Wellness & Mindset-it's an inside job

Intuitive Planning

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Welcome to 2019! I’m excited about what this year is inviting us to discover! I’d like to share a bit more about my Intuitive Planning process and Word for the year!

There’s always in exciting sense of possibility at the beginning of a new year. I think a lot of it has to do with our collective conscience. So many people with big ideas, plans, resolutions and goals to do new things, accomplish BIG dreams and it all seems do-able with so many days ahead, Right? I also know there can be a bit of a mind trap here because we often bite off more than we can chew. I’ve learned to dial it back over the years and break my goals down further before I decide WHEN I think they need to happen. My planning process now allows me to meander a bit more along the way, leaving room for surprises, changes in direction, spontaneity and failures. None of us want to fail but if we are going to fail, do it quickly my friend and move forward.

What good is a destination without the Journey?
We never begin something with the INTENTION of failure, but if we don’t plan for our journey, then failure might be inevitable…or maybe we will discover something entirely different on the path and that is certainly a different way of living than many of us are taught. We are taught that we need to control, set goals, budgets, plan our days, years, months and before we know it our lifetime is spent in the GRIP of what we think we need to do to be happy!

What if there was another way we could trust and let go just a little bit? For those of us who have a deep need to maintain control (raises hand:), color inside the lines and do the “Right Thing” it can be terrifying to begin to let go. Having a word of the year is a practice I started about 6 years ago and I alway discover that you can’t PLAN for what that word will teach you on the journey.

Last year my word was Fearless and I learned a lot about what it really means to live fearlessly…I embarked on the year thinking it would lead me to grand adventurous gestures. That was not the case. I discovered that being fearless means getting out of my head, into my heart, trusting myself, trusting my body, trusting my Intuition! Which is exactly what I PLAN to do for 2019. I arrived at the word Intuition for this year because of my journey last year and my the discoveries along the way.

ENOUGH about me…Do you choose a word for the year or have any resolutions? How do you Plan for the year? Do you start with a vision, an Intention or resolutions? I also use the process of creating a Vision Board and am offering a workshop to Envision Your Year on January 28th, click here to learn more and register!

Do you break your planning down into bite size pieces by area of your life? Do you plan your year out on your calendar? I’d love to hear more about your planning process…leave a comment below and tell me more!

17 Sanity Saving Holiday Organizing Tips

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Each of these seventeen holiday organizing tips will will help get you through the season with a bit more sanity & JOY!

After receiving new holiday gifts, donate used items you no longer need to charity (One in One out Rule).
Ditch the photo holiday cards…hate to say it but they end up in the trash (recycled hopeful) and people can see you more frequently via social media. How about a digital holiday card?
As you pull holiday items out, donate old ornaments and out of date holiday decorations.
Begin memento boxes for your kids holiday traditions, keep these separate so they can be given to your older kids when they leave home.
Clean out your attic, garage or basement space before you return your holiday decoration bins (vacuum, wipe down shelves if needed etc).
Have a Grab-A-Gift bag or bin with an assortment of “anyone” appropriate gifts (for last min hostess or holiday gift exchange items).
Clean out your spices, as your cooking and baking toss the old and make note of anything needed (put date of purchase on bottom in ink).
Spruce up your kitchen: spend 10-30 min’s a day tackling an appliance or area (fridge, stove, toaster, sink etc). You’ll feel healthier & I bet you’ll eat healthier! See my kitchen organizing post here.
Get your gift & wrap organized:use a gift tracking list & invest or DIY a great wrapping station—see Pinterest for ideas.
Don’t over book your holiday calendar. If you’ve been invited to a million parties and events, say no to a few and leave yourself some evening’s at home, either alone or with your family and just relax!
Schedule a date with your honey or yourself for a little holiday pampering. Dinner and a movie, a bubble bath and champagne, your pick but keep it easy and fun.
Plan for the next year! Get a planner or calendar to start mapping out large events such as vacation and business travel, important family occasions and setting personal and professional goals for at least the first 1-2 quarters of the year.
Create a vision board to really see what it is you want to create…it’s a beautiful thing!
Pick a Word of the Year-AKA-#WOTY
Take a thorough home inventory this year-don’t wait for a disaster! Join me for a virtual workshop in early February: “Home Inventory without Heartache”, more information coming soon. Subscribe to my mailing list or “like” my Facebook or Instagram for more frequent tips and inspiration!
Keep your body moving, do a little dance, hit the gym, take a walk…whatever your thing is, this is a great way to get out of your head and feel your way through the season.
Finally and most importantly, take time to Celebrate what is truly Sacred to you this season. Is that a tradition, time with family, a treat that you honor yourself with? Whatever it is this is the best season to celebrate the sacred!

