Posts tagged #organization

You are what you do. #habits

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle

Hmm? So what is Aristotle talking about? Let’s go there, habits are the small actions you take and the decision you make every day.  Research by Duke University scientists suggests that habits account for about 40% of what we do on any given day.  I think the other 60% is driven by the MTA.  But seriously, your Dharma and/or your current life is essentially the sum of your habits.  In other words, your health or your malady is a result of your habits; your joy or fear is a result of your habits; your alignment with your Dharma or sense of failure is a result of your habits.

40%.

What you are repeatedly thinking about and doing each day creates the persona that you display to the world, your beliefs and who you are.  Everything I teach starts with better habits: my yoga teachings through abhyasa (repeated practice over a long period of time to obtain spiritual connectivity), my organization coaching through performing repetitive tasks to obtain productivity and my yoga health coaching through daily aligned routines.  All habits.  When you learn why you are doing what you are doing, you can learn to transform your habits and you can transform your life.

Best Habits Reads

  • The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg – After seeing it on every subway rider under the age of 30, I gave in.  Totally worth it!!!
  • Any Article by James Clear – my habit go to guru – he does all the research and his science base approach is nerdy galore.

To explore more and playfully engage into your personal prophesy, you can come or call in to the next DHARMA SESSIONS – a free workshop about clarity and practicality!   You’ll explore technologies like Yoga, Ayurveda, Professional Organization, A Course in Miracles and Yoga Health Coaching to design the lifestyle that will help you thrive in your career, creative endeavors and relationships.  
 

Posted on April 27, 2018 by Eduardo Martinez and filed under wellness, Yoga, Organization and tagged dharma yoga meditation yoga organization habits.

Spring Clean Your Concept of Time or how to dismiss your time scarcity problems

Listen to this post instead - it's quick and more fun...

I don’t have five seconds to spare!

Is this what it’s come down to? I have to ask myself as I read a study suggesting that we, internet dwellers, tend to abandon downloading a file if it’s taking more than five seconds.  Five seconds! Quack, I remember having to walk 15 minutes to my aunt C’s home to consult her Encyclopedia Britannica just to finish my homework.  OK this makes me old, but it also tells me that if these days I don’t have five seconds to spare, there is something wrong with the way I’m living my life.

Why do we feel rushed? Why are we so busy? We got services and technologies to help us expedite almost anything from laundry to cooking.  Our technology is so advanced that we can almost instantly share documents, videos and pictures with anyone around the world.

So here is a truth, it isn’t about having less time, but how we perceive and use time.  

This quote from Albert Einstein illustrates the issue “an hour sitting with a pretty girl on a park bench passes like a minute, but a minute sitting on a hot stove seems like an hour.”

Perception is everything.

We’ve been taught that time is money, a fair equation considering that most of us get paid by the hour.  However in doing so we’ve also brought all our money issues and make them time issues.  How we use it, waste it, save it these are the thoughts that pollute our enjoyment of time.

Life is long if we know how to use it.  

If we’re constantly thinking about the scarcity of time, well, we’ll have a hard time finding time. So here is another truth, time isn’t money, it’s nothing more than the space between events.

This is my proposal for Spring cleaning, let’s invest time in those things that make us feel good.  Let’s dust off all those I-don’t-have-time excuses, we got time. Let’s pack away multitasking, we know that when we do one thing at a time, it gets done way faster and we have way more fun.  And let’s clean up our expectations of what we can get done in a day.

We’re going to look for abundance and we’re going to find her.  

As for the rest of the Spring Cleaning, we have a long life to get to it or as De Gracia wrote in 1965 “Lean back under a tree, put your arms behind your head,  smile and remember that the beginnings and ends of man’s every great enterprise are untidy.”

Posted on April 10, 2017 by Eduardo Martinez and filed under design, inspiration, Organization, Spirituality, wellness and tagged Spring cleaning organization time management overwhelmed.

