thinking it through, so sit down. Do this in the weekend or when the kids are in bed, take a pen and a piece of paper, pour yourself a drink and begin. Write down what gives you the most stress, is it getting the kids out of bed in the morning, making breakfast and lunches-to-go while getting out of the door in time. Or you come home from work and you do not know what to eat, you aren’t a born cook, just like me, who cannot improvise. You forgot to take something out of the freezer, the one ingredient you need you do not have.

First of all, don’t be too hard on yourself. You don’t have to be a Martha Stewart, although she could give you some good tips, maybe it is not a bad idea to buy one of her books. It can give you inspiration. Is one of the problems you always seem to be running out of clean clothes, especially (children’s) underwear, socks. Your hamper is overfull, you don’t have time to do laundry every day. The best thing to do is to make sure you don’t run out during the week. Buy new underwear, socks for every member of your family. If you only do laundry once a week, you need at least eight pairs of each for every familymember. Other things you may want to buy; towels, sheets. If your daughter still has ‘accidents’ during the night, it can happen. Buy a protectioncover for the mattress and enough sheets so you don’t have wash them right away. At the beginning of the week prepare two bags or as many as you need with everything your son needs for gymclass, including extra shoes. I call this investing in peace of mind rather than money. Also, buying an extra hamper could be a solution; sorting out the whites and the colours in advance can save you a lot of time. Maybe if one hamper is full, you are more likely to throw it in the machine sooner than you would have if you yet had to sort it out.

Cooking dinner, it can be a lot of fun but not if you’re pressed for time. There are some things you always have to have on stock, for example rice, instant mashed potato, spaghetti, ready-to-use spaghettisauce . You can think of other things as well. Tinned vegetables or deepfreeze, buy big quantities of meat (on sale), devide them in portions of different weight and keep in the freezer. Through the Internet you can easily find recipes, most of the time you can read how much time they take to prepare. Plan ahead, know and write down what you want to eat on Monday, write down what you need and buy that. The same for Tuesday to Friday. It works and this way you will save money too. Plus, it will probably make you enjoy spending more time in the kitchen. Martha Stewart will be so proud of you.

Improve Your Vocabulary

There is never an age when you should stop learning. You may have gone through high school and college and started your career, but that does not mean that you are done learning new things. In fact, you should try to learn until the day that you die. One thing that can help you learn more and that can also improve your life and your career is to improve your vocabulary. There are a quite a few ways that you can go about this, and you can do it alone or with a few friends if you wish. It’s not hard either.

One thing you can do is to use a highlighter the next time you read a book (just make sure it is one that you own not one from the library) and highlight any words you don’t quite understand. You can often get a slight understanding of a word though usage, but there are words you may have read your whole life without an understanding of what they really mean. When you are done with the book, you can go through and look them all up, and then try to use them in your day to day life. If you never understood the true meaning of tryst you may have a hard time using it from here on out, but at least you now know the true and correctly definition.

Some people like to flip open a dictionary to a random page and then skim through for a word they do not know. You too can do this to improve your vocabulary. This could be a word they have heard before or one that is completely new to them. They then study the word and try to use it in their daily conversations for a week until they feel they have a full grasp of the word, when it is appropriate, and they can also see how many other people use the word. A never-used word won’t do much good, but it can always be fun to learn about it.

There are ways you can learn new words and improve your vocabulary that may take more time, but they are very useful and work very well. Look online for college level vocabulary lessons. You won’t always find these for free, but you can at times. These should be full of words that are not used often, or full of words that are often miss-used and misunderstood. You may even find lists of vocabulary words that pertain to your life or your career, which can help you at work. You can also find general business words, technology words, or even lists of ancient words that are no longer used but that help you with base words and phrases that you can learn in other languages.

You can improve your vocabulary the old fashioned way as well. You can take some writing or English classes either online or at your local community college. You have to pay for these, of course, but they can not only help you improve your vocabulary, they can also give you a stronger written voice and a better understanding of how to communicate via the written word, which will help you in all aspects of life, and also may make you more useful and valuable at your job.

Surviving Tough Times

You may find that one day, you actually no longer have a job to go to. As unbelievable as this sounds, it has actually happened to quite a number of people. You can’t help but wonder when your friends and colleagues have started making plans that don’t involve you. Part of your brain immediately dives into the deepest, darkest sinkhole of jobless angst. No health insurance and food on the table for right now. This feeling can actually cripple you and leave you feeling insecure and unsure about your abilities as a person and as an employee.

Instead of feeling all riled up and annoyed, you can see the next few weeks as a chance to rediscover yourself so that you can pursue what you really want to do. Nonetheless, you also need to give yourself some time to grieve. Grief does not mean that you’ve been struck down. A job can actually be likened to a speck of lint on your sleeve. If you go through life every day staring at that spot, you may first get extremely annoyed by it. Leave it there longer and you will eventually get used to it. Jobs can sometimes be that way for people. If you ignore it long enough, you somewhat forget what it takes out of you. Remove that speck and go somewhere quiet to recharge your batteries.

