I’m striving to create a routine that prioritizes self care. I know I find it much easier to create daily routines than any other frequency. So I’m working on creating a daily routine that encompasses yoga, physical therapy exercises, cardio and/or strength.
Tagged with: exercise, habits, health, routines, yoga with adriene
It’s worth the effort to take a little time at the end of each work day and empty my email inbox. Here are just a few of the benefits I see.
Tagged with: email, habits, productivity
After ten months of a non-empty email inbox, I finally achieved Inbox Zero last week and I’ve managed to clear my inbox every day since. (Because once you get there, it’s easy to clear it, as long as you remain committed.) It seemed like a good day to repeat this blog post I wrote more than five years ago about achieving and maintaining Inbox Zero.
Tagged with: email, habits, worth repeating
I am so excited for this January’s 30-day at-home yoga journey with the fabulous Adriene Mischler Yoga with Adriene. This year’s theme is CENTER. As always, her adorable companion Benji, an Australian Cattle Dog, will be by her side.
Tagged with: adriene mishler, exercise, habits, routines, yoga, yoga with adriene
We’re having a great time hanging out and catching up. And we’re even learning a thing or two from one another. One thing that Larry’s really impressed me with his daily habit of doing pull ups. Larry is a slender, strong 63-year-old man. He’s genetically inclined to being slender but he also has muscles. And now I know why.
I’m a HUGE fan of Adriene Mishler’s Yoga with Adriene YouTube channel. Encouraged by my niece back in late 2018, I’ve been doing yoga semi-regularly (I went more than a year without missing a day!) and one of my goals for 2022 is to weave yoga into my daily routine so that daily yoga becomes effortless. (You can read Nine Things I Love About Yoga with Adriene if you’d like to learn more.)
Tagged with: adriene mishler, exercise, habits, routines, yoga, yoga with adriene
I started my Peace of Mind Organizing blog on November 10, 2006 with a post called What is organized? In the 15 years since, I’ve published 1532 posts (including my Worth Repeating posts, where I revisit favorite posts).
Around here, school started this week for many kids. I don’t have kids, but I know this is a time of transition for many parents (and children, of course). Throw in the uncertainty of the pandemic and perhaps it feels a little stressful.
Tagged with: back to school, habits, routines
I love the feeling of an empty inbox. The goal of Inbox Zero can feel elusive. For some people it may feel impossible. Not for me. I’ll admit, it’s a wagon I fall off frequently. But once I get back to Inbox Zero, it feels so good.
Tagged with: email, habits, productivity
I’ve been doing yoga every day for over a year. I went from April 1, 2020 to May 12, 2021 without missing a single day. Then travel disrupted my routine and I broke the chain. But yoga is so beneficial that I got right back into it and I can count the number of days I’ve missed on one hand. I wrote this post about a year ago. Since then, my love for Yoga with Adriene has only grown.
Tagged with: adriene mishler, exercise, habits, routines, worth repeating, yoga, yoga with adriene
In early 2021, I came upon a new method that has been so successful for me that I wanted to share. I heard about the book, The Five Minute Journal, which provides a space to briefly reflect on gratitude by answering the same questions each day. I borrowed the questions from that book and made them into a Trello card that is on my Daily Task Management Board.
Tagged with: daily habits, gratitude, habits, trello
I’ve had an on-again-off-again relationship with Inbox Zero. I’ve blogged in the past about the glory of Inbox Zero and how I’ve achieved it. Yet I invariably fall of the wagon. That usually happens when I’m stressed or busy or otherwise unfocused. But when I am in a headspace to be decisive, I can achieve the elusive empty inbox at the end of the day.
Tagged with: email, habits, productivity
I’m a gigantic fan of Adriene Mishler, the amazing woman behind Yoga with Adriene. I was really excited yesterday when Adriene announced her next 30-day yoga journey. She does this every January. It’s a 30-day practice, one video released per day, created around a theme.
Tagged with: adriene mishler, exercise, habits, routines, yoga, yoga with adriene
I can’t believe it. Today, I celebrate 14 years of blogging. I started my Peace of Mind Organizing blog on November 10, 2006. My first post was, What is organized?
Keeping up with the snail mail is a challenge for a lot of my client. Sometimes it goes unopened for days or weeks. I had a couple of experiences this week that made me grateful that I make a habit of opening the mail every day. (For some reason, I’ve always loved opening mail, so it’s not a hardship.)
