18 Ways to Find Direction Over Your Holiday Break

Photo credit: *clarity* (CC BY 2.0)

Many times a month, week, or day you feel directionless.

I can totally relate, so you don’t have to worry; you aren’t a freak or loser that doesn’t know what they want to do with their life. You just may be stuck.

But, good news, “directionless one”. The holidays are a great time to step back from your work-life and rethink what and how you are trying to get things done.

Rather than give you some of the reasons that you feel directionless in the first place, let’s just dive into the 18 ways that you can find your direction so you can be on the path again to get things done faster and better over this holiday break.

We have talked about mind mapping in the past at Lifehack. If you sit down and spend a little bit of time connecting thoughts and ideas to each other either paper or digitally through mind mapping you may start to see how all the pieces fit together and feel some sort of direction.

If you don’t know what you’re supposed to do, sometimes it’s a good idea to find the things that you aren’t supposed to do. This can clear up your vision of your project or business model and help you move forward.

Over the past few months since I’ve graduated from college, I haven’t daydreamed and doodle as much. But, I know that this is one of the best ways for me to find new ideas on topics that I was stalling on. We sometimes need to just let our minds wander and not put so much pressure on ourselves. Day dreaming and doodling allows us to have some “no-pressure” creative time.

Sometimes we lose our direction on projects because we are buried in our work. And with most of us being knowledge workers, being buried in our work means being buried in our computers and technology devices. It’s a good idea to step away on a daily basis from these devices and work on some of your own personal creative time. Over the holiday break is a great time to do this.

Reading is a great way to find inspiration. But, you have to make sure that you aren’t just reading to avoid what you’re supposed to be working on.

If you’re having trouble coming up with ideas for your new project, a good way to get some is to talk to other people that are like-minded as well as friends and family. Sometimes these people can be a little bit strong in their criticisms, but it may just be what you need to find your direction.

This goes back to my favorite thing to do every single day; write 750 words. Writing every single day helps free thoughts from your mind, making them more concrete. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had something in my mind but haven’t been able to express it until I wrote for that day.

I’m sometimes a little weary of the whole minimalist movement, but, simplifying and going “minimal” can be a really great way to concentrate on what you’re trying to work on.Cut out everything that you don’t need and concentrate on only the things that you do to find some direction.

I’m a staunch proponent of keeping with your tools and productivity processes for the long haul, but every once in a while you may just need to switch things up, especially if there is something about your process that is holding you back.

I’ve gotten some great ideas on projects that were “stuck” when I was out walking, biking, or running. Make a habit of exercising and you will get ideas on a regular basis to keep you unstuck and moving in the right direction.

Being mindful is an important thing to do whether or not you need to find your direction. Sitting in silence can help you clear your mind and be in the moment, opening you up to new ideas and helping create motivation for something that is stagnating in your life.

Block out times during your day where you work on the the things that are important to you. If you don’t schedule your time diligently, it will possibly be lost to something that isn’t as important to you.

Also, having lists of things to do every day is a great way for you to keep “treading water”, allowing you to concentrate on the bigger picture.

Sometimes you just have to force yourself to come up with new ideas to get a project back on track. Make ideas happen is part of being a knowledge worker.

Sometimes we already know what we want and have to do to get something moving forward. Instead of actually doing it though, we think that we need more information to get it done. You probably don’t.

If you think you know enough to start or keep a project moving then put down the tutorial or the book and get to work.

If you feel no direction on a project try running through something like David Allen’s 5 Phases of Productivity. Maybe you just need to know what “wild success” looks like to make it over the hump.

Some people that are consumed with projects and getting the next thing done forget to have a life. Instead of stressing and struggling, how about spend some quality time with your family and friends and try to remember why you do what you do?

Stepping away from the problem can sometimes give you instant direction on what to do to solve the problem. Once you stop thinking so hard about something, new ideas and direction can come easier.

While meditation and free writing and all the other “nu-nu-na-na” stuff can help you find your direction, most times you just need to sit down, white knuckle it, and work hard. There is no replacement for hard work.

Feeling directionless can be a horrible way to go through your workday and life. But, the holidays are a great time to rethink your work strategy and to make sure that you have everything that you need in your productivity framework to move forward on projects. Finding your direction on a stalled project may only be one free-writing or mind mapping session away, so give these above recommendations a try if you are feeling directionless.

Chris is a developer, writer, tech enthusiast, and husband. He holds a degree in MIS and CMPSC from Penn State Behrend. Chris is also interested in personal productivity, creativity and how to use technology to get things done. Check out his writing at devburner.net or follow him on Twitter.

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Handling Urgency at Work Without Email

Catch the moment by sunnyUK on flickr

Just the other day, a co-worker was called out by another co-worker that they “weren’t answering their email quickly enough.” This comment was made even when our company employs a host of ways to contact each other immediately.

The issue that was being discussed was urgent and had to be handled that day, but the accusing party in no way handled the work as being urgent. For some reason they expected an immediate response via email, even though email is not an “immediate response” type of tool. And frankly, it should never be considered to be one especially with the types of technology we have at our disposal.

The way that I and many others treat email is as a piece of mail. We don’t sit in front of our mailbox all day, waiting for something to be put into it, only to take it out, create a reply, put it in an envelope, stamp, and send it off. That would be ridiculous, right? So, why should we be expected to deal with email this way?

The problem is that most people treat email this way.

It wasn’t until I was introduced to the GTD ecosystem that I found thoughts on email like that of Merlin Mann or even Leo Babauta. These guys saw email as mail, something that piles up throughout our day and then we process it. We then make decisions on what we are supposed to do next with this incoming mail; respond to it, make it a piece of reference material, trash it, etc. Once I was able to understand this way of thinking, email wasn’t an immediate response type of tool anymore. This kept me out of my inbox and allowed me to get more done as well as handle urgent issues the right way.

I hear this a lot where I work:

“It’s my job to respond to email.”

What a sad state of affairs; a professional email responder. Actually, I would say that most anyone that says that truly means that their job is to handle immediate issues in their business; it just so happens that many people still treat email as an immediate response type of communication.

I know that we productivity nerds can’t move the immovable force of overuse of email, but we can bring some options to the table that those afflicted with immediate email action can try to employ.

Here are a few ways that you can help yourself and possibly others in your company deal with urgent matters without the use of a sea of email. These may seem dead obvious, but you will be extremely surprised at how little they are used for urgent issues:

No matter what anyone says, IM isn’t just a way to chat with your friends at work (although that can be an added benefit). IM stands for instant messaging and that is exactly what it should be used for; getting a hold of someone instantly.

If you company doesn’t use IM, especially in a company where issues with customers are of utmost important, you may want to try to talk your higher-ups and put it in place. IM at work has saved a ton of time and many email messages being overlooked.

A telephone? What the hell is that? It’s that thing that is dusty, sits on the corner of your desk, and is used maybe once a day. The fact is that the phone is the best tool for getting things done quickly across far reaches.

Yes, maybe you can type 160 words per minute, but you can’t explain problems over IM or email like you can verbally. If something is super important and needs done ASAP, the phone and the next medium are the best tools to use.

If you are across the office and you need something done now then go and see the person that needs to get that something done. You may want to call or IM them first to make sure that they are available, but if the issue is urgent enough, then it’s totally fine to just go and see them. Once again, speaking to someone verbally is the best way to handle urgent situations.

One of the hardest things you have to do to get out of the “living in your email inbox mentality”, especially for large corporations, is try to change your coworkers’ view on how to handle urgent issues. The best way to start is to tell them that you only check email a certain number of times a day (just like Mr. Vardy with his 3 times a day rule) and if they need something immediate, then either they can IM you, call, or stop over.

You may run into an issue that really isn’t urgent and your coworker thinks it is, but usually if you lay out some groundwork that email isn’t the best way to get something done quickly, they will respect your avenue for getting urgent things done.

