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Good Aim

9/23/2019

In early early 1990s, the cleaning staff of Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam installed a small sticker that looked like a fly near the center of each urinal. Apparently, when men stepped up to the urinals, the aimed for what they thought was a bug. The stickers improved their aim and significantly reduced “spillage” around the urinals. Further analysis determined that the stickers cut bathroom cleaning costs by 8% per year.*

The lesson?

Besides all of us mothers buying fake fly stickers, one way to easily improve your success rate of installing a new habit is by setting up a supportive environment. Create obvious cues that keep you on track and make it easy to do the right thing.

~ Want to reduce junk food consumption? Along with not purchasing the junk food, have clean fruits and veggies prepared and readily available on the counter and coffee table.
~ Want to drink more water? Fill up a few water bottles each morning and put them in places where you spend lots of time.
~ Want to remember to read before bed instead of TV? Put your book on your pillow in the morning.
~ Want to move your body through the day? Set a repeat-timer on your phone.

What healthy habit would you like to install? Share with me here and join the upcoming Habits Made Easy workshop to see what you can easily, and in a fun way, switch up in your life. We all have habits. Which ones would you like working for you?

Peace and Love,
Shanti
*from James Clear, Atomic Habits

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Keeping the System Going

9/16/2019

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Yeah! The kids are back to school and a new routine has begun. It feels refreshing to get organized after the meandering days of summer… at least I love it. It’s like a reset button has been pushed.

What are some of your strategies? How do you develop habits that are going to last more than a few weeks, that will carry yourself and your family easily into next year and beyond?

At home, some things you might be looking at:

Having easier mornings - YES please
Keeping up with preparing healthy meals and snacks
Study skills that your kids will do on their own (or at least with less whining)
Exercise and keeping the body moving
Finances - seem to always top of mind
Quality time for relationships

At work, some things you might be looking at:

Reducing time wasters that slow-drip your energy and focus
Feeling more accomplished and less “spent” at the end of the day
Taking breaks so your body and brain can refresh
Dealing with email overload
Slowing down to listen to people instead of rushing the conversation along to get to the next thing
Having patience be a continual part of your day

If you’re human, after a few weeks of staying on point, things inevitably seem to slip back to the same old thing. Life gets interrupted and you’ve exhausted the energy of trying to keep the new habit alive… its too much work and willpower is spent. It’s easy to get frustrated when you give up, to go back to the same old thing even if it wasn’t working that well. And then you end up feeling bad because you let yourself down againand didn’t keep the change. What a crappy cycle.

I want to encourage you and let you know, though, that it’s not you. It’s the systems that are in place.

Habits Made Easy is a new favorite workshop I’m offering, one that’s good for you and good for your kids/teens (they’re encouraged to attend. What a great way to have them get active in developing personal management strategies.)

Habits Made Easy keeps things in balance, reduces stress, adds ease, reduces resistance, guilt, and shame, improves esteem and confidence, and builds self-efficacy. Sounds pretty great to me!

Check it out. It's happening twice at the end of the month - plenty of time to plan and get it one on your calendar. Registration is needed and easy HERE.
Peace and Love,
Shanti

And by the way, Habits Made Easy isn’t an app or a set system per se. It’s the name of my workshop... one where you learn the process of how habits are built, how they crash and fail, and how to install new ones that are truly functional for everyday living.

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Declutter Starts With The Mind

9/4/2019

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A change of season always brings me the energy of clearing out; a time to declutter and make room for something new and different, something that will keep me inspired and motivated for the changes ahead. Whether the focus is home projects, business projects, relationships, or mindset, it requires my time and attention to pick up, look at, and decide what’s important now. My energy and resources are finite so I want to be as efficient as possible while still having impact.

As of late, I've been noticing more of my time and attention feels stuck in the minutia of what could stand to be decluttered instead of what might be best to focus on. Instead of taking the big pile and putting it to the side, I keep sifting through it in hopes of getting rid of it. Haha that’s a joke since I know the project list is never ending. It’s so interesting how the habit mind works.

Some days there can be a fine line between what needs to get done, what's best to get done, what I want to do, and what I just want to be done with. The request list seems really long and my decisive mind can get lost in the possibilities, leading me to feel ineffectual and frustrated, spread thin as I'm being pulled in several directions... or rather, pulling myself in many directions. I'm the one "in control", you see.

Reflecting, I think it's all just part of the cleansing process since most of the things seem to be related. Some days, though, I wish the pull of my mind were less and easier to deal with. It’s a practice… and a habit I continue to refine and develop.

Thankfully, part of that refinement comes from my meditation practice, a daily routine that works to keep me centered and grounded, much more than I could ever possibly do on my own with my natural energy constitution of flittering about. Setting the stage and getting clear in the morning guides my intentions and the path I want to take. It's a time to check in with my heart and authentic desires: How do I want to be today? What's the best use of my energy? Do I need to reset my mind/attitude? What self-care is needed?

Mindfulness and meditation are great ways to declutter, gain clarity, and keep the focus on WIN - what’s important now. It's not always easy to tame the flittering mind that pulls you in many different directions - impulses can be very strong - so it's good to have some stabilizing supports to help navigate today.

How’s your decluttering routine? What do you do to keep the ground underneath your feet as you're moving in so many directions? I'd love to hear what's working well. And if you have any interest in learning more about mindfulness or meditation, reach out or check out the upcoming class.

And next time I’ll share a bit about how to install skillful habits as you go through the seasonal change process, setting yourself up for success right off the bat. In the meantime, happy cleansing!

Peace and Love to you,
Shanti

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Good Aim

Keeping the System Going

Declutter Starts With The Mind

Author - Shanti Douglas

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