Tagged with: clutter, habits, mail, paper management, paper piles
Since I’ve had fewer demands on my time, I have been able to incorporate yoga into my daily routine. I am so grateful for that. This morning, when I finished my practice, I jotted down some of the things I love about doing yoga, particularly doing it with Adriene. I thought I’d share them with you in hopes that I might inspire you to give it a go!
Tagged with: adriene mishler, exercise, habits, routines, yoga, yoga with adriene
During this worldwide coronavirus crisis, B.J. Fogg and his Tiny Habits coaches have created a series of free zoom classes addressing ways to use tiny habits to address various challenges this crisis brings up. You can see the list of upcoming classes to register for (there are 17 currently) and also, on the same page, find links to recordings of more than a dozen previous classes. Last night I watched the recorded class Tiny Habits for Cultivating Gratitude and this afternoon I’m planning to participate in the live class, Tiny Celebrations for Staying Upbeat. Friday I’m registered for Tiny Habits to Help Your Supplies Last Longer.
Tagged with: bj fogg, coronavirus, habits, tiny habits
If you, like me, find yourself paying more attention to your computer and mobile devices than real life and non-digital activities, the geniuses at Stanford University, led by B.J. Fogg of Tiny Habits fame, have a free tool that can give you some tools to cut down on your screen time.
Tagged with: b.j. fogg, habits, social media
Daily effort and 30-day challenges are great. But if you miss a day, don’t let it shake you off your path. Breaking the chain doesn’t mean you failed or are incapable of doing the thing every day. It doesn’t mean you can’t create great habits. It just means that the next day you might want to make doing the thing a priority. It’s okay to break the chain, particularly if you get right back on your path.
Tagged with: commitment, don't break the chain, habits
I first published this post in 2014. Back then I belonged to a gym. Nowadays, most of my exercise (aside from walking my dog and working with my clients) involves doing at-home yoga. And the similarities still resonate with me!
Tagged with: decluttering, exercise, habits, take action, worth repeating
Yesterday I had an unexpected day at my desk because of a winter storm and I spent some time getting my inbox under control. It was fairly painless. I started the morning with 267 messages in my inbox, 18 of them unread. (I use my Mac’s email client—the one with the icon of a postage stamp—on my desktop.) I decided that I wanted to get my inbox down to 20 messages and I wanted to do it swiftly. Here’s what I did.
Tagged with: email, habits, productivity
Today marks two months of daily yoga. It’s gone from an obligation to keep a commitment I made with myself to a something I look forward to every day, even on days when I feel tired. Adriene Mishler, the instructor, is a kind, loving and funny person. She always expresses her love for her viewers at the end of a session, and I found myself whispering “I love you” back to her the other day. Adriene makes me feel good about myself.
Tagged with: adriene mishler, exercise, habits, routines, yoga, yoga with adriene
In years past, I’ve blogged about how difficult it is for me to keep an exercise routine going. I’m not typically someone who needs to lose weight and my work is pretty active, but I know, intellectually, the importance of regular exercise, particularly in the aging process.
On November 10, this blog turned 12. My first blog post, called What is organized?, was published November 10, 2006. I’m really grateful that my website designer, Nora Brown, suggested I start a blog. In the 12 years, I’ve written over 1200 posts, which at an average 450 words per post is a whole lot of words.
In the past I’ve been able to maintain an Inbox Zero habit for my email and have blogged a lot about how great it is. I truly believe it’s one of the best things I do for my sanity.
Last week, my desk got out of control. I had a leather in tray that was overflowing, despite my having gone through it recently. I had a busy client week and spent what time I was at my desk dealing with urgent items. Look how bad it got. (I’m not proud of this picture.)
Tagged with: clutter, decluttering, desk, habits
I’ve written before about the benefits of emptying my inbox every day. Inbox Zero feels like an unachievable—or perhaps even undesirable—goal to some. But I know from my experience that when I can empty my inbox each day I am more on top of my work life. And that makes me not only more productive, but happier.
Tagged with: email, habits, inbox zero, task management, time management, todoist
I’ve posted here before about how I achieve Inbox Zero. For years, I had an Inbox Zero habit, so that at the end of the workday, there would be no emails in my inbox. I have to admit that this year I let it slide. In recent months, my goal was 20 emails in my inbox at the end of the day, rather than zero. That proved to be an unsatisfactory goal—I never had the thrill of an empty inbox. Until recently.
Back on June 1, I wrote about the power of the 30-day challenge and created an ambitious list of eight things I wanted to do every day for 30 days.