If you work with a bunch of humans, how do you guys handle urgent matters?

Chris is a developer, writer, tech enthusiast, and husband. He holds a degree in MIS and CMPSC from Penn State Behrend. Chris is also interested in personal productivity and creativity and how to utilize technology to get more things done. Check out his writing about software development, productivity, and technology at devburner.net.

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Conception to birth — visualized! Alexander Tsiaras on TED.com

Image-maker Alexander Tsiaras shares a powerful medical visualization, showing human development from conception to birth and beyond. (Some graphic images.) (Recorded at the INK Conference, December 2010, in Lavasa, India. Duration: 9:37)

Watch Alexander Tsiaras’ talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances from our archive of 1,000+ TEDTalks.

Find out more about the upcoming INK Conference 2011 >>

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Learning Music – Day 9

I’ve been having a wonderful time with my 30-day trial of learning music. Here’s a quick update to share how it’s going.

First, I’m truly grateful for the flow of support and encouragement that’s been coming my way, especially from experienced musicians. Several people have offered to tutor or help me in various ways, and I’m taking a few of them up on those offers.

The confusing part is that I don’t yet know enough about music to discern what would be wise to learn and in what order, so I’m just going with whatever seems interesting in the moment. That’s working fine so far, and I’m learning something new every day. I’m also raising my awareness of what I don’t comprehend yet, which is helping me figure out what I may wish to study down the road.

While I’ve often written about using 30-day trials for installing new habits, I’m doing this trial to explore and learn, not to condition a new habit. This approach has been very helpful. There’s a lot about music that still confuses me, but I don’t find it frustrating. It’s an adventurous sort of confusion. I feel a bit like an inquisitive toddler: What’s this? What can you do with that? Show me how this part works!

My initial plan was to spend 1-2 hours per day learning music. In practice I’ve been averaging more than that. One day last week I put in 8+ hours, and I probably invested a good 4 hours yesterday.

With this trial I’m not going to fuss over the time investment since it hasn’t been difficult to get myself to take action. I’m in a good flow right now, my motivation to learn remains his, my environment has been extremely supportive, and I have plenty of social accountability to keep going. As I do with my writing, I’ll stick with this flow of inspiration however it shows up.

When some people want to develop new skills, they often do so quietly at first, exploring new interests in private without telling many people. This is especially common if they feel others might judge them.

I recommend the opposite approach, as I mentioned in Broadcast Your Desires. When you open up and tell the whole world your intention as if it’s the greatest idea you’ve ever had in your life, a few things will typically happen.

First, many people won’t care one way or another. But you’ll have made those people aware of your interests, and if they stumble upon something that may help you (coincidentally or synchronistically), they may share it with you. These leads can be helpful, so why not invite them?

Some examples include:

By the way, just thought I’d mention that the music store near your house is having a big sale this weekend.By the way, we have an old keyboard we don’t need. It’s not the greatest, but it works. You can have it for free if you want it.By the way, my aunt is a music teacher and says she’d be happy to give you a free lesson.

If you keep quiet, you won’t receive these leads. By broadcasting your desires openly, you create new pathways for information and opportunities to flow to you.

Secondly, some people may respond negatively to your new pursuit. That’s also fine. Just don’t give your power away. Hold your ground with such people. They may try to talk you out of it, but if it’s something you want, don’t let them. I like to regard negative feedback as a test to see if I’m really serious. The more doubtful I am about a particular decision, the more resistance shows up in the form of people telling me I’m making a mistake.

Some negative resistance can be useful. It can strengthen your resolve and help you clarify whether you really want what you claim to want. When you finally commit, resistance greatly diminishes. Often it stops showing up. Other people can tell you’re committed, so they don’t bother trying to derail you since they know they don’t stand a chance. Even when some resistance does show up, it’s no match for your iron resolve, so it just bounces off you.

If you worry that you’re making a mistake, the world will reflect that worry back to you. If you stop second guessing yourself and direct the full force of your power in the direction of your desires, that resistance dries up.

Lastly, some people will actively support you in your new direction. Like attracts like. When you broadcast your desires, you’ll come into resonance with powerful new vibes that will attract different people to you. This can happen so quickly that it will make your head spin. Lately it seems like almost everyone I connect with now is a musician of some sort.

Try not to resist these social shifts when they show up. They’re supposed to happen. You’re not going to dive into some new venture and not see shifts in your social circle. Some shifting is inevitable. Embrace that dynamic. Let the naysayers complain themselves right out of your reality. Let the supportive people move closer to you. You’ll be much happier if you relax and flow with these shifts. Don’t get clingy with the past, and don’t try to force anyone to approve of your new direction if they seem resistant.

If you’re unwilling to broadcast your new intention shamelessly and publicly, how strong is your intention anyway? Your reality responds to your entire vibe, not just one selected aspect of it. If you’re holding back, your vibe is corrupted by inner resistance, fear, timidity, etc. What the universe will reflect back to you will be just as stunted.

Interestingly, with this music trial I haven’t seen much, if any, resistance. Some people are neutral about it of course, but I haven’t seen anyone screaming “No, you idiot! Don’t do that!” That’s a refreshing change. Perhaps more resistance will show up when 10 Reasons You Should Never Get a Job gets put to music.

We could say this isn’t a particularly contentious trial, but if some resistance does show up, I probably wouldn’t notice it. My energy is too focused on moving forward, and I’m having way too much fun on this path, especially when it comes to connecting with musicians.

When I began this trial, I didn’t know what I didn’t know. There was a lot about music that I wasn’t even aware of. Now I’m gradually gaining awareness of what I don’t know. That’s a positive step forward.

This increase in awareness is helping me figure out what I want to learn. As I see it, there are two big pieces I’d like to understand better.

The first element is learning how to actually write a very basic musical piece, something that could be played with a single instrument like keyboards or a guitar, with or without vocals. I can play a simple song like Mary Had a Little Lamb, but I don’t yet know how to put notes in a sequence together to create something original that sounds good.

Some musicians suggest that I should start by studying music theory. Others advise me not to bother with theory right now — just dive in and try to play something, and I’ll learn what works through trial and error. I suspect that both approaches could work. I don’t know enough to predict which approach will work best for me, so I’m actually going to explore both paths simultaneously… at least till I can gain a better sense of where each path might lead.

The major goal in this area, which may take longer than this trial, would be to create an original composition on my own. It doesn’t have to be stunning, but I’d love to be able to create and play one basic song from beginning to end, most likely with a keyboard.

The second element I’d like to learn is how to construct compositions with many different layers, especially in the genre of electronic music. I’m gradually getting a sense of the different pieces of a composition, but I don’t know how to do very much yet when it comes to creating interesting arrangements.

A major achievement in this area would be if I could learn how to engineer something similar the songs on Depeche Mode’s Violator album, which is more than 20 years old. I’ve heard that album many times and listened to it again this morning, but this time I heard the songs with fresh ears. I noticed details I hadn’t paid attention to before. I was struck by what masterpieces of composition some of those songs are — songs like Personal Jesus, Halo, Enjoy the Silence, and Policy of Truth. They’re just so rich and complex. If I could someday learn how to create pieces like these, even if they don’t sound nearly as professional, that would be amazing.

For a modest step in this direction, I’d be delighted if I could figure out how to engineer much simpler songs like Depeche Mode’s See You or Just Can’t Get Enough. I think I would learn a lot from studying them in more depth. What would it take to learn how to create something with similar structural elements. Those songs aren’t particularly complicated by today’s standards, and surely the technology and software of today is far more capable than what was available 30+ years ago. I don’t know how long it would take me to achieve such a goal, but at least this gives me something to work towards.