A Veggie Keeper worth Keeping

So you've decided to start planning your meals and prepping your food ahead of time. Yay!  You're pump, you head to your local market and, of course, get tons of veggies, you're in it to win it!  

Then after a few days your enthusiasm gets beaten down by spoiled berries and  wilted spinach leaves.  Part of engineering the lifestyle that you deserve, is planning for those moments that may set you back.  In the scenario above, as part of prepping your food, doing a little research on how to keep vegetables fresh, specially the green leafy ones,  longer may be the key to keep you on track to a healthy eating path.

In terms of making  your fresh vegetables last longer and help your pocket, Progressive International's Prepworks Fresh Fruit & Veggie Keeper is hands down the best thing I've added to my prep routine in the last decade.  I attest that this container not only extend the life of produce, but because unlike the crowded produce drawer or opaque containers, these clear vessels display your produce in a way that makes it even more enticing! And yes, these are BPA-free.  It is especially useful for highly perishable produce, including dark leafy greens, lettuces, and fresh herbs, berries, and grapes. I’ve also used them for sprouts.  Did I mention that it also serves as a colander and it comes with a divider?  It is like kitchen sorcery, I tell you.  

No excuses go and get your greens!

 

 

Posted on February 3, 2017 by Eduardo Martinez and filed under cooking, inspiration, Organization and tagged best vegetable keeper kitchen kitchen tool food prep planning organization.

Eliminate Surfaces and conquer clutter

As true as gravity will keep your ass from floating in space, so will empty flat surfaces accumulate clutter in your home or office.  That is because clear surfaces provide unstructured, hook-free, often-vertically-unlimited storage. If you don’t believe me, go ahead make a clear surface–table, desk, counter-top, or even inside a drawer–and see how long it takes for it to get cluttered up with all varieties of stuff: unopened mail, brochures, dog leashes, pencil sharpeners, etc.   Our brains seem to be telling us "don’t know where to put this crap, stack it on that table, sure you'll get to it soon."

Here is another truth that will help you deal with this issue, clear surfaces tend to be magnets for stuff we don’t need, use or even want. These clear surfaces are especially useful for holding stuff we don’t want to deal with. Why do you think that “to table” something means to postpone the issue?

If you are looking to de-clutter and simplify your home, try removing a surface or two–one less end table, even one less dresser.  If this is too much for your cluttered mind, create limits on the surfaces you have by adding a small tray or small basket to collect your precious I-don't-want-to-deal-with-this stuff (hint...smaller the tray, the smaller the clutter).  Without easy places to deposit and pile stuff, we often find ourselves compelled to deal with it (or toss it on the floor, I guess, but tripping on it will force you to deal with it).


Posted on October 10, 2014 by Eduardo Martinez and filed under cleaning, design, inspiration, Living spaces, Organization and tagged storage organized spaces organization office organization office clutter.

Find out who you are by eliminating clutter - Office

One of my sweet students sent me an article from the Boston Globe titled Free yourself by letting go of the clutter in your home, office, and finances, the article is about balancing your finances and it points to a book written by Gail Blanke- “Throw Out Fifty Things: Clear the Clutter, Find Your Life." I am sure the book explains why "fifty" is the magic number, but I haven't read the book.  I do love the idea to start with a random number.  Engineering school taught me to analyze numbers and patterns, but it  also taught me  to trust numbers that don't quite make sense because at the end of the day you are looking for results (my Catholic upbringing just reinforced this methodology).   I've counseled hundreds of folks in how to organize a space and the most difficult part of the process is editing one's belongings.  I know it is very difficult, I struggle myself with parting from items I've attached myself out of nostalgia or out of fear.  So this is an experiment on how to free oneself of material things that aren't serving one's life anymore and I know for a fact that the process can become a metaphor to embrace the present and face one's fears.

