On Design and Life...*

 

my super-comfy, super-functional, red potato peeler

How many hours do you think were put into designing that red potato peeler above? What about our toothbrushes, or our shiny new phones?

Now here's food for thought: how much time and effort do we put into designing our own lives?

Hm.

~~~

Living deliberately, in choice, with intention; reflecting; letting go... these are all part of my personal life design process.

Learning when to add features, adjust what's there, or remove the superfluous; knowing when to push, and when to let things unfold in their natural state.

'Tis a delicate dance.

In the end, whether we're talking about life or an ergonomic shovel, it's about creating a quality user experience with the product.

Food for thought.

~~~

Are there areas in your life that are asking for deliberate design right now?

If so, why?

* This post was brought to you by Objectified, a documentary in which various designers share insights into the design of objects we use every day (see trailer below), plus my love of taking concepts and transposing them into a different context.

Work Transition Checkpoint: 11 & 1/2 Months In (In Which I Discover a Limiting Core Belief)

The other day I caught myself smack dab in the middle of a limiting core belief. When chatting with my sister about how I'd successfully used one of my productivity tips back at the office (I'm back three days a week after a year away), I exclaimed "Yeah, isn't it cool that it works in the real world too?"

Um, real world?

Wow.

All this time, during my work transition, it seems I still held a belief that a 9-5 job was the real world, which means that the opposite, the soul-supporting work I'm trying to create, must be the unreal - or dream - world.

I dug deeper and realized that I carry negative connotations for both:

real world = practical, pragmatic, soul-sapping, not fun, paying my dues, grind, responsible, fulfilling an obligation, struggle, weighty, the only viable option...

dream world = flighty, irresponsible, unrealistic, a passing phase, unfounded, unsustainable, escape, narcissistic, money is no object - nor is it necessary, free pass, temporary...

Whoa.

I am so ready to let go of that.

I came up with another kind of world that might serve me better:

true world = grounded, intuitive, self-sustaining (including financially), soul-supporting, aware, believing in possibility AND responsibility (not either/or), taking action, introspective, fostering growth through challenge, ease and flow, dreaming big, understanding my current circumstances, stretching out of my comfort zone, being present, making choices that feel right, contribution...

I could go on.

Mm. Yes, I suspect I'll like living in a true world much better.

The journey continues...

~~~

When you hear the term real world, what comes to mind? What about dream world?

What would a true world look like for you?

Productivity Toolbox: The Next Right Action

This was originally posted on Scoutie Girl earlier this year. I'm repeating it here because a) it's still relevant and b) I could bear to read it again. Feeling overwhelmed with a few tasks before me this morning, I pulled this tool out of my productivity toolbox and lo & behold, I got moving.

~~~

The other day someone asked me how I managed to accomplish what I’ve accomplished these past several months. My answer? One action at a time.

Of course I used planning and productivity tools along the way, it’s what I do, but at the crux of getting things done lies a simple, powerful tool: the next right action.

You have a goal; you may have several. You want to make them happen, but you feel scattered or stymied and don’t know where to start. Stop, take a deep breath, and ask yourself: "What am I trying to do here? What’s my next action?"

Is it sending the email? Researching your local craft fair options (15 minutes is all it takes to get started!)? Maybe it’s putting the finishing touches on that painting or writing up the listing description.

Or, maybe it’s a massive brainstorming session to get all of those ideas out of your head and onto paper.

You don’t need to figure it all out now, just figure out what needs to be done next. Then do it.

Keep taking that next right action and I swear, without your even noticing it, things will get done.

I dare you to try it and see for yourself.

On productivity and play...

creative play with dandelion, before & after pics (created using GIMP)

Yesterday I spent the afternoon playing with images in GIMP, a free image manipulation program with features similar to Photoshop. I let go of must-do's and played, with no expectations.

I ended up:

~ stumbling upon an image, by digitally modifying one of my photos, that would be a perfect book jacket for a book, thus inspiring me to start researching its publication,

~ drafting a poster for a project that's brewing,

~ figuring out how to transform images in a new-to-me way, opening up many, many creative possibilities for new products,

~ designing two new greeting cards for the shop, with two more in draft state, and

~ experiencing a powerful wave of creative energy that I hadn't experienced in a while, motivating me to carry on with my creative biz.

Right brain play translated into new projects and a renewed energy to carry them through.

The moral of this story?

Unstructured, creative play can be just as valuable to productivity and business as goals and to-do lists.

Try it. You might be surprised at the results.

Scoutie Girl Blog Post

It's time for another blog post on Scoutie Girl. This week I muse about success factors and what could be put in place to increase our chances of meeting our goals. I want to know: what are your success factors?

And if you missed my previous post there a few weeks ago, go check it out! Called A Procrastinator's Guide to Procrastination, it's where I finally come clean: I'm a planning geek who procrastinates. <gasp!>