Tagged with: challenges, genealogy, habits, routines
This month, my personal theme is discipline and I’ve been working hard to keep up with the 30-day challenges I set out for myself on June 1. It’s going well. I’m particularly proud of the fact that I’ve done at least 30 minutes of genealogy research daily and that I’ve blogged four times a week (twice on this blog, twice on Organize Your Family History) every week this month.
Tagged with: challenges, habits, productivity, routines, task list, time management
There’s something about the first day of the month that makes me want to make 30-day commitments. So this morning, I created a list of things I intend to do each day for the 30 days of June. In the interest of public accountability, I’ll post them here:
Tagged with: challenges, genealogy, habits, routines
Today I’m taking some inspiration from a blog post I wrote almost three years ago. I wish I could tell you that my bureau has only three things on it today, but the truth is there’s a little bit of clutter. This weekend I’m going to clear it off and get it back to the state that is pictured! Then I’m sure it will be easier for me to keep it clear.
Tagged with: clean bureau, clean desk, decluttering, goals, habits, routines, worth repeating
I wrote this post in October 2014 and I think it’s worth posting again. Over the couple of years, I’ve really noticed that what I decide to do first in the morning is the thing that actually gets done. I’ll blog, if blogging is a priority. Sometimes I make sure to do family history research first (because sometimes that’s a priority). I’m happy to be posting this at 8 am, so I can move on to a great day!
I don’t know about you, but if my mornings don’t go well, the rest of the day usually follows suit. I’m a morning person and I typically can get a lot done in the morning. But if I don’t, it’s hard to reboot the day and make up for it in the afternoon.
Tagged with: blogging, habits, routines, time management, worth repeating
A few years ago, Shannon Wilkinson and I teamed up to teach a teleclass on how to actually do the stuff you set out to do every year. We shared the reasons resolutions don’t work, and more importantly, we talked about how to change that. We gave tips and strategies and guided participants through helpful exercises so they experienced a new way of approaching their resolutions and goals.
Tagged with: goals, habits, resolutions, shannon wilkinson
I’m struck by how similar our email inboxes are to physical clutter. Many people deal with physical clutter, but I bet even those who manage to keep a tidy home have email inbox clutter.
Tagged with: clutter, clutter clearing, email, habits, productivity
Ten years ago today, I published my first blog post, called What is organized? It feels like I’ve been blogging forever, but at the same time, those ten years went by quickly!
I openly admit that I have been an email hoarder. I abandoned my emails on my old Windows computer when I switched to the Mac in 2008. And since then I had a tendency to hang on to all emails that might possibly come in handy some day.
Tagged with: clutter, clutter clearing, email, habits, productivity
It always amazes me how even the most engrained habits can fall by the wayside through a shift of routine. The silver lining is that once we’ve created a good habit it’s easier to get back into it than starting from scratch.
For five years, I’ve been extolling the virtues of my Inbox Zero policy. Honestly, emptying my email inbox is one of the best things I do to stay on top of all the aspects of my business.
Tagged with: backlog, backsliding, email, habits
On November 10, 2006, I wrote my first blog post on this website. 1,080 blog posts later, I’m celebrating my 9th blogiversary.
I love doing genealogy research, but I often have trouble finding time to do it. Because it’s seldom urgent, it falls to the bottom of the priority list, like so many enjoyable things. Since I blog at my other blog, Organize Your Family History, it’s important for me to do the research so I have genealogy-related things to blog about. But, as I said, it can be a challenge to find time.
Tagged with: commitment, don't break the chain, exercise, habits
As I wrote two weeks ago, I’ve fallen behind on a number of things, including my Inbox Zero habit. But last Wednesday I got my inbox down to zero messages once again. It felt so great—like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. It’s been a huge boon to my productivity and I’ve emptied each day since. I was going to write a new post about Inbox Zero and then realized that I’d have a hard time improving on the one I wrote this past November. So here it is.
Tagged with: aby garvey, accountability, email, habits, productivity
I wrote this post a couple of years ago, but I really needed it today. I’m once again a bit behind on my Quickbooks data entry and have entered a recurring daily task in my task-manager app to spend 15 minutes working on the backlog. This post is strengthening my resolve to get caught up a little at a time.
Sometimes projects, big or small, feel too overwhelming to even start. Sometimes tasks are ongoing or recurring and we have a tendency to let them build up before starting to tackle them.