I know there’s a major skill component when it comes to making music that sounds good, but at this point I’m more interested in the how-to aspects. There’s so much I don’t even know how to do yet. I can’t concern myself with trying to do things at high quality when I don’t even know how to do them poorly.

If I could learn enough to make a piss-poor version of a song similar to Just Can’t Get Enough, then perhaps I could eventually figure out how to create a piss-poor version of something like Enjoy the Silence. And then once I’ve figured that out, I can work on getting good.

So far I’ve been working solely in GarageBand on my Mac, and much of my time has been devoted to learning the software. I also bought an inexpensive Akai MIDI controller, based on some musicians’ recommendations. It’s about the size of my laptop’s keyboard and connects to my Mac via USB. The Akai gives me a compact interface for inputting some notes and tweaking parameters. It only arrived yesterday, so I haven’t had much time to play with it yet, but it’s another step ahead. I can always get something bigger and more robust down the road, but for now simplicity is good.

My daughter also graciously loaned me her 61-key synth keyboard. It has no external outputs, but we played around with it together on the weekend. She’s good at playing by ear and enjoyed the challenge of deciphering some early Depeche Mode songs like Photographic, Strangelove, and Never Let Me Down Again.

Several people have asked if I’d be willing to share some of my early music creations as I go through this trial. Sure, that sounds like a nice idea, especially if it helps or inspires others who are interested in learning music as well.

A few people suggested that I use SoundCloud, which is a popular music-sharing site. I’ve never used it before, but apparently it’s similar to YouTube, except that on SoundCloud people share audio instead of video. You can play the audio through your browser, and it works on mobile devices too. You can also comment on the pieces, although I think you need to have a free account there to do that.

I set up a SoundCloud account yesterday and posted a couple of clips so far, both of which I created in GarageBand. You can find them on my SoundCloud page here: soundcloud.com/stevepavlina.

The 12-second piece is just me messing around with loops in GarageBand. I wasn’t trying to compose anything musical. I did this mainly to learn the software and to figure out how to export an MP3. So be warned it’s pretty hideous! Hope you like the Brontosaurus wail at the beginning.

The 2-minute piece is something I created yesterday, also using GarageBand loops. This was another learning experiment, but it was also my first attempt to create something that sounded like actual music. It’s pretty basic, and there are only 5 tracks, but I learned a lot by creating it. It took me about 2 hours to make it: about 45 minutes to get the basic structure going, plus 75 minutes of tweaking. I probably could have created this in half the time if I was more skilled in using GarageBand.

I really enjoyed making this second piece. I have no education in musical theory or composition, so I just picked some loops and arranged them in sequences that sounded moderately interesting. I also learned how to do fades with the surf sounds at the beginning and end of the song.

Since SoundCloud will host up to 2 hours of audio for free, I can use it to post more clips as I go along. Just don’t expect anything on a regular schedule.

I’ve already received some encouraging feedback and helpful suggestions from musically experienced people on what I can do to improve my next attempt.

I know I have a lot to learn about music, and I’m glad I’m finally taking action on this. I’m approaching this trial as a form of play, so there’s really no way to fail.

Based on where I was when I began this trial, I feel I’ve already made tremendous progress. In a little over a week, I learned to use GarageBand well enough to create a short piece of music. I’ve never done anything like that before. So I’m celebrating these little achievements.

Update: I made a couple more songs today. You can listen to the latest one here:

Wanderlust – Enhanced by Steve Pavlina

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Clutterfree, Finally

It’s just you, and the life you love. Without clutter getting in the way.

You live experiences, you do things you’re passionate about, you spend time with people you love.

You don’t live through objects, you’re not passionate about things, you don’t spend time with possessions.

You live, and the clutter that has built up over the years has been stripped away to the bare essentials.

This is my life, so much better now that I’m clutter-free. I’d love to help you get there if you need that help.

Today I’m releasing an ebook and a course called Clutterfree, a collaboration between me and my friend Courtney Carver of Be More With Less.

The ebook is available today, while the course will be run in January. You can buy both for a discounted price, until Dec. 1.

In the book, and in the course, we’ll help you:

Examine and deal with the emotional issues that keep your life cluttered.Deal with the “just in case” syndrome, and sentimental clutter.Figure out what’s important in your life.Get started decluttering.Clear out your closets, your kitchen, your living room, and more.Create a clutter-free work space.Deal with kids’ clutter.Declutter your schedule.Maintain your clutter-free status once you’ve created this new life.

I’m excited about helping you create a clutter-free life, finally.

The ebook is $19.95, and includes interviews with two excellent people: Joshua Becker of Becoming Minimalist and Tammy Strobel of Rowdy Kittens. It also includes a video from me that answers your most frequently asked questions on clutter.

Read more about the ebook.

You can also buy the course and ebook together for $149. This price will last until Dec. 1.

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Ways to Master the Art of Perseverance

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Chasing the dragon across the world

A summary of a fascinating 1997 article on how the practice of consuming heroin by ‘chasing the dragon‘ – inhaling vapours after heating the drug on tin foil – spread across the world.

Heroin smoking by ‘chasing the dragon’: origins and history

Addiction. 1997 Jun;92(6):673-83;

Strang J, Griffiths P, Gossop M.

The history of heroin smoking and the subsequent development and spread of ‘chasing the dragon’ are examined. The first heroin smoking originated in Shanghai in the 1920s and involved use of porcelain bowls and bamboo tubes, thereafter spreading across much of Eastern Asia and to the United States over the next decade.

‘Chasing the dragon’ was a later refinement of this form of heroin smoking, originating in or near Hong Kong in the 1950s, and refers to the ingestion of heroin by inhaling the vapours which result when the drug is heated-typically on tin-foil above a flame. Subsequent spread of ‘chasing the dragon’ included spread to other parts of South East Asia during the 1960s and 1970s, to some parts of Europe during the late 1970s and early 1980s, and to much of the Indian sub-continent during the 1980s.

At the time of writing, ‘chasing the dragon’ has now been reliably reported from many parts of the world but not from others with an established heroin problem-such as the United States and Australia. The significance of this new form of heroin use is examined, including consideration of the role of the different effect with this new form of use, the different types of heroin, and changing public attitudes to injecting.

The article also notes that the popularity of particular drugs tends to rely equally on the methods of consumption as the effects of the substances themselves.

For example, the popularity of morphine in the late 19th century was equally dependent on the development of the needle and hypodermic syringe and the development of cigarettes massively increased the number of tobacco smokers.

Link to locked article on the history of ‘chasing the dragon’.

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A map of the brain: Allan Jones on TED.com

How can we begin to understand the way the brain works? The same way we begin to understand a city: by making a map. In this visually stunning talk, Allan Jones shows how his team is mapping which genes are turned on in each tiny region, and how it all connects up. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2011, July 2011, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Duration: 15:22.)

Watch Allan Jones’s talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances from our archive of 1,000+ TEDTalks.

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High-tech art (with a sense of humor): Aparna Rao on TED.com

Artist and TED Fellow Aparna Rao re-imagines the familiar in surprising, often humorous ways. With her collaborator Soren Pors, Rao creates high-tech art installations — a typewriter that sends emails, a camera that tracks you through the room only to make you invisible on screen — that put a playful spin on ordinary objects and interactions. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2011, July 2011, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Duration: 7:50.)

Watch Aparna Rao’s talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances from our archive of 1,000+ TEDTalks.

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How to Stay Positive in the Workplace

Happy Cube Dweller

Last week I wrote an article entitled “How to do a Simple Productivity Audit”. One reader who called herself “Cube Dweller” pointed out that she has little control over what she does and how she does it. As a result the tips I had advised were of no use to her or to the millions like her. So I started to think, what if you have no control over your day or the way you organize it?

