The Dragon Slayer's Guide to Life

Balancing Inner and Outer Life: Fine Points for Maintaining Your Energy

The more I reflect on this Washington post article sent to me by Dick Rowan, the more sense it makes to me. I think it holds a key to something that has perplexed me about myself for years...why I go into funks periodically that I can't quite explain. As you probably can gather if you spend any time at all here, I'm a woman with many interests and I'm grateful for having a mind and body fit enough to pursue so many of them.

As my husband will emphatically attest, I have never fully grasped the concept of being one person with a finite number of hours in a day. No matter how I orchestrate my schedule and how efficient I become I just can't get to everything I would love to do.

That used to be a source of stress for me. When would I do my photography if I am learning massage and when will we practice our Latin Ballroom dance and I have a schedule cookie baking with Monique and I wanted to get those tomotoes canned....

You get the picture.

A concept to abandon? Life Balance

Honestly, I have tried for years to balance my life, but I am realizing now that balance goes against my grain, fundamentally. The truth is, I'm more into full contact living. I mean, what do I want to balance and with what? Do you want to read balanced poetry? Have balance sex? Experience balanced grief? Balanced joy?

I don't know how one would do that, or why.

In fact, I think balance goes against the concept of integration, when it comes down to it. When I am fully engaged in life, the fact is that all of me shows up...mind, body, spirit. Whether I'm pulling poison ivy (soon, my pretties, soon), or writing a poem (also starting to bubble up), working with a client (which often ends up with me walking around while I'm talking as the energy gets going). Whenever I'm in flow I'm completely there.

Your thoughts?

Manage Your In-Box Once and For All

I can recommend another solid, short and sweet post from Jay Sennett on managing e-mail.  E-mail management is absolutely one of the biggest sources of inefficiency for many of the people I work with, and a great delay tactic for dealing with more substantive and challenging work. If you haven't yet tamed your own in-box, Jay offers some very simple and direct suggestions that may help significantly.

Getting Clear on Your Priorities in the New Year

This is a great post by Jay Sennett for all of you tempted to search for yet another fool proof organizing system so you can REALLY be organized and have a rockin' year.  He challenges some assumptions he has made about how life is supposed to look for himself and takes an honest look at whether what he SAYS he values is actually being reflected in his actions. If you have a tendency to drift back into work every time you have unstructured time and if you, frankly, haven't got a clue about whether your life is balanced or not (If you love what you do and then do it all the time, is that balance?) you might want to zip over and give it a little look see.

The cartoon alone will give some of you a (much needed?) zing.

Want To Be More Productive? Take a Recess Break!

This installment is from guest blogger, Rosie.  I highly recommend her as a massage therapist if you are in the Chicago area.

"I'm late... I'm late... for a very important date!"

You are probably familiar with this quote from the popular book by Lewis Carroll, and the Disney animated feature, "Alice In Wonderland". You might even identify with the frenzied White Rabbit's famous mantra on a regular basis. How often do you, like the rest of American society, find that you are constantly on the go, constantly having to shuffle from one place, one meeting, one appointment, to another? Maybe you feel like the traffic signal of your personal life is chronically stuck on green with no yellow or red light to let you slow down or catch your breath.

Getting Things Done Got You Overwhelmed?

I know the GTD process can be daunting, especially when you start to think of the amount of stuff you have to gather from every nook and cranny during the collection phase.  I received an e-mail from a client today who finally cracked the nut and she is in a better place than she has been in months as a result.  With her permission I am reprinting it for you here, if you need a "tale from the trenches" to help you buckle down and Get Things Done.  Trust me, if you really use this system it is astounding how effective it is and how much you will be able to get done with energy you never knew you could have.  I've been using this religiously now and it is truly blowing my mind how transformative it has been for this "monkey with a revolver." (6/27/07: This client has continued to use this system for several weeks since this original post with continued success.)

Oh, David Allen, Could it be I'm falling in looove witcha baaabaay?

Dammit. Move over Johnny Depp. I think I've fallen in love with David Allen. 

I'll admit it, I am a convert to the whole Getting Things Done thing despite ragging on it earlier.

Top Ten Reasons I am impressed with GTD:

How Knowing Your Values Simplifies Your Life

This article is especially important for you creatives and non-linear, entrepreneurial or multi-talented folks out there. 

Have you ever tried to organize your life on paper?  I do this periodically when I need a good laugh.  You know, you put EVERYTHING down. All those "100 goals" lists and maybe you get fancy, like I do, color coding everything...purple is for business, green is for self care, red is for the web...and then once you think you have all the crystals in the kaleidoscope-that-is-you out on the page you try to figure out how to do those crystals justice by figuring out when and how you are going to do all this stuff you are now envisioning.

I have a tip for you that will save you lots of time.

Too Much Computer Time or Work at Home? Another Cool Tool

You know you need a good shoulder rub right about now with all your surfin' and maybe you don't have a massage therapist right there.  If you could only...just...reach...that...spot.

Now you can!

A massage therapist friend of mine has turned me on to Bongers.

What are Bongers?

BONGERS are traditional massage tools in Japan. They’re good for breaking down muscle tension and stimulating circulation.

Most people store tension in their neck and shoulders, and that’s usually where BONGERS are most effective. Their flexible shafts do all the work, so you can BONG indefinitely without a lot of effort.

They won't break the bank and they will go far to breaking up that...knot...right...ohhhh yeahhhh....

Overcoming Procrastination

Procrastination is a complex psychological behavior that affects everyone to some degree or another. With some it can be a minor problem; with others it is a source of considerable stress and anxiety. Procrastination is only remotely related to time management, (procrastinators often know exactly what they should be doing, even if they cannot do it), which is why very detailed schedules usually are no help.

The Study Skills Library at California Polytechnic State University has a great article on procrastination (and remember, it's not just for students anymore!).  They discuss simple and complex reasons for procrastination as well as strategies for overcoming.

Go check it out.  No, not later.   :  )

Want a little help with accountability? Wellspring Coaching