Tagged with: 15 minutes, habits, productivity, time management, worth repeating
A few years ago, I wrote a post about how I was able to create a habit of doing an unpleasant (but necessary) task by linking it to something I was already doing. (That habit was cleaning up the back yard after my dog.)
I originally wrote and published this post in February 2011. I’m happy to say that my internal barriers to doing Quickbooks have pretty much vanished, though I still have some trouble making it a priority. (But at least I don’t dread it.) Perhaps you have some internal barriers that are getting in your way. If so, I hope you’ll find this helpful.
Tagged with: change agent, emotions, empowerment, habits, products, shannon wilkinson, worth repeating
A few years ago, Shannon Wilkinson and I teamed up to teach a teleclass on how to actually do the stuff you set out to do every year. We shared the reasons resolutions don’t work, and more importantly, we talked about how to change that. We gave tips and strategies and guided participants through helpful exercises so they experienced a new way of approaching their resolutions and goals.
Tagged with: goals, habits, resolutions, shannon wilkinson
I strive every day to whittle my email inbox down to zero. It’s a strategy that has worked well for me for going on four years.
Tagged with: clean desk, email, habits, routines
Yesterday I had a lovely Thanksgiving. It’s my favorite holiday and I think it’s just wonderful that we take time off as a nation to celebrate gratitude. It got me thinking about how grateful I am for a habit I developed in January of 2011. For almost four years, I’ve been clearing out my email inbox, taking it to zero (or near zero) virtually every weekday.
Tagged with: aby garvey, accountability, email, habits, productivity
On November 10, 2006 I posted my first blog post. Today, I’m posting my 992nd.
Eight years of blogging feels like something to be proud of. I started the blog at the advice of my web designer, Nora Brown. Originally, my purpose was to allow my clients to get to know me before hiring me. (Since I’m not born organized, I didn’t want them expecting a super-organized perfectionist to arrive at their door.)
Tagged with: blogging, blogs, habits, social media
Back in 2010, I discovered personal kanban , a system of visual task management that I used for awhile. In a nutshell, I divided a large whiteboard into three sections, Backlog, Doing, and Done. Then I’d use Post-It® notes to write down individual tasks and move them through the process.
Tagged with: habits, personal kanban, productivity, routines, task management, time management
I don’t know about you, but if my mornings don’t go well, the rest of the day usually follows suit. I’m a morning person and I typically can get a lot done in the morning. But if I don’t, it’s hard to reboot the day and make up for it in the afternoon.
So I got to thinking today about optimal ways for me to spend my valuable morning time. And I also thought about strategies for getting right to it in the morning.
Tagged with: blogging, habits, routines, time management
I was out of town for five days in mid-September. I’ve been back a week and I still don’t have my mojo back.
Tagged with: clean desk, email, habits, routines, self-care, task list, travel
I hope I don’t shock you when I share with you that, until recently, I never made my bed. Here’s why: My husband typically gets up after me, so by the time he was up and around my day had begun and I didn’t give my bed another thought. At bedtime, I’d pull the sheets and blanket up so that we could comfortably sleep in it, but throughout the day it was unmade. No big deal. But certainly not beautiful.
Tagged with: bed, clean desk, gretchen rubin, habits, keys
If you click on the clean bureau tag to left on this blog, you’ll see that pretty much every year one of my goals is to put my clothes away properly at night and keep the top of the bureau clear.
Tagged with: clean bureau, clean desk, decluttering, goals, habits, routines
I’ve had my struggles with getting myself to exercise over the years and I’ve detailed some of them on this blog. The bottom line for me is that I’m pretty fit and pretty slender without going to the gym, so getting myself to go has been challenging, since I don’t enjoy it that much.
Tagged with: decluttering, exercise, habits, take action
We all know, intellectually, how important it is to be active, rather than sedentary. I did a quick Google search and found my way to the Johns Hopkins website, where I found these risk factors for cardiovascular disease and other conditions associated with inactivity:
Tagged with: exercise, habits, shannon wilkinson
I’m thrilled to be one of the three productivity experts interviewed for a story on FastCompany.com call 6 Simple Habits That Can Save You Hours.
Tagged with: emily schwartz, fast company, habits, julie morgenstern, press, stephanie vozza
It’s January 10. How are the resolutions you sent working out for you? If you need a little extra support, you can still get $5 off Why Resolutions Don’t Work—And How to Get What You Want Anyway, the kit created by Shannon Wilkinson (my Declutter Happy Hour partner) and me.