Micro Managers changing your focus every time they walk your way. Supervisors changing the rules of the game just when you got used to the previous ones. All of this can be frustrating to say the very least, so if you have no control over your job and how it is organized, is there anything that you do have control over?

The answer is something that is truly yours to own; your attitude. How you chose to react to your circumstances is within your own control, and no manager or supervisor can say otherwise. Nelson Mandela chose to react with dignity when he was released from Robben Island after 27 years of incarceration. He could have reacted with anger, but he chose compassion and forgiveness.

When you are dumped upon, or your movements controlled or restricted, you can chose to react with frustration and anger or to react with joy, gratitude and positivity. Far-fetched you may think but isn’t being happy what we all want?

Wayne Dyer says it well when he says “there is no way to happiness, happiness is the way.” We all share the same goal in life, and that’s not to win the lottery. It’s to be happy. If we look closely at all the goals we have, if it be run a marathon, write a book, or get a promotion, we believe that the experience that we will gain from achieving these things will take us closer to a happy place. So rather than struggle every day to achieve happiness, can we not just be happy now?

Again my cube dweller may tell me he or she has nothing to be grateful for when it comes to the workplace, other than the fact that they have a job, but stepping outside the workplace and looking at your life holistically. What are the things you are grateful for? Your family, friends, health, wealth, nationality, intelligence? Make a list of all the things you are grateful for. It is difficult to feel sorry for yourself when you are feeling gratitude. Gratitude is a powerful tool which can help you through difficult times.

When you do nice things for others not only does it contribute to a sense of well-being and satisfaction, it also means that the good will come back around to you. As it says in the bible, “What you sow so shall you reap.”

Are you using your personal strengths? According to Martin Seligman the father of Positive Psychology, if you know your strengths and are using them for the greater good, you are much more likely to have a happy meaningful life. If you are working in a job that uses your strengths you are lucky, some people have to work difficult or boring jobs to feed their families, but hopefully these people use their strengths in different ways outside of the workplace. Ideally if you can use your strengths in the workplace it would make for a larger portion of your life where you feel you are making a difference. It may be something you want to consider, up-skilling or working towards having a job in the future that uses your talents and skills and makes you feel like your days are spent contributing to the bigger picture. If you can do this you will more likely be a happier soul.

So can there be positivity in the workplace? If you try to focus on what’s good in your life as opposed to what is bad, that will be a good place to start. Remember you are in control of your life and your thoughts; it is up to you how you choose to react.

If you have any other tips for bringing positivity into your life and your workplace I would love to hear them.

Ciara Conlon is a Personal Productivity Coach and author. Her mission is to help people achieve their best through working efficiently and being positive and present. “Through Productivity and Positivity I believe there is little we can’t achieve” go to Productivity & Positivity and get Free eBook called Clear the Clutter; Find Your Life

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Is Time Management Really Such a Good Idea?

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The shared experience of absurdity: Charlie Todd on TED.com

Charlie Todd causes bizarre, hilarious, and unexpected public scenes: Seventy synchronized dancers in storefront windows, “ghostbusters” running through the New York Public Library, and the annual no-pants subway ride. At TEDxBloomington he shows how his group, Improv Everywhere, uses these scenes to bring people together. (Recorded at TEDxBloomington, May 2011, in Bloomington, Indiana. Duration: 12:04.)

Watch Charlie Todd’s talk on TED.com, where you can rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances from our archive of 1,000+ TEDTalks.

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How to Win the War Against Peace of Mind

Photo credit: erasmusa (CC BY-NC 2.0)

In some parts of the world, today is a day set aside to remember those who have fought for the freedom that their citizens enjoy. It is a day where these nations reflect on those who have died for a cause and those who fight for it even to this day so that peace can prevail over war.

But there will be so much “noise” coming at us today – a day where we seek quiet so that we can properly remember what this day represents. Our minds will have a difficult time finding peace because of the firehose of information that enters our home and office each and every day. It may seem harsh, but it is as if we are battling our own ongoing war against the things that threaten our peace of mind – a peace that we so desperately need in order to truly enjoy our lives.

While it’s important for us to stay informed, it is also important for us to let our minds rest – even wander – from time to time. I suggest that even those who are figthing the literal wars in our world today (and those of the past) would want those at home to be mindful not just of what is going on outside of their own self, but also to be mindful of themselves internally. Inner peace is just as important as outer peace.

If you’re constantly fighting a losing battle in the war against your peace of mind, here are some strategies you can use to start fighting back – and winning.

Turn things off. The television, the Internet, the phone. Remove them from the equation – if only for a little while. Do that every day for a set amount of time. Perhaps you only feel comfortable doing it for 30 minutes a day. Go with that. After you start to adjust, bump it up to a full hour. Then keep raising the stakes until you feel that you’re not losing your mind in a sea of external factors and are able to balance what you’re taking in with what you’re simply letting go.

You need to free your mind in order to give the space it needs to remember things better. The more clutter you have in your mind, the harder it is for you to find what is worthwhile in there. Disconnecting instantly removes the intake of a lot of psychic clutter, and can serve to actually create a better filtering system when you do reconnect. As a result, you’ll be able to better connect with what really matters and let go of what really doesn’t.

Capturing things is one of the keys to creating a more productive “you”, but that’s not what I’m talking about here. I’m talking about capturing moments. That may mean drawing a picture, taking a photo or journaling. What you’re doing is not systematizing the capture process, but you’re fleshing out moments in time on the canvas of your choice. This kind of capturing is more likely to create a peaceful feeling than writing down to-do lists or breaking down a new project.

When was the last time you sat down somewhere and just transposed the moment in time you were in using a method that felt right to you? Maybe you need to bring a digital recorder into the bathroom and sing in the shower – that could be a release for you. Then you’ll be able to listen to that recording later and just know that it was a moment that you captured where you let yourself go. Having an agenda with no care of what the outcome needs to be can be one of the most freeing things you can experience.

See where you want to be. Look forward without looking at all. Let your mind go to where you let it go when your dreams were brand new. That’s visualization. See the change that you want to be in the world so that you can be the change that you want to see in the world.

Spiritualization doesn’t have to be a religious experience. It can simply be a walk along a beach while you take in the wonders around you. It can be true meditation. It can be yoga or Tai Chi. It can be going to church. Accessing your spiritual self gets easier the more often you do so – as long as it is something that is accessible to you. Don’t go down another’s path; find your own. Don’t be afraid to do that. Those who have fought for freedom certainly weren’t. Honour them by facing the fear and doing it anyway.

The noise is getting louder every day. Quiet and solitude is getting that much harder to find. There’s nothing wrong with either, but there is something wrong with too much of either. Peace of mind and balance are both difficult to achieve and even tougher to maintain.

Using the above strategies may not see you win every battle, but by using them consistently you give yourself a fighting chance to win the war.

Mike Vardy is an independent writer, speaker, podcaster and "productivity pundit" who also dishes the goods at Vardy.me. You can follow him daily on Twitter, listen to him weekly on ProductiVardy, and read more from him eventually at Eventualism.

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How to Flow Your Way to a More Productive Life

Catch the wave...get into flow.

Ebb and flow. Contraction and expansion. Highs and lows. It’s all about the cycles of life.

The entire course of our life follows this up and down pattern of more and then less. Our days flow this way, each following a pattern of more energy, then less energy, more creativity and periods of greater focus bookended by moments of low energy when we cringe at the thought of one more meeting, one more call, one more sentence.

The key is in understanding how to use the cycles of ebb and flow to our advantage. The ability to harness these fluctuations, understand how they affect our productivity and mood and then apply that knowledge as a tool to improve our lives is a valuable strategy that few individuals or corporations have mastered.

Here are a few simple steps to start using this strategy today:

Take just a few minutes to look back at how your days and weeks have been unfolding. What time of the day are you the most focused? Do you prefer to be more social at certain times of the day? Do you have difficulty concentrating after lunch or are you energized? Are there days when you can’t seem to sit still at your desk and others when you could work on the same project for hours?

