WORKLIFEDESIGN

THE NEWSLETTER OF WORKLIFEDESIGN

SEPTEMBER 2010

Somewhere in the space between that which exists and that which has yet to be imagined, sparks of Brilliance fly. Some of the ideas you’ll find here will be able to be applied immediately, some will be not-quite-ready and some will be wild imaginings.

Enjoy!

Trish

SOMETIMES THE SOLUTION IS RIGHT UNDER YOUR NOSE. LITERALLY.

The brilliance of mindfulness

Today’s brilliant! idea is to breathe. I know, you’re thinking I’ve gone all new age, woo-woo, bumper sticker (“Remember to breathe!”) but beyond the butterflies and dolphins there really is something in this one.

The particular approach to reconnecting with our breath I’m talking about is called Mindfulness. It’s a pretty hot area at the moment with what seems to be every therapist and their cat is incorporating it into their practice… READ MORE …

DANCE WITH SOMEONE ON SKYPE

This week, another idea jumped out at me from a blog’s comments section.

Over at the Herman Miller Lifework blog, they have a column called The Playlist where they interview people about the music that inspires them as they work.

Recently, they interviewed gallerist/artist/curator/writer,  Annie Wharton, and she provided an eclectic playlist of tunes that work for her – from Duran Duran and Lady Gaga to Peaches and The Normal. However, it was in a parenthesied side-note to Lady Gaga’s Alejandro that she revealed her Brilliant! idea …. READ MORE …

FIVE MINUTE RULE TO OVERCOME PROCRASTINATION

Sometimes Brilliant! Ideas come from the most unexpected places

I found the following Five Minute Rule to overcome procrastination from Page Lambert in the comments section of a blog about escaping from the slow death of an office job.

“My father, Loren Dunton (internationally recognized Father of Financial Planning) used to have what he called his Five Minute Rule to help overcome procrastination so that he was ACTING rather than AVOIDING. He knew that the hardest thing to overcome in terms of getting any project started, was INERTIA. So he played a game with himself: “Dunton,” he’d say, “you don’t have to write the ENTIRE article today…”  READ MORE …

WAIT TILL YOU HEAR THIS!

*Snow White Macbook vinyl decal

The most Brilliant podcast/radio ever: The I Wish Song

My favouritest radio show/podcast in the world, This American Life, did one of the most amazing introductions I’ve ever heard in this week’s (replayed) episode, Promised Land.

The host, Ira Glass, recounts how upon watching the 1937 Disney classic Snow White recently, he noticed how it has almost an operatic feeling with each of the main characters entering the story with a song. When he mentions this to his sister (who works for Disney) she informs him that what he’s seeing is the “I Wish” song in action. It’s a common storytelling technique that’s used in musicals where the character declares exactly what they want in that first song.

As Ira lists through all the musicals (classic and contemporary) that have I Wish Songs, I’m gobsmacked to hear how common it is. Think, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” starts off The Wizard of Oz, or, the Britney Spears’ film Crossroads which begins with her singing Madonna’s “Open Your Heart”. The Little Mermaid. Fiddler on the Roof. Funny Girl. All begin with the main character’s I Wish song.

What makes this intro so brilliant though is what happens next… READ MORE …

NEW this month in THE STUDIO

HOW TO BECOME MORE EFFECTIVE AT WORK (AND RESPONSIVE IN LIFE!) WITH REFLECTIVE PRACTICE

It’s hard to believe that this is the Number One resource that’s been downloaded from my website over the last five years…

GET YOUR DUCKS IN A ROW! WORKSHEET

This week I’m sharing one of my personal worksheets. This is what I use to stay focused and to minimise those 3.00am eyes-bolt-open, oh-my-god-what-am-I-doing moments.

THE ULTIMATE LIFE COACHING TOOL? ALL HAIL THE UBIQUITOUS WHEEL OF LIFE

I don’t use the Wheel of Life much these days (as most of my work with client’s is work-focused) but when I do, I’m always blown away by how effective it is. After this simple 10 minute exercise, a client often has new insight into their lives, clarity about their life and work direction, and renewed energy. It’s pretty neat… which is why I share it with you now. Enjoy!

GET ORGANISED WITH YOUR MONDAY MORNING WEEKLY ACTIONS WORKSHEET (MMWAW!)

Ahh, Monday morning. How I love thee…

Taking some time-out on Monday mornings to organise my week is essential.  I’ve found that I need to move beyond a to-do list of things that need my urgent attention and check in with what’s important (goals and priorities), what I need to do to realise these priorities and scheduling it into my calendar.

What’s happening?

Spring Clean Your Life! To celebrate the beginning of Spring in the southern hemisphere (yay!), I’m running special spring clean sessions so you can clear the clutter, chaos and confusion from your life and work. More details here…

Business Action Groups New BAGs are starting in Noosa and Brisbane in October. If you’re a solo business owner who’d like a bit of support, inspiration and action in your venture then join us for our innovative business peer support program. More details here …

Do a friend a favour … If you’ve found Brilliant! entertaining, informative or worthy distraction from work, then please forward on to friends and colleagues who may be interested.




Brilliant! Ideas For Work and Life is written and collated by Trish Weston. Everything in it is her opinion, with a smattering of facts to make it hold together. If you have any suggestions or comments please feel free to email trish AT worklifedesign DOT com DOT au

© Copyright 2010 You may copy, forward or distribute Brilliant! if this copyright notice and full information for contacting Trish Weston are included.

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As the alarm went off on Tuesday morning, I wasn’t filled with my usual “just five more minutes” mantra. No. This was the day that my mild mannered couch sloth self turns into uber-50s housewife and no dust nor dirt is going to survive.  Yes, it was Spring Clean Day.