Tagged with: goals, habits, resolutions, shannon wilkinson
As part of its Operation Organization campaign this month, Springpad is partnering with an elite list of organization professionals to launch exclusive, customized Springpad notebooks that include ideas, information and recommendations from these experts. You can find all of the notebooks at organize.springpad.com.
Tagged with: genealogy, habits, springpad, task management
A few years ago, Shannon Wilkinson and I teamed up to teach a teleclass on how to actually do the stuff you set out to do every year. We shared the reasons resolutions don’t work, and more importantly, we talked about how to change that. We gave tips and strategies and guided participants through helpful exercises so they experienced a new way of approaching their resolutions and goals.
Tagged with: goals, habits, resolutions, shannon wilkinson
For me, the start of a new year is a great time to take stock and figure out which new habits I’d like to create. For the last couple of years, I’ve written blog posts this time of year detailing the habits I want to create. (I like thinking in terms of habits, rather than resolutions.)
Tagged with: clean bureau, goals, habits, knitting, resolutions
I’ve been away from home about a week visiting family in Washington state. After a couple of half-days of travel, I’ll be home on Saturday. This blog post, which I wrote a couple of years ago at the end of the trip, reflects how I still feel about getting back into the swing of things. I’m happy to say that I didn’t leave my office in such disarray this time, but I am coming to a full week of client appointments. My routines will keep me sane!
Tagged with: 15 minutes, habits, routines, travel, worth repeating
Last July, I cleared off my very cluttered computer desktop. As I wrote then, it took only 50 minutes and I did it while flying on an airplane.
Tagged with: clean desk, computer desktop, habits
I’ll be celebrating three years of routinely clearing out my email inbox come January. I wrote this nuts-and-bolts post about how I do it in January 2012, after I’d been practicing this habit for a year. Now, more than a year and a half later, nothing’s changed. I use the same procedures and I’m still in love with this habit, which make my life unequivocally better.
Tagged with: aby garvey, accountability, email, habits, productivity, worth repeating
Sometimes projects, big or small, feel too overwhelming to even start. Sometimes tasks are ongoing or recurring and we have a tendency to let them build up before starting to tackle them.
For either of those types of projects, one solution is to do a little. Just do something. Because a little effort on a regular basis will get the job done, eventually.
Tagged with: 15 minutes, habits, productivity, time management
I’ve long been a fan of Gretchen Rubin and her Happiness Project.
She was one of the fantastic speakers at the World Domination Summit I attended in July. Her topic was self-knowledge and how being aware of who you are makes happiness much easier to achieve. It was fascinating and enjoyable.
Tagged with: gretchen rubin, habits, happiness, self knowledge
I know that for a certain number of people, the word “routine” conjures up bad feelings. Used as an adjective, it can mean non-special, ordinary, even boring.
Think about it as a noun, though. Does the idea of having a routines—a group of habits you do one right after the other—seem boring or constraining? I hear that from people sometimes. But in my view, routines are the opposite. They’re almost magical because they make my life so much easier.
Several weeks ago, I subscribed to Revive Your Inbox a free, 21-day program to help you get a handle on your email.
Tagged with: email, habits, productivity
On Friday, I blogged about my desire to clear off my computer desk top every day so that it would be as clean as my physical desk top.
Tagged with: clean desk, computer desktop, habits
I write all the time (most recently, here) about how important it is for me to clear off the top of my desk each evening. That habit, which takes just a few minutes at the end of the day, makes it so much easier for me to function in the morning.
Tagged with: clean desk, computer desktop, habits, lifehacker
While I did finally join a gym, the message of this two-year-old blog post is still worth repeating. Whether it’s exercise, filing, or processing email, doing something is always better than doing nothing.
Some effort is better than no effort. That’s the philosophy I’m embracing at the moment when it comes to exercise. For some reason, I’ve fallen off the exercise bandwagon, despite the fact that I’ve put on a few pounds and so am reminded of the need to exercise on a very regular basis.
Tagged with: exercise, habits, routines, worth repeating
Having great habits and routines is the key to living an easy life. I believe this whole heartedly and I talk to anybody who’ll listen about how important it is to make tasks automatic by creating well-established habits and routines.
In 2011 I created and taught a fun online workshop for Simplify 101 called Simplify Your Life with Habits + Routines. I’m delighted to announce that it’s being offered again, for the fourth time. This session runs from August 15 through September 12. You can sign up now and get early-bird pricing (20 percent off!) through June 26.