Do you see a pattern starting to emerge? Eventually you will discover a sort of map or schedule that charts your individual productivity levels during a given day or week.  That’s the first step. You’ll use this information to plan your days going forward.

Look at the types of things you do each day…each week. What can you move around so that it’s a better fit for you? Can you suggest to your team that you schedule meetings for late morning if you can’t stand to be social first thing? Can you schedule detailed project work or highly creative tasks, like writing or designing when you are best able to focus? How about making sales calls or client meetings on days when you are the most social and leaving billing or reports until another time when you are able to close your door and do repetitive tasks.

Keep in mind that everyone is different and some things are out of our control. Do what you can. You might be surprised at just how flexible clients and managers can be when they understand that improving your productivity will result in better outcomes for them.

Look at the bigger picture. Consider what happens during different months or times during the year. Think about what is going on in the other parts of your life. When is the best time for you to take on a new project, role or responsibility? Take into account other commitments that zap your energy. Do you have a sick parent, a spouse who travels all the time or young children who demand all of your available time and energy?

We all know people who ignore all of this advice and yet seem to prosper and achieve wonderful success anyway, but they are usually the exception, not the rule. For most of us, this habitual tendency to force our bodies and our brains into patterns of working that undermine our productivity result in achieving less than desired results and adding more stress to our already overburdened lives.

Why not follow the ebb and flow of your life instead of fighting against it?

Royale Scuderi is a writer, life and business coach who empowers individuals and businesses to achieve higher productivity, growth, business success and work - life balance. She offers wisdom, insight and ideas to help you get the most out of your life at Productive Life Concepts.

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Against the high cult of retreat

Depending on who you ask Naomi Weisstein is a perceptual neuroscientist, a rock n roll musician, a social critic, a comedian, or a fuck the patriarchy radical feminist.

You stick Weisstein’s name into Google Scholar and her most cited paper is ‘Psychology Constructs the Female’ – a searing critique of how 60s psychology pictured the female psyche – while her second most cited is a study published in Science on visual detection of line segments.

Although the topics are different, the papers are more alike than you’d first imagine.

Her article ‘Psychology Constructs the Female’ was originally published in 1968 and became an instant classic.

She looked at the then current theories of female psychology, and at the evidence that supported them, and shows that the theories are pitiful – largely based on personal opinion and idiosyncratic interpretations of weak or non-existent evidence.

Moreover, she shows that all known differences at the time could be accounted for by social context and what was expected of the participants, rather than their sex.

It’s a masterpiece of evidence-based scientific thinking when feminist psychology was, and to a large extent, still is, heavily influenced by postmodernism and poststructuralism – theories that suggest that there is no objective reality and science is just another social narrative that has female oppression built into its knowledge base.

Weisstein, who also had a huge impact on perceptual science, had little time for what she considered to be ‘fog’ and ‘paralysis’:

I’m still wearing my beanie hat, aren’t I? I don’t think I can take it off… Science (as opposed to the scientific establishment) will entertain hypothesis generated in any way: mystical, intuitive, experiential. It only asks us to make sure that our observations and replicable and our theories have some reasonable relation to other things we know to be true about the subject under study, that is to objective reality…

Whether or not there is objective reality is a 4000-year-old philosophical stalemate. The last I heard was that, like God, you cannot prove there is one and you cannot prove there is not one. It comes down to a religious and / or political choice. I believe that the current feminist rejection of universal truth is a political choice. Radical and confrontational as the feminist challenge to science may appear, it is in fact, a deeply conservative retreat…

Poststructuralist feminism is a high cult of retreat. Sometimes I think that, when the fashion passes, we will find many bodies, drowned in their own wordy words, like the Druids in the bogs.

A recent academic article looked back at Weisstein’s legacy and noted that she has been a powerful force in a feminist movement that typically rejects science as a useful approach.

But she was also a pioneer in simply being a high-flying female scientist when they were actively discouraged from getting involved.

Link to full text of ‘Psychology Constructs the Female’.

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11 Inspiring Life Lessons from Bruce Lee

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Reflecting on the Miracle of Life

Photo credit: Mike Bitzenhofer (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

The world is an amazing place. I am in awe of all the miracles every day. On a special day like today, it’s important to just take a moment and reflect on all the amazing things that have happened in your life so far.

To give you a starting point, just think about this:

The exact person you are, born to your parents, on the date and time you were born, with the DNA structure you have has about a 1:400,000,000,000 (that’s one in 400 trillion!) chance of existing.

If you don’t call that miraculous, then I don’t know what is!

One of my favorite quotes is from Albert Einstein, and I find it interesting that a genius with such a scientific mind would be talking about life in this way:

“There are two ways to live: You can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.”

There is so much that can unfold in your life. You are exactly where you need to be right now and all the things that you’ve experienced have led you to this place. But the future is a blank canvas, waiting for you to choose the outcome you desire. Once you understand how you truly are a creator in your life, and take responsibility for all that you have experienced, you become liberated to dream your biggest dreams. You become empowered to know that the world is ever-expanding and your dreams can come true.

Taking responsibility for your actions in your life means understanding that you have created a lot of your experiences by default. When your worst fears become your reality, it’s because you’ve spend so much time focusing with fear, worry, anger, hurt, shame or any other emotion that is rooted in fear. Most of us do create our lives by default…until we learn that it can be another way.

The emotions based in love include:

ContentmentOptimismExcitementPassionJoyLove (of course)

When we are feeling those positive emotions, we are in a vibrational level or frequency to attract our dreams and goals.

I have a tool that I’ve developed called the Joyometer, which is a simple scale to check in on your emotions. (You can download one at  ) It’s what I call a mood management system. When you fall into that downward spiral of negative emotions—those based in fear—you are taking a back seat and allowing your life to happen on a reactive basis. When you are in a positive frame of mind—in the emotions coming from love—you are the master of your universe. You make a conscious choice on how to react to situations. You are proactive and aware of your canvas and what you are putting there.

Just as a boat without a rudder will be tossed and turned in the ocean by the waves, living in fear has the same effect. But when you put that rudder down into the water, you can suddenly steer the boat and choose what direction you want to sail. Love is that rudder.

One of the definitions of a rudder is “something that guides or directs”. When you choose to live your life coming from a place of love, miracles can become common in your life. It’s time to understand just how powerful we are as individuals and harness that power to create our dream lives.

Just remember: You are a walking miracle.

Take some time today to reflect and be truly grateful for this wonderful life you have.

Karin Volo is an expert in career and personal development, she's known as a Tough Transition Specialist and a Dream Life Mentor. Karin is the transformational author of the Bringing Joy series and one of the best selling authors of Turning Points. Her passion is enhancing peoples lives by inspiring and teaching strategies to thrive through tough times, live joyfully, and create their dream lives.

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Do you have a lesson to teach? Seeking nominations for TED2012: The Classroom

For the upcoming TED conference — TED2012: Full Spectrum — we’re looking for 10 of the world’s best teachers to take the TED stage during a special session we’re calling The Classroom. We’re accepting nominations to help track these people down. You can nominate yourself or a remarkable educator we should know about — who doesn’t have to be a teacher in the traditional sense.

After TED, these talks will have a life online as part of TED-Ed, a new initiative we’re launching in 2012. With TED-Ed, we are creating a library of videos sepcifically for educators and students. The videos will be arranged using teacher-centric/learner-centric categories and tags, designed to help teachers quickly discover the perfect video for the lesson at hand. The videos will also be arranged into playlists to give students a multidisciplinary, immersive insight into a learning concept.