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Help, my kids don’t want my stuff! It’s time to downsize and purge…

by Filed Under: Organize, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources, Uncategorized, Wellness & Mindset 3 Comments

HELP, I don’t want my parents stuff!

It can be an emotionally exhausting taking the time to downsize and purge a a lifetime of stuff. The process can trigger all kinds of family “issues”. How do you decide what to keep when it comes time to downsize and purge years worth of household items?

The recently published book The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning is onto something when it comes to taking the time to downsize. It’s become quite a popular book, partially because it’s such a darkly humerous title but mainly because there is a large generation of people in the process of downsizing right now and mostly, their kids and grand kids don’t wan their stuff! So, whether the time to downsize comes when the family is all still alive or after a death, it’s really never too early to start talking about this subject. I hate to even bring it up but the fact is that we will all die. All of the “things” associated with YOU and what you are passionate about in your life are a part of your legacy! Lets talk a minute about our personal and family legacies.

We can’t take our stuff with us…what we leave behind is part of our legacy.

Have you ever thought about what your legacy is? What have you enjoyed or done throughout your life that others might value or remember about you?

Did you write in a journal, keep scrapbooks or take photo’s?

Do you collect something special to you (I personally collect things with a “Bee theme” but try not to over do it)?

Do you make something (quilts, knit or crochet)?

Do you Garden or Cook and keep records of these hobbies?

Were you recognized for significant accomplishments in your career?

Did you invent something?

Were you an avid reader?

You might want to ask yourself and your family members some of these questions before it comes time to decide what to keep or get rid of. It may not be an easy conversation, but not talking about it could cause more pain, try to keep it lighthearted and fun.

Talk with your parents, grandparents or other family members about what they were passionate about in their life.

Record your family stories to share with future generations and keep a handful of meaningful items that help you remember and honor their legacy.

These conversations will help with future decision making. Let your family know if you are or are or are not interested in what they leave behind (have a plan if you can!). We all want our loved ones to remember us and for some people having things around that remind us of them is a wonderful tribute. There will also be family and friends who will choose to honor and remember their loved ones without stuff! Maybe they have vivid or photographic memories of events and feel linked to that person through other means (spiritual, oral or written history). Guilt is the enemy, our stuff should by no means be a tool to make someone feel guilty…If your loved one’s don’t want your things, don’t feel hurt!

If there are things you want someone to have, tell them about it and tell them why. Just telling your story (via a letter, video, voice recording or conversation) may be enough! Be ready to release your attachment to the outcome, whether things are wanted or not. Ask them if they want things, but let them know they should not feel bad if they don’t want to keep it. You may also want to find a group or organization who you know would love a donation and leave part of your estate in your will.

When it comes time to downsize and purge your family will not want everything, it’s not a reflection how they feel about you! There are so many people who are really in need or love collecting, if your family isn’t that someone it’s okay. Here’s little advice from the Marie Kondo book, ‘Spark Joy‘ say goodbye to your things and thank them for the joy they gave you…then let go and be at peace with the decision. This can be a helpful practice for family members to be able to release things from their loved ones!

Say goodbye with gratitude on behalf the joy that “stuff” brought to your family member.

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Get Sentimental this summertime

by Filed Under: Organize, Productivity, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources, Wellness & Mindset Leave a Comment

Get Sentimental this Summertime and use these tips for sorting school work and kids memorabilia.

