Taking Baby Steps to a Technology Hiatus

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Laura

Whenever I’ve heard people talk about how they turn off their computer for the weekend, or don’t answer emails at night, I was overwhelmed at the thought of trying it myself — what would I miss? How many parties?! emergencies?! calls from Publishers Clearinghouse?! Now I see I can wade in slowly and see that “the water’s fine” or that this is not a lifestyle choice that’s right for me.

This little-by-little approach came from a piece I just read in the May “O” magazine which I can’t find online so I’ll summarize here. Leelee Sobieski’s (star of NYC22 on CBS) point is that you’re never really alone with someone — there’s always the answering machine recording a message in the next room, or phone vibrations signaling a new email or text. Continue reading →

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Reinventing the Present Through the “Adjacent Possible”

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Laura

After two 6-hour flights with 3 kids old enough to entertain themselves, I plowed through a lot of reading — a lot of books in the field of creativity, innovation, time management, leadership and the like. I’ll share some of the concepts that to me seemed particularly doable and relevant to the Give Me 10! principles of making progress a little at a time.

Today’s concept is from Steven Johnson’s book “Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation”. There were a handful of good takeaways that I will pass on in this and future posts… Continue reading →

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“I Can Handle This” as self-soothing device

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Laura

Last week I was heading out of town today at 2. At 2pm the day before, my friend called to say she couldn’t take care of our dog. Not the easiest monkey-wrench to fix 24 hours before departure. My first reaction was panic — how could I arrange to fly with him, or find a dog walker or kennel in that amount of time. I tend to prefer the “thorough analysis” method of decision-making — 24 hours is not enough time to brood, lament and research. Continue reading →

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Adding a Dab of “Grace” to Life’s Pressure Points

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Laura

My friend, Gigi, gave me some “amazing grace” perfume for my birthday. The company (named philosophy) has a motto I like as much as the fragrance. Here’s what they say on their packaging…

“philosophy: how you climb up the mountain is just as important as how you get down the mountain. and, so it is with life, which for many of us becomes one big gigantic test followed by one big gigantic lesson. in the end, it all comes down to one word. grace. it’s how you accept winning and losing, good luck and bad luck, the darkness and the light.”

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“Pay Yourself First” — true for time management, too

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Laura

The concept of paying yourself first has long been a sound piece of advice from financial planners — the suggestion being to pay your savings account before you spend on clothes, dinners out and other discretionary items. Makes sense — no matter how much we plan to save, if we don’t do it right away, as soon as we have the cash, then it will be gone forever.

I’ve noticed that’s true for me with my time, as well — if I don’t do what’s important early in the day, the day can fly by without it getting done. Continue reading →

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Overcoming the Roadblock of “Expectations”

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Laura

I read this quote on RealSimple.com recently — “Most people see what they want to, or at least what they expect to” by Martha Grimes. Most of us have seen the first half, but the second half was new for me. I never quite agreed with the first half — being a deep-down “half-empty” girl, I don’t see hearts and flowers wherever I go. But that “expect” part is right on the money. Continue reading →

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Everyone Has a Job — I Have to Remember to Stick to Mine

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Laura

My go-to comfort role is “supporter” — which is not always a good thing. I spend too much time doing other people’s jobs because I’m right there; or I have the time; or I feel guilty leaving a crummy job for someone else to do. This probably means that my kids are not as independent as perpahs they should be by now; I give time to things that are not as valuable as what I would have done otherwise; and I am not the best delegator. Continue reading →

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What Can We Learn from the Work World?

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Laura

J. Howard Miller

Working moms often say that working is in some ways easier than being a stay-at-home mom. This has always perplexed me — how can it be easier to have TWO full-time jobs than one? But I wonder if part of it is related to how we manage our time at work and put some structure around our days.

I’m interested in your perspective — what can we learn from “work” habits and culture and adapt them to the rest of life?

 

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Saving on Utility Bills — take 10 minutes to reset the thermostat

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Laura

The last two months’ gas bills were atrocious — almost 8 times higher than pre-heat months. I was shocked and appalled. So we re-set the thermostats to 2 degrees lower during the day and at night. Well, the bill just arrived and we cut it in half! Who knew it was that easy? These are totally unscientific findings but that’s basically all we did. And threw on an extra blanket at night and sweater during the day.

What else can we do — our new goal is cutting it even more?!

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The Benefits of a Change of Venue

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Laura

This was my view!

I am writing this from high atop a hotel restaurant/lounge near my house. I’m just a mile from home, but a world away, at least mentally. I wanted to work (writing, desk work, reading) but thought I’d like to get out of the house. I hesitated to make the trek — coordinating getting out of the house; putting on a modicum of makeup; packing up everything I’d need; and then the commute time which I’d anticipated more than a half hour round trip but really only turned out to be about 10 minutes each way. All those time sinks made me think I’d do just as well working from home. Continue reading →

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