Tagged with: aby garvey, habits, routines, workshops
On Wednesdays this summer, I’ll be re-running blog posts from the past. Each week, I’ll pick one that still rings true to me. Here’s this week’s selection.
I’m a messy person. And (clearly) I’m not ashamed of it. You might find it surprising that a professional organizer is messy. But that might be because you think that messy and disorganized are synonymous. Trust me, they’re not.
Tagged with: disorder, habits, order, organized, worth repeating
There must be something in the air. In the four weeks between February 28 and March 28 I have five speaking engagements. You can read all about them on the Events page of this website.
Tagged with: closets, decluttering, habits, routines, speaking
On January 5, 2008, I cleared off my desk. And I kept it cleared off, on a daily basis, for about four years. I’ve blogged about the effort and the rewards of maintaining a clean desk. I’m a huge advocate.
Tagged with: clean desk, habits, motivation, productivity
I’m all about goal setting. And I love doing it this time of year. This week and next, I’m working on taking stock of the year, seeing how well I did with the goals I set last year, and setting new ones for the coming year. I create measurable business-related goals.
Tagged with: clean bureau, email, goals, habits, resolutions, shannon wilkinson
It’s amazing what adaptable creatures humans are. When circumstances change, we change our standards.
Tagged with: adaptability, habits, routines
Since April 24, I’ve been blogging here five days a week. At that time, I made a 30-day commitment to blog daily. That was 105 days ago and haven’t missed a Monday through Friday post, except for Memorial Day.
Tagged with: blogging, commitments, genealogy, habits, organize your family history
As I’ve discussed here before, I’m teaching an online workshop on the fabulous website, Simplify 101, called Simplify Your Life with Habits + Routines. In this three-lesson, four-week workshop, students will learn how to decide on what beneficial habits they’d like to develop, get support and accountability to develop them, and also how to link habits to routines. They’ll also learn how to kick habits that are less beneficial.
In June, I wrote about DailyFeats an interactive website that helps you build daily habits. In a nutshell, you select habits you want to create, check in daily and receive points doing what you say you’ll do. Points are redeemable for gift cards, charitable donations, and deals.
Tagged with: daily feats, guest post, habits, mail
I think creating great habits and routines is the key to the good life. I tell clients that I can help them declutter, but unless they change their behavior—and that typically encompasses establishing new habits and routines—disorder will once again reign.
Tagged with: aby garvey, habits, routines, shannon wilkinson, speaking, workshops
I’ve been enjoying DailyFeats, a website that helps with habit creation. You select the habits you want to create from a whole bunch of options (there are 463 feats to choose from and the list is always growing). The individual feats are then put in your list. Every day you go to the website and click off the feats you’ve accomplished.
Tagged with: daily feats, habits
In 2011 I created and taught a fun online workshop for Simplify 101 called Simplify Your Life with Habits + Routines. I’m delighted that it’s being offered again, for the third time. This session runs from July July 19 through August 16. You can sign up now and get early-bird pricing (20 percent off!) through June 26.
Tagged with: aby garvey, habits, routines, workshops
In April, Shannon Wilkinson and I taught a three-hour in-person workshop in St. Louis called Create Freedom and Ease with Habits and Routines. It was very successful and we enjoyed it so much we wanted to do it again. So now we’re offering it in Portland, Oregon, where Shannon lives, on Friday, August 3.
Tagged with: events, habits, routines, shannon wilkinson, speaking
Today marks 30 days since I took on a 30-day blogging challenge with my friend and collaborator, Shannon Wilkinson. When she was in St. Louis to hold an in-person habits and routines workshop with me, we got to talking about blogging.
Tagged with: blogging, commitments, habits, shannon wilkinson, writing
In January of 2008, I created a habit of clearing off my desk at end of every work day. I blogged about it relentlessly, since it was one of the first daily habits I really managed to create and it had such an impact on my productivity.
Tagged with: clean desk, habits
As I posted a couple of weeks ago, I made a 30-day blogging commitment with my friend, Shannon Wilkinson. We each vowed to blog daily, Monday through Friday, for at least 30 days.
Tagged with: blogging, commitments, habits, shannon wilkinson, writing
My friend and collaborator, Shannon Wilkinson, was in St. Louis last week for a visit. We held the workshop, Create Freedom and Ease with Habits and Routines, did some great bargain shopping at the Scholarshop and had some great discussions about our businesses.