As an unscientific experiment,I will throw out fifty items. Yes, I will become the subject of this experiment as I downsize my already pocket-size belongings in hope that the process will help you cope with the editing process of simplifying your life into a richer and healthier one.  If it doesn't do that, at least I hope it brings a smile to your day.

I am going to start with my Office Space.

So where do I  start?  I need to get rid of 50 things, so I guess as any good editor I am gonna look at every item in my office and ask  how is this item contributing to my work?

I think the key here is the active verb, contributing as supposed to contributed.  Many times I hold on to the stories in my head of how wonderful a book was, how nice a workshop was , and how one day I will use that stationary again.   Embracing who I am today means honoring those items that helped me move forward.  I need to trust that I don't need "the story" that the item evokes and let it  go from that place of confidence where I am.

- 28  Books:  this was a tough one since these books were not just books I read, these are books that moved me.   I love stories and if I find a good story like in the many novels I've collected through my adulthood I feel that parting with the book will not let me hold on to the story.  This isn't true, these stories will be with me as long as I can recall the connection I had with them.  Public libraries and electronic books are my friend, if I decided to reconnect with any of my favorite books, I know where to find them.  20 books were donated to the Dobbs Ferry Library.  I also have carried with me textbooks since graduating from college.  I sold most of them right after graduations but I kept  a handful after school thinking that I may need them, I never did, but they represented hundreds of dollars and the fear of being wasteful made me hold on to them.  Truth is that no only I never use these books and no one can use them neither.   I can't sell them or donate them, no one wants them.  So holding onto hundred of dollars that can't serve me or anyone else IS wasteful.  8 Textbooks were tossed (yes, no alternative, I even consulted with theater  prop shops).

- 1 Box of envelops,  these 81/2 " x 11" white3 envelops have been with me since college too.  I used them to send resumes to potential employees.  I don't send mass mailing anymore and PDF electronic files is the standard.  Recycled them.

- 1 Day Runner Day Planner; I have been using my iCalendar for two years now, very successfully.  The repeat/end by date function is a huge help and the fact that I can syncronize with my mobile devise is awesome.  Why do I keep this day planner? I spend a lot of time and money creating my personalized day planner, but it is not useful anymore.  Recycled.

- 2 Decks of playing cards.  Last time I used playing cards I was in Vegas, and casinos make playing cards super available.  Tossed.

- 1 Desktop lamp which has been broken for two years.  I thought I could find a small repair shop to help me with this, but I didn't find one or made any effort.  Tossed.

- 2 boxes of postcards collected in coffee shops.  I had the great idea of forwarding these post cards to friends as I thought of them in my often thinking afternoons in coffee shops.  Texting has become then new postcards.  Recycled.

- 8 pens/markers that do not work properly.  I accumulate so many pens and markers that it becomes hard to keep track of which ones are working.  60 seconds of testing, but I know I can pick up a writing devise with total confidence of success.

- 4 File Folders.  These folders contained finished projects with relevant information, which could come handy for me or my clients.   I scanned all the documents, store the electronic copy my DropBox account and shred paper files.  I  have feared that the information will be stolen or lost in the cloud network, but it could have been  stolen and lost in my house or through all the e-mails I have sent.  I surrender to technology...it is indeed a good thing.

- 5 Yoga  DVD.  These were some of my first yoga teachers.  Rodney &  Shiva were there to help me build my yoga practice, they are still in my practice, but I haven't use these DVD's in years.  I can honor their teaching by just donating these to the library.

- 1 Mouse pad.  I haven't use it in three years...bye bye, my friend.

Who am I?  I am space.  I am efficient. I am open to new experiences.   The whole experiment was very difficult to start, but once you start the process, it is relatively simple.  A great side-effect: You will find your mind more open and more willing to let go of thoughts that are not serving you.

Drop me a line if you find this helpful.

Posted on June 25, 2012 by Eduardo Martinez and filed under cleaning, Organization, Spirituality, Uncategorized and tagged declutter office clutter office efficient office organization organization.