Try to accept invites from friends. You can spend an afternoon together just catching up on things. Moreover, this helps take your mind off the dilemma you’re in. Don’t hesitate to make big plans as well. While you’re grieving, it helps to try and pamper yourself. Go out on a trip and catch the wonderful sights. This may never happen once you get another job, so it is also important that you make the most off your free time. This is also a chance for you to take control of your situation. While you’re on a break, try to get yourself out of the rut and start making plans about your future. You can actually make this a memorable time of your life. You just have to what you have right now, count your blessings, and then weigh your options.

Read up on success stories and get tips on how these people were able to overcome their own failures. You may be surprised to discover that you can apply what they did to your life. Now that grieving time is over, you can look at things from a more objective point of view. Because you’ve allowed yourself to feel the anger and frustration at the very beginning, you actually have already gone through the process of healing. The world has so much to offer, and this is a great time for you to discover what you can actually do to turn fate and make it work for you. It’s now all about guts and strategy. Ask around and seek advice from friends. There are people out there who are more than willing to help you. All you need to do is let them know that you’re willing to accept what they can offer.

Viktor Frankl Man's Search for Meaning

Viktor Frankl, famed psychotherapist and a holocaust survivor, said: The spiritual dimension cannot be ignored, for it is what makes us human. Spirituality is at the core of who we are; it defines for us what is meaningful in life.Among all living things, only we humans can envision our futures and play out mental scenarios of how we will make our visions a reality.

Viktor Frankl, survivor of the Holocaust, emphasized that the meaning of life is not what happens to us. It is what we do with that which happens to us.

Viktor Frankl while interned in sub-human conditions in a Nazi concentration camp found meaning through meditating. He would overcome these horrendous and barbaric conditions by holding a mental image of him speaking to a group of International Psychiatrists at a special dinner event.

His wife had been transferred to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where she died. On April 27, 1945, Frankl was liberated. Among his immediate relatives, the only survivor was his sister, who had escaped by emigrating to Australia. It was due to his and others’ suffering in these camps that he came to his hallmark conclusion that even in the most absurd, painful and dehumanized situation, life has potential meaning and that therefore even suffering is meaningful. Meaning cannot be invented but must be discovered.

Viktor Frankl wrote “Man’s Search for Meaning” after surviving the worst conditions a human can experience during his imprisonment at Auschwitz.

Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning – the classic best seller now considered to be one of the most important contributions to psychiatry since the writing of Freud. Frankl gives a moving account of his life amid the horrors of the Nazi death camps, chronicling the harrowing experience that led to his discovery of his theory of logotherapy.

Viktor Frankl, to be sure, leaves a profound legacy. He wrote many books on existentialism and Logotherapy. Throughout his life and his work, he reminds us that we all have important work to do, that whatever we do is important, and that there is meaning everywhere, all the time.

Human freedom, therefore, is the freedom of responsibility. Freedom without responsibility is something arbitrary, senseless and either leaves us directionless, or can lead to irresponsible, that is, lawless, immoral and violent, self-destructive ways of living. Human kindness can be found in all groups, even those which as a whole it would be easy to condemn. Because boundaries between groups overlap we must not try to simplify matters by saying that these men are angels and those others are devils.

As far as happiness is concerned Frankl, said: Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it.

If you want to get better acquainted to the work of Viktor Frankl ” Man’s Search for Meaning” is a good place to start.

Synopsis Vikto Frankl’s Man’s Search For Meaning

Viktor Frankl was a Jewish psychiatrist who survived the death camps of Nazi Germany. In his book Man’s Search for Meaning , Viktor describes his experience of victimization within concentration camps during the Second World War.

Man’s Search for Meaning is divided into three sections. In the first and longest section, Frankl gives a short history of his experiences in the various Concentration Camps he was sent to during the war. In this section he also introduces his philosophical theory of the Will to Meaning. In the second , Logotherapy in a Nutshell, Frankl goes into more detail about his theory and what it means to have a will to meaning versus the will to pleasure (Freud) and the will to power (Nietzsche). In the final section of Man’s Search for Meaning (the 1984 postscript), Frankl discusses the application of his theory in modern times and also a concept called Tragic Optimism.

Viktor Frankl developed the concept of logotherapy.

Rather than power or pleasure, logotherapy is founded upon the belief that it is the striving to find a meaning in one’s life that is the primary, most powerful motivating and driving force.

At the core of his theory is the belief that man’s primary motivational force is his search for meaning. Frankl’s assertion that “the will to meaning” is the basic motivation for human life has forever changed the way we understand our humanity in the face of suffering.

What Matters Most : The Power of Living Your Values