Tagged with: blogging, commitments, habits, shannon wilkinson, writing
I’m really excited to be offering a special in-person workshop with my friend and Declutter Happy Hour partner, the fabulous life coach Shannon Wilkinson.
Tagged with: events, habits, routines, shannon wilkinson, speaking
Last fall I developed and taught a fun online workshop for Simplify 101 called Simplify Your Life with Habits + Routines. I’m delighted that it’s being offered again, February 21 through March 20. You can sign up now and get early-bird pricing (20 percent off!) through January 27.
Tagged with: aby garvey, habits, routines, workshops
It’s been over a year since I started my Inbox Zero habit. On January 2, 2011 I cleared out my email inbox. And, for the most part, it’s been empty at the end of each workday since.
Tagged with: aby garvey, accountability, email, habits, productivity
I’m not so keen on New Year’s Resolutions. I think we tend to make them when we get caught up in the hopeful feelings that a fresh, new year brings. But I think they’re frequently not realistic. And we don’t give them enough time. And when one goes by the wayside, we give up hope on all of them.
Tagged with: aby garvey, clean bureau, clean desk, email, goals, habits, resolutions, shannon wilkinson
If you read this blog with any regularity, you know that I’m practically fanatical about the benefits of good habits and routines.
Tagged with: great day st. louis, habits, routines, television
I’m a huge believer in the value of routines. They keep my life running smoothly. But right now, my routines are all messed up. I was away for a week, attending the ICD conference. Then I was home for four days and too busy to focus on my surroundings. Then I left home for a lovely, relaxing weekend in Nashville with friends.
Tagged with: 15 minutes, aby garvey, habits, routines, travel
I can barely contain my excitement: I can finally announce that I’ll be teaching a fun online workshop for Simplify 101 called Simplify Your Life with Habits + Routines! The workshop will be offered October 4 through November 1. You can sign up now and get early-bird pricing through September 8.
Tagged with: aby garvey, habits, routines, workshops
I think habits and routines are incredibly important for making life easier and achieving what you want. The routines I have created have helped me, a naturally messy person, maintain a semblance of order in my home.
Tagged with: don't break the chain, email, exercise, habits
Organization systems, as well as habits and routines, are usually set up with current circumstances in mind. When circumstances change, the systems or routines might fall apart. In other words, life takes zigs and zags and if systems keep going straight, they’re not going to work.
I forgot to blog yesterday. I’ve been blogging every Monday, Wednesday and Friday since December 27. Then, last week, I made a conscious decision to skip Wednesday’s and Friday’s posts and just do one post on Thursday (about that conscious decision).
At the end of last year, I set a goal of blogging every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I’ve been very proud of the fact that I’ve kept that up each and every week since December 27, 2010.
Tagged with: blogging, habits, margaret lukens
We all know the proverb that “Good fences make good neighbors.” In my life, I can switch that proverb around. It’s my great neighbor who’s making a fantastic fence.
Some effort is better than no effort. That’s the philosophy I’m embracing at the moment when it comes to exercise. For some reason, I’ve fallen off the exercise bandwagon, despite the fact that I’ve put on a few pounds and so am reminded of the need to exercise on a very regular basis.
On January 2, I cleared my inbox down to zero email messages. And since then i’ve done it every work day except two, when I was out of town without my computer. That’s nearly five months of inbox zero at least five days a week. (I usually do it on the weekends as well.)
Tagged with: aby garvey, accountability, blogging, don't break the chain, email, habits, productivity
I’ve written here before about Don’t Break the Chain as a tool for helping create daily habits. The concept is that once you do something a few days in a row (which can be aided by marking a calendar), you psychologically don’t want to break the chain and you’re motivated to do the activity again.
Tagged with: blogging, don't break the chain, email, habits, productivity
I’m a messy person. And (clearly) I’m not ashamed of it. You might find it surprising that a professional organizer is messy. But that might be because you think that messy and disorganized are synonymous. Trust me, they’re not.
The past couple of weeks have been very busy for me and I haven’t been home a whole lot. I did take one glorious at-home day off a week ago Saturday, where I caught up on my TV and did some knitting. (Boy that day went by fast!) I did nothing but relax, which I sorely needed.
Tagged with: disorder, habits, order, pockets of time, routines
I’m going to be 50 next year and like many people my age, my vision isn’t what it used to be. Reading, in particular can be challenging. I’ve been wearing progressive lenses (distance vision in the top, reading vision in the bottom, with a little intermediate in between) for some years.