The talks we’re looking for will each:

+ be shorter than 10 minutes
+ contain informative material, not just inspiring messages
+ be delivered with a huge amount of passion for the topic
+ engage an audience from age 14 to adult
+ be something you might imagine a teacher using in the classroom as video to supplement a lesson.

We’re especially keen to include brilliant EXPLANATIONS, meaningful A-HA moments, powerful STORIES, indelible IMAGES.

Here are a few links to talks that fit the bill:

Vilayanur Ramachandran on mirror neurons

David Gallo shares underwater astonishments

This explanation of special relativity

Derek Sivers: Weird, or just different?

Now, a couple of notes about what we’re not looking for. For this session, we do not want talks about teaching methods, education reform or education in general. We are not looking for an inspiring, “go forth,” commencement-style talk. We do love those sometimes, but they’re not a fit for this session.

The deadline for nominations is November 30, 2011, at midnight Eastern, and we’ll contact the speakers we’ve chosen with invitations (or more questions) by December 12, 2011.

TED2012 takes place February 27-March 2, 2012, in Long Beach, California. The Classroom session will take place on March 2. We’ll cover coach travel, good accommodations, and a pass to TED for those 10 amazing teachers who take the stage.

We hope you’ll share your best lessons (or teachers) with us. Good luck!

Nominate yourself or another person >>

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Real Food Ninja Training: Food, Glorious Food!

From Chiot's Run on flickr

Food, glorious food … or is it glorious? Is it even food we are eating? I believe many of us have struggled with that question as we down processed McDonalds hamburgers and fries. What about margarine or other such creations?

Graduate school is great for getting a degree, but not so much for maintaining an ideal weight. For me, it was a burrito place down the street that gave a discount for students. It was quick, and I could take it to go. However, I knew I wasn’t as healthy as I wanted to be, so like many I tried diet after diet. I sabotaged my diets. I was even really good at eating healthy, but that didn’t work. Then my wife, who is part homemaker and part mad-scientist (mwa-haha!), said she was going to switch our diet over to one of “real food”.

That is a good question, and one that I definitely did not know when we began our journey two years ago. I sort of believed it was a chance for my wife to experiment growing things in the kitchen, and then poisoning feeding her husband her mad creations. To my surprise, the first thing she handed me was a piece of nice, warm Italian bread straight from the oven with loads and loads of butter on it.

This was food, glorious food! Mouth watering, tongue tantalizing, body trembling food! Was this really the diet my loving mad-scientist had concocted for me? Then I learned the truth – real food is not a diet. It is a way of living.

Soon, I found myself losing weight while maintaining higher energy levels. People kept asking me how I would accomplish all the various projects I was working on and still seemed to have energy to smile at the end of the day. They were watching me slim up, but I would be happy ordering some of the fattiest, caloric food around.

However, the real change was in my shopping technique. I was slowly becoming a real food ninja in the super market. You know that fruits and vegetables section? Hey, give me some of that goodness! Buying some soup? Let me look at that label. Hmm, that scary part of the health food store where everything seems alive — lets make a b-line there!

Shopping, eating and thinking about my meals became fun again. I just simply did not have as strong a desire to pickup McDs after a long night or programming. The food tasted too bland to me. No longer was I a “oh, I should be eating salad tonight” type of mentality. Instead it turned into a “what do I want to eat tonight?”.

Two words – preparation and ingredients.

To be a real food ninja, we have to figure out how to prepare our food, and we need to find out what ingredients matter. With that in mind, here are some common ideas that we can look at in our lifestyle to start the transition.

Localvore & OrganicPre-Industrial CookingFermentation, probiotic and the “living breathing bubblies”Full, healthy FAT filled ingredientsSoaked, sprouted grains and nutsPart Mad-Scientist! (mwa-haha!)And the all-star rule – whole, unprocessed ingredients

The best way to look at “dieting” is to simply ignore the “d” word. Instead, lets take a moment to look at our lifestyle. What we are buying, and how that is affecting our metabolism?

The heart of real food is enjoying food the way it was meant to be enjoyed, and I for one, am glad my loving, mad-scientist switched us that fateful January two years ago.

Albert Lionelle is a renaissance man. He is involved in the school board, writes, acts, directs, programs, teaches, has a Master degree in computer science, and is currently working on his Master of Divinity at Regent University. For work, he speaks for sustainable agriculture groups believing sustainability, stewardship and real food should be common sense. As such, he has recently cofounded with his wife Real Food and Health digital magazine. Available at their website or on Amazon.com for the kindle.

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The Secret to Helping Your Child Excel in School and in Life

Photo credit: melanerpist (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Is your child struggling in school? Does your child stall when it comes time to do homework? Does your child’s teacher often comment that your child is capable, but is just not working to his or her potential? Or does your child do alright in school, but seems a bit bored or lacks enthusiasm for learning?

Well, there is a secret that you need to know in order for you to change this.

We are all born with certain propensities. We enjoy doing some things more than others and we see the world and experience it from a certain perspective. Parents can often say, “Oh, Johnny could stay outdoors playing in the dirt all day long,” or “Susie is such a people person”. At a very early age children show what they enjoy doing and what they are naturally interested in. Paying attention to this can be very beneficial to parents and in turn, to their children.

Dr. Howard Gardner, Professor of Education at Harvard University, developed a theory called Multiple Intelligences. The theory suggests that the traditional notion of intelligence, which is based on I.Q. testing, is far too limited.

Instead, Dr. Gardner proposes eight different intelligences to account for a broader range of human potential in children and adults. Here’s a brief summary of these eight intelligences:

Linguistic Intelligence (Word Smart): This type of intelligence involves sensitivity to spoken and written language, the ability to learn languages, and the capacity to use language to accomplish certain goals. This intelligence includes the ability to effectively use language to express oneself rhetorically or poetically; and language as a means to remember information. Writers, poets, lawyers and speakers are among those that Gardner sees as having high linguistic intelligence.Logical-Mathematical Intelligence (Number/Reasoning Smart): This type consists of the capacity to analyze problems logically, carry out mathematical operations, and investigate issues scientifically. In Gardner’s words, it entails the ability to detect patterns, reason deductively and think logically. This intelligence is most often associated with scientific and mathematical thinking.Musical Intelligence (Music Smart): This type involves skill in the performance, composition, and appreciation of musical patterns. It encompasses the capacity to recognize and compose musical pitches, tones, and rhythms.Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence (Body Smart): This type entails the potential of using one’s whole body or parts of the body to solve problems. It is the ability to use mental abilities to coordinate bodily movements.Spatial Intelligence (Picture Smart): This type involves the potential to recognize and use the patterns of wide space and more confined areas.Interpersonal Intelligence (People Smart): This type is concerned with the capacity to understand the intentions, motivations and desires of other people. It allows people to work effectively with others. Educators, salespeople, religious and political leaders and counsellors all need a well-developed interpersonal intelligence.Intrapersonal Intelligence (Self Smart): This type entails the capacity to understand oneself, to appreciate one’s feelings, fears and motivations.Naturalist Intelligence (Nature Smart): This type enables human beings to recognize, categorize and draw upon certain features of the environment. A number of schools in North America have looked to structure curricula according to these intelligences, and to design classrooms and even whole schools to reflect the understandings that Howard Gardner developed. It takes a commitment though from school boards, administrators and teachers to put something like this into practice.

Dr. Gardner says that our schools and culture focus most of their attention on linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligence. We hold the highly articulate or logical people of our culture in great esteem. However, Dr. Gardner says that we should also place equal attention on individuals who show gifts in the other intelligences: the artists, architects, musicians, naturalists, designers, dancers, therapists, entrepreneurs, and others who enrich the world in which we live.

Unfortunately, many children who have these gifts don’t receive much reinforcement for them in school. Many of these kids, in fact, end up being labeled “learning disabled,” “ADD,” or simply underachievers, when their unique ways of thinking and learning aren’t addressed by a heavily linguistic or logical-mathematical classroom.