Summer is perfect for getting a handle on all those sentimental school objects, papers and artwork you and your kids are keeping. Maybe you have a designated spot and you just dump things in one place throughout the year? Before you sit down to sort through the sentimental savings, it helps to understand how sentimental you are. Do you want to keep everything, are you totally detached or somewhere in between?

Having an awareness of what we learned from our upbringing will be a great guide to your decision making process moving forward!

Think back to your childhood and how your parents treated your memorabilia. Sometimes how our family “taught” us is how we respond and other times we want to do the direct opposite. Did you parents keep everything and then dump it in your hands after college or when you moved out? Or did they dump it in the trash? What did you do with your sentimental treasures from childhood? Do you still have those things? When is the last time you looked through your memory albums, boxes etc. Beware that what you do today will impact your kids behavior tomorrow and they may already have a strong opinion about what they want to keep or toss (which might differ from your’s).

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5 mind map tools for a deep dive

by Filed Under: Inspiration & Education, Paper management, Planning & Goals, Productivity, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources, Wellness & Mindset 1 Comment

Mind maps tools are increasingly popular among companies, business owners, individuals and educators. Using mind maps for a deep dive into a specific topic, project or goal allows you to throw it out “on paper” and get your ideas order.

All mind maps have one thing in common. They have a central structure that radiates out organizing ideas by using lines, symbols, photos, and text to support and provide additional information for each big idea or topic. Mind maps can be either paper or computer-based, both follow the same structure, breaking a topic out from a central idea. The wonderful thing about the process of mind mapping is that you can dive deeper into a subject as you radiate out and continue to brainstorm. The mind map process is both intellectual and creative and is such a wonderful tool for individuals and business’ that are more hands on and intuitive in their goal setting and brainstorming process. The key is to find out which method works best for you, your needs and capabilities.

Paper Mind Maps

Paper-based mind maps are easy to create – you don’t need a computer, internet access, or computer chargers. All you need is paper and a pen, easy peasy! You can quickly jot down everything that comes out of your mind and map it out exactly how you’d like it. A paper mind map is great for those who need to get all of their ideas out quickly and allow for refining later. It can also be a helpful tool for organizing ideas and actions for teams.

Paper mind maps wick and easy to access anywhere, but there are a few downsides to using traditional pen and paper – it could easily get lost, crumpled or get eaten by your dog! You aren’t able to change your ideas with ease unless you use a pencil, and if you are creating a large mind map you’ll need a lot of paper (which isn’t so ecologically friendly) and can take up a lot of space.

Digital Mind Map Tools

There are dozens of mind map software to choose from, these are just some of the most popular and user-friendly systems that I’ve used myself, with clients or heard good things about.

Coggle

Coggle is a web browser-based mind mapping software that makes creating a mind map simple, easy and fun. This software offers both a free and paid version and it is an excellent investment if you create a lot of mind maps. It allows you to collaborate easily with a team. You can add text, hyperlinks, and images anywhere on your map with Coggle. The attractive branches can be customized with color, making these mind maps easy to follow.

Inspiration Maps

Inspiration Maps offers both computer and web based software that has been newly introduced for iPad and iPhone. Its key features include the ability to create an unlimited number of maps and outlines, a user-friendly interface and the ability to customize, add graphics and photos to any part of your map. You are able to choose from over 100 pre made mind map layouts and hundreds of graphics within the app. With its autosave feature, you can be certain you won’t lose any of your data if the internet goes down and you are able to share it on a variety of platforms. It is very inexpensive for all the features and is worth the purchase!

Mind Meister

In addition to its catchy name, Mind Meister is another great software for creating mind maps. It is focused more on business and educational use and has a variety of features that support a lot of users at one time. It is available for download and can be accessed on any platform and has intricate sharing capabilities.

When making your decision take into consideration the pros and cons of each, the features, cost, ease of interface, accessibility and most importantly that it suits your needs. At the end of the day, mind maps are supposed to be a fun, interactive tool that helps you expel all the information out of your brain. Don’t lose sight of that and have fun mind mapping all your great ideas!

Do you already use the mind map process? If so are you using pen and paper or software? What are some of your favorite things to mind map?