Tagged with: clean desk, email, habits, irritations, routines
I am bursting my buttons with pride, as I report that I have achieved Inbox Zero each and every day since January 2. That’s 38 days in a row that I’ve handled each message that’s come into my email inbox.
Tagged with: aby garvey, email, habits
A friend shared this slideshow with me from B.J. Fogg, Ph.D. of Stanford University’s Persuasive Tech Lab, entitled 3 steps to new habits. It presents a very simple approach to creating new habits.
This the year that I’m all about creating new habits and routines. (At least so far.) In the past two months I’ve created strong habits surrounding cleaning up my yard and keeping the bedroom bureau top clear of clothing. I’ve also whittled my email inbox down to zero every day since January 2. (I’ll blog more about that another day.)
Tagged with: change agent, emotions, empowerment, habits, products, shannon wilkinson
So far this year I’ve established a couple of new habits that benefited greatly by starting with a clean slate.
For the last ten days, I’ve been using habitforge to help me create the routine of putting my clothes away properly at the end of the day (something I’ve had trouble with for years). I’ve found it very motivating.
Tagged with: accountability, don't break the chain, habitforge, habits, routines
As I’ve written about before, I’ve had some success in recent years in creating some really meaningful habits. For example, I now automatically clear my desk at the end of each workday. That allows me to hit the ground running in the morning and helps me keep my head clear about what I need to do. I used the Don’t Break the Chain method to help me build that habit.
Tagged with: clean bureau, clean desk, don't break the chain, habits
Discipline is an interesting word, isn’t it? When it’s used to express how one person interacts with another (a parent disciplining a child, for example, or an employer disciplining an employee), it has negative connotations. It’s no fun to have someone discipline you and, I can imagine, it’s not fun disciplining someone else.
Tagged with: don't break the chain, habits, routines
Why do some people put off dealing with their mail? I think it’s because scary stuff can be lurking in there. And the longer it sits the scarier it becomes.
Tagged with: fear, habits, mail, paper piles
A couple of weeks ago, I put together a poll on how folks deal with the daily onslaught of postal mail. The results are in and I think they’re kind of interesting.
Tagged with: habits, mail, paper management, paper piles
January is almost over (already). As I’ve blogged about before, for the last couple of years I’ve been trying to add one big habit per year that will help me be happier and more productive. In 2008, it was clearing my desk at the end of the workday. In 2009 it was whittling my email inbox down to 15 or fewer messages every day. I’m going gangbusters on both of those.
Tagged with: declutter happy hour, empowerment, goals, habits, routines, shannon wilkinson, teleclasses, telephone coaching
I’ve written here before about the importance of habits and routines to make your life easier. I call it automating your life. Over the past couple of years, I’ve created some habits which have helped me maintain order around my home and office. (This is huge, because I’m a naturally messy person.)
Tagged with: aby garvey, clean desk, flylady, habits, routines
Here are a few little updates to past blogs posts.
Tagged with: butler bag, container store, don't break the chain, habits, playing for change
On January 5, 2008 I resolved to clear my desk off every day at the end of the workday. I envisioned sitting down at my desk every morning with a clear desk and hoped that it would help me start the day on the right foot.
Tagged with: clean bureau, clean desk, don't break the chain, habits, routines
This week’s blog of the week can help you get unstuck. I first learned about habits guru Havi Brooks from my friend and life coach, Shannon Wilkinson, who is taking the Self Promotion for Wimps course taught by Havi and Naomi Dunford.
Tagged with: blog of the week, habits, havi brooks, productivity
Back at the beginning of 2008, I blogged about my constant craving for order as reflected in my January 1 journal entries year after year
Tagged with: clean desk, don't break the chain, goals, habits, new year, productivity
Chances are you’re familiar with Flylady. Flylady, who’s real name is Marla Cilley, has a wildly popular website which helps readers dig out from clutter, establish routines, and stay organized.
Tagged with: 15 minutes, decluttering, flylady, habits, routines
The habit I’ve been trying to instill with the Don’t Break the Chain method that I wrote about in a recent post is clearing my desktop at the end of the workday.
Tagged with: accountability, clean desk, decluttering, desk, don't break the chain, goals, habits, motivation, productivity, time management, workspace
As part of my new emphasis on time management this year, I started off the new year by checking out some productivity blogs. I came across this great post on the wonderful blog Lifehacker that introduced to me a concept that in just a few short days has really had an impact on me.
Tagged with: clean desk, don't break the chain, goals, habits, motivation, time management