So, if your child’s school does not teach based on these principles, how can you as the parent use them to help your child be successful in school and in life? Let’s first take a look at how Howard Gardner’s theory would work in a classroom. Then, we’ll look at how you can use these techniques at home.

Let’s say that a teacher needs to teach a lesson about The Law of Supply and Demand. They might do any or all of the following:

Read to their students about it (linguistic)Study mathematical formulas that express it (logical-mathematical)Examine a graphic chart that illustrates the principle (spatial)Observe the law in the natural world (naturalist)Observe the law in the human world of commerce (interpersonal)Examine the law in terms of one’s own body, such as when you supply your body with lots of food, the hunger demand goes down; when there’s very little supply, your stomach’s demand for food goes way up and you get hungry (bodily-kinesthetic and interpersonal)Write a song (or find an existing song) that demonstrates the law like Bob Dylan’s “Too Much of Nothing? or John Mayer’s “Waiting on the World to Change”.

It isn’t necessary for teachers to teach something in all eight ways. But it is necessary for them to see what the possibilities are, and then decide which particular pathways align best with the topic.

In addition, a teacher should also provide students with an opportunity to discover which intelligence best describes themselves. After students are aware of this they can take charge of their learning. When they study for tests they can relate all the ideas to topics that mean something to them. When they work on a project they can present it in a way that most makes sense to them.

If your child’s school doesn’t work this way then you can still teach this to your child and they can still use the strategy to study and complete projects and assignments. Here’s how:

Have your child take this test, which determines their intelligence. Then, describe all eight intelligences to them in language appropriate to their age so that they will have a clearer understanding of each one.Once your child is clear about how they learn and how this is innately what they enjoy, then the next step is to show them how they can use this with their school work.When an assignment or project comes home tell them to put the topic of whatever the project is in the center of a blank sheet of paper, and draw eight straight lines or “spokes” radiating out from this topic. Label each line with a different intelligence. Then start brainstorming ideas for learning or showing that topic and write down ideas next to each intelligence. They might just want to do the assignment in a way that aligns with their intelligence, but it’s important for them to know that everyone has a little of each intelligence — so they can mix and match too.

With anything new, this process will need guidance and practice. However, you will be amazed at how quickly they catch on and how engrossed in their homework they will be simply by taking this approach.

Our world has become smaller due to globalization and it’s also becoming a world where different “traits” or intelligences are needed. Let’s help our children understand and feel good about themselves. With these two things in place they will feel confident to use what they’ve got to help make their difference in this world.

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What to Do When You’re Stuck

Photo credit: AlphaTangoBravo / Adam Baker (CC BY 2.0)

Earlier this week we touched on NaNoWriMo, and one of the things that plagues those taking part in the “novel-writing in 30 days” process is getting through the blocks so that you can get the book written in such a short time frame. Admittedly, I’ve already come across that myself – I am sitting below pace as I write this piece – and I would be even further behind if it wasn’t for a few tactics I put in place to jumpstart my writing.

But it isn’t just writers (or November writers) that face this problem. Everyone does. At one time or another, you hit a wall. There are a number of reasons for it – burnout, lack of project scope, a waning interest in what you’re doing – but there are also several ways you can push through the work stoppage and get moving again. The sooner you realize you’re stuck, the more effective each of these tips will be because you’re not too mired in the mud of stagnation.

So when you get stuck, give any (or all) of these tips a try to get you from inaction to action:

When you’re just not moving forward on something you really need to step away from it for a while. Take a break to recharge, move on to something else that needs doing, have a snack or go for walk. The bottom line is that in order to get unstuck you need to move – and the only way you’re going to feel as if you’re moving when you’re stuck is if you move yourself away from the thing that is keeping you at a standstill.

Sometimes stepping back won’t cut it. Sometimes you need to clear your mind just so that you can move forward, almost like starting with a fresh sheet of paper or a newly-formatted hard drive. Meditation can help you do just that. With enough practice, you’ll be able to let things come and go and just focus on breathing while you meditate. Just emptying out your head for a few moments a day can really add a new perspective to your work and life. Mindfulness and productivity aren’t so far removed that they can’t work in tandem. When you meditate, you’ll get that much closer to marrying the two. And then you can go forward…and move forward.

There are some things that you’d really like to see done, but aren’t critical to the big picture. It may be a passion project that you’re not quite ready to handle or one that you just can’t wrap your head around. If you have the luxury to let it go when you get stuck on it and can’t seem to get unstuck, drop it. That doesn’t mean you won’t be able to come back to it when you’re ready, but it does mean that you’re freeing up the energy it was taking just sitting there staring back at you waiting for you to do something with it. And if you can’t afford to drop it altogether, see if you can delegate it to someone else. You might actually be helping a colleague who is stuck on their own work by giving something fresh to work on.

When was the last time you took a real vacation? Getting really stuck can often be the result of you not giving yourself enough time away from your work as a whole. We need to take prolonged breaks, where we can get away and enjoy the fruits of our labour. If you find that you’re really stuck on something that has never stumped you before or you’re stuck on a whole bunch of things that you’ve got on your plate, you likely need a vacation. So take it. Put all of your ducks in a row and go. Everyone will benefit from you escaping the workweek for a week or two. Especially you.

Remember that those who struggle while in quicksand sink faster than those who don’t. So don’t panic when that feeling of “stuckness” sets in. Just recognize it for what it is and pull yourself out of it. While you’ll never be able to prevent yourself from getting stuck, you can put measures in place that will give you the upper hand when you feel that you are.

Mike Vardy is an independent writer, speaker, podcaster and "productivity pundit" who also dishes the goods at Vardy.me. You can follow him daily on Twitter, listen to him weekly on ProductiVardy, and read more from him eventually at Eventualism.

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The Silliness of Busyness

I never thought I would laugh at how busy I used to be. I was serious about my ability to be superwoman. I could work 40+ hours a week, raise a child, volunteer when anyone asked, exercise, travel, cook, and clean. I could do it all, and then some.

Everyone was doing it all, so I did too. I didn’t want to do it all. Doing it all made me exhausted. Doing it all cost me friendships. Doing it all cost me my health. My busyness wasn’t even a little bit silly.

Becoming less busy was not an accident, but a decision I made on purpose. I made the decision that a busy life wasn’t a life for me. Being a good person, loving wife, mother and friend…that was the life I wanted. Next to that, I wanted the freedom to do things that made my heart sing instead of things that weighed me down.

Until I intentionally left a life of chronic busyness, I couldn’t see how silly it really was. The silliness of busyness is that sometimes you are so busy, you can’t recognize you are in trouble. You are so overwhelmed that you can’t figure out how to change. You are so used to being busy that you create more work to make your life even busier.

Your usual response to “how are you?” is “so busy”, “crazy busy” or “busy but good”You spend time worrying about how busy you are going to be tomorrowYou get angry when your spouse or friends aren’t as busy as youYour busy life keeps you up at night thinking about everything you didn’t get doneYou make a point of letting people know that you stay at the office after hoursYou check email several times a dayYou zone out during conversations thinking about everything you have to doYou volunteer for things you don’t care aboutYou spend time complaining about how busy you areYou make list after list to make sure you don’t forget anything during your busy dayYou allocate time each day to clean your desk or organize your stuffYou regularly eat in your carYou use a phone in the car because “it’s the only time you have to talk”

If you are anything like me, you are busy because you want to be or because you don’t know how to be un-busy. You are busy out of misdirected guilt because you think if you do enough, you will be enough. When you decide that it is ok to live life your way, you can stop being busy and start doing things that matter. You can talk about your meaningful day instead of ranting about your busy schedule. Decide today that you are enough, even if you never do anything, accomplish anything or produce anything ever again. You are enough.

be unproductive on purposeonly check email 2X per daydelete email and toss mail that you don’t need to readturn your phone and computer off when you aren’t workingturn everything off in the car (except the car)put your ipad downread The Power of Lesshelp someonedo less, be morestop trying to keep up, measure up or catch up

While you may think that you are making sacrifices for others by being busy, you are likely sacrificing the same relationships you think you are saving. Get real, make time and consider what is most important to you. Then do that first. The rest can wait.

Courtney Carver is the author of Simple Ways to Be More with Less. Read more from Courtney at her blog, Be More with Less, or follow her on twitter.

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The rise and fall of ‘space madness’

‘Space madness’ was a serious concern for psychiatrists involved in the early space programme. A new article in history of science journal Endeavour tracks the interest in this ‘dreaded disease that never was.’

Much to the surprise of NASA mental health professionals, those who volunteered to be astronauts were neither “suicidal deviants” nor troubled by their separation from the earth, but the media ran with the ‘space travel as psychic trauma’ idea anyway.

‘In answer to the question, “‘What kind of people volunteer to be fired into orbit?” one might expect strong intimations of psychopathology’. Or so thought two Air Force psychiatrists selected to examine America’s first would-be astronauts. Researchers of the 1950s who considered the problem of human spaceflight often speculated that such work would attract only suicidal deviants, and that merely participating in such a voyage would overwhelm the human psyche of otherwise healthy people. The popular culture record of the time seemed to confirm their suspicions, with science fiction films frequently offering up megalomaniacs, egotists, and religious fanatics terrorizing planets in their cinematic space cruisers.

It is not surprising, then, that the psychiatrists working with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1959 feared the worst of the men selected to be America’s first astronauts: that they would be impulsive, suicidal, sexually aberrant thrill-seekers. The examiners, though, were surprised – and a little disappointed – when tests revealed the would-be spacemen to be sane, poised professionals able to absorb extraordinary stresses. Flying jet airplanes in Cold War America had conditioned the men to control their fear, and even the most spirited among them were effective in orbit.

The idea that humans could travel into space and not be traumatized by their experiences, though, was unpalatable to large numbers of journalists and screenwriters, who expected that such journeys would produce some form of psychic transformation. By the early-1970s, popular culture depicting unhinged astronauts became commonplace, even as NASA’s astronauts demonstrated a remarkable ability to absorb the stresses of long-duration spaceflight. A Space Age malady with no incidence among human populations, ‘space madness’ is the stuff of Hollywood: a cultural manifestation of popular fears of a lonely, dehumanizing, and claustrophobic future among the stars.

Unfortunately, the article is locked, because the likes of you and me would just make the place look scruffy, but we covered some of the early discussion on what might cause ‘space madness’ previously on Mind Hacks.

And if you’re interested in the modern astronaut psychology don’t miss a 2008 article from The Psychologist on how NASA select their space travelling colleagues.

I would also like to mention that if someone from NASA is reading that I am free at *any time* to start astronaut duties. I also already own a space pen and am fully competent in its use.

Link to locked article. Not very space age, is it?
Link to previous Mind Hacks piece on space madness.

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How To Stay Healthy During Your Travels

"Travelling" from Mr iMaax on flickr

When I was working in my corporate career, I was traveling 25% to 50% of my time on overnight trips, sometimes for an entire work week. I still travel for some out of town speaking engagements and conferences but not nearly as much as I use to. However, it is still a challenge to stay healthy during any business or vacation travel.

Many people end up gaining weight after their trips because of not eating healthy, sitting on airplanes or in meeting rooms for hours at a time as well as being stressed. Sometimes the rush of making flight connections results in stuffing yourself with airport fast food just to fill your stomach and when you finally get back to your hotel room, you are just too tired to do anything else.

So here are some tips that I have come up with during my travels to help you stay healthy while away from home.

It is much easier to follow a healthy balanced diet with home cooking, but when it comes to being on the road, proper nutrition is often very challenging if you have to eat out for all of your meals during travel. Here are some eating guidelines I adhere to.

Avoid hotel breakfast items loaded with fat and salt such as sausages, bacon, and fried potatoesPass on the fast food breakfasts tooStart your day with fresh fruit, yogurt and cerealsStick with lighter fare lunches especially if attending conferences and meetingsFind good salads and lower fat, whole-wheat sandwiches for lunchDon’t overeat, especially at buffets or you will feel it back in your hotel roomMinimize the amount of fried, fatty foodsDrink lots of water (bottled where tap water is not safe)Limit your alcohol intake as hangovers during travel are no funDon’t overdo the coffee shop trips during the dayAvoid junk food snacks – pick up some fresh fruit at local grocers insteadPack enough multivitamins to last your entire trip

When I observe people at big meetings and conferences, it is incredible just how few travelers exercise or stay active on the road. With overeating and inactivity, it is no wonder why many travelers end up gaining weight. So here are some tips to stay physically active on the road.

Use the hotel/cruise ship gym – even 20 minutes will help prevent weight gainDo laps in the hotel pool if there is one (always pack your swimwear)Use the hotel gym weights even if you have to modify some exercisesIf the neighborhood around the hotel is safe (ask the concierge), take a brisk walk outsideIf no hotel gym, do basic calisthenics plus low impact cardio inside your hotel roomAlthough tempting to party into the wee hours, get adequate sleep

Sometimes much of the challenge during travel comes from the fact that you have to do what most other travelers will not be doing. If you choose to eat healthy and exercise on the road, you will be among a minority of travelers. However, since it is your own health that matters, do not worry about what others are doing (or not doing) during trips.

It is possible to stay healthy during your travels. Although you may have to take some extra efforts to get the proper nutrition and exercise during your time away from home, you will be rewarded at the end of your trip. You will be able to pat yourself on the back since you maintained your fitness level and did not gain extra weight.

If you have additional tips on how to stay healthy or are willing to share some of your challenges while away from home, please leave your comments below.

Happy travels to you!

Clint Cora is a motivational speaker, author & Karate World Champion based near Toronto, Canada. Get his FREE 3-part Personal Development Video Series on how to expand your comfort zone and finally conquer even your most daunting goals in life.

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Radio 4′s brilliant brain season now being scattered

BBC Radio 4's Brain Season is in full swing, which, in typical BBC fashion, is both brilliantly conceived and chaotically scattered over their webpages like a drunken farmer chasing birds off his field with a seed planter.

A good place to start is the brain season blog post which lists all the programmes in the season and links to their programme page and separate podcast page (if one exists). It may or may not be being updated as new material comes online.

Probably the best of the season is the History of the Brain series of which five of the ten programmes have been broadcast at the time of writing and which are all available on a single permanent podcast page.

You could go to the separate and unlinked programme information page that has a few more details and the streamed audio but I’d advise against it as it’ll only encourage them.

The one-off Mind Myths and Life Scientific programmes, the latter featuring neuroscientist Colin Blakemore, have to be downloaded from their respective podcast pages (here and here) but if you read try the page months after the broadcast date you’ll have to click ‘Show all episodes’ and scroll down to find the episode from the entire list.

The awesome looking programme The Lobotomists apparently won’t be released as a podcast at all, so unless you live in the UK and can catch it on the streaming service within the next two weeks, you’ll have to stick up your arse.

We have no idea where the similarly awesome looking series Brain Culture: Neuroscience and Society will turn up after its first broadcast on November 15th. Probably the B-side of a rare 1973 James Brown recording that has only recently become available after copies were found in the basement of the original recording studio.

Radio 4 also has a page with interviews and profiles of some of the scientists featured in the series but you can’t find out which are specifically linked to the brain season so you’ll have to…

Hang on a minute. GET ORFF MOY LAAAND YOU BLEEDIN’ BURDS!

Link to brain season blog post page.

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