Bree Van Der Kamp has nothing on me on Spring Clean Day. I had a list. It consisted of categories (rooms) and subcategories (actions required: tidy, throw, donate, mop, vacuum, dust, clean) and sub-sub-categories (cleaning type: soapy water, spray’n’wipe, industrial strength). The day is blocked out with rest periods and team peptalks (such as the benefits of interrupting the cat’s 18 hour nap so as to freshen up her “apartment”).

This year the team worked seamlessly, perked up in periods of fatigue by “Way to Go!”, “You’re doing a great job!” and “I really appreciate the effort and creativity you’ve brought to dusting the ornamental giraffe!”.

Of course, it wasn’t all plane sailing. Like any highly efficient work unit we did encounter our “challenges”.  Negotiating the 15 year old futon into a “sun-filled” position for the requisite 6 hour rejuvenation did require the use of pilates muscles and  yoga flexibility. But we’d been in training for the Spring Clean Challenge for the last six months and came through admirably

As we clock off at 5pm, admiring the sparkle and clean of my beautiful abode, there’s wine for all workers to celebrate our masterful feat. Beautiful surfaces sparkle. Aah, that’s what the kitchen bench looks like, there are the remote controls, the books are in the bookshelves rather than haphazard book towers throughout the house. A minimalist wardrobe containing only clothes that I wear – bye bye yellow polyester pants. I’m surrounded by the things that enhance my life. I’m filled with overwhelming satisfaction and hope for the future.

I’m thinking “You know, if I did a little bit of cleaning every week it would always look like this” and get all giddy at the thought of gliding through life in my ever sparkling palace. Or, maybe it’s the alcohol. The thought quickly gets relegated to “Another great idea” and I get comfy on the clean couch, spilling wine on the clean coffee table and welcome back the sloth.

Spring Cleaning is a wonderful process. It’s a chance to take stock of what you have or what you really need. A chance to look in places you usually don’t go.  A chance to toss out all those things that are just cluttering up your life and to keep or accentuate those things that actually enhance your life.

And just as we can do it for our physical environment, we can also spring clean our lives with remarkable effects.

So, what’s going to get the ol’ heave ho in your life this Spring?

What are you tolerating?

What’s no longer serving you?

And what do you want to have more of?

What has to be happening in your life, who needs to be a part of your life so that you can truly shine?

And where are the places you’ve left dust accumulate?

What are the things you’ve stuffed in the storage cupboard of your life, always intending to “do something with” later?

And when you’ve tidied, tossed, mopped, polished, vacuumed, sprayed and wiped your life, what does it look like?

And what if … you did a little cleaning, tidying every week? How would that feel to have this buff life for 52 weeks of the year instead of just one?

This is what having a coach is like. Rather than going through peaks and troughs, having enthusiasm for something for a couple of months then giving up disappointed or bored, you have a place to sit down, find out what’s working, what isn’t and what you need to do to make sure you are living your life according to what’s important to you.

Or you can do it yourself. Building a support and feedback network around you that gives you a space to talk about what’s going on, work out if your take on it is what is really happening and take the steps needed to keep it all happening.

This is your mop, bucket and broom.

Happy Spring Cleaning.

Just Breathe wall decal by innercircledesign*

Today’s brilliant! idea is to breathe. I know, you’re thinking I’ve gone all new age, woo-woo, bumper sticker (“Remember to breathe!”) but beyond the butterflies and dolphins there really is something in this one.

The particular approach to reconnecting with our breath I’m talking about is called mindfulness. It’s a pretty hot area at the moment with what seems to be every therapist and their cat is incorporating it into their practice.

I’ve recently started a book group centred around the mindfulness classic, Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn, and am gaining such a deep respect for the approach.

At its simplest, mindfulness is about moment to moment awareness. The breath is used as an anchor to focus the mind, and from their you can increase your field of awareness to include body sensations, sound, sight and thoughts.

One of the most significant changes I’ve experienced through mindfulness practice is being able to observe my thinking and not be so influenced by the emotional charge attached to certain thoughts. For example, a deadline is not the be-all and end-all of life. It is a signpost; life will go on after the passes, there will be more deadlines in the future. Anxiety, stress, worry disappears. Now I can go and be fully present in doing what I need to do (rather than a ball of frazzled energy).

The other great thing about Mindfulness is how it incorporates the body. We are such a body-obsessed culture and yet very few of us are truly connected with our bodies, able to feel where our emotions manifest or how to live fully in our bodies. As someone who lives most of my life in my head, Mindfulness is a breath of fresh air. [sorry, I am trying to keep the puns to a minimum]

There’s a scene in the classic Al Pacino film, Scarface, where the Pacino character, Tony Montana, is sharing his drug-lord words-of-wisdom to his young protege (who thinks that now he’s a big-time dealer he can spend his time chasing women):

First you get the money,

Then you get the power,

THEN you get the woman.

In a similar, and yet oh-so-different way, Mindfulness has three sequential elements:

First, you get to relax

Then you get the clarity

THEN you get the energy (channelled effectively and responsively in stressful situations)

In other words, by simply focusing on your breath you are able to handle whatever life throws at you.

And that’s Brilliant!

You can receive a roundup of Brilliant! ideas for work and life in your Inbox every month by subscribing to the Brilliant! newsletter here

Today I share with you the Number One resource that’s been downloaded from my website over the last five years…

Reflective Practice is a technique used by professionals such as teachers, nurses and therapists to increase their learning and effectiveness on the job. At its simplest, it is applying critical reflection to incidents or situations we’d like to understand more fully or get a different outcome with in the future.

I learned about Reflective Practice as part of my psych education and found it perfect for my ongoing professional development when I started coaching. Initially I used it for myself – to understand myself better and become a more effective coach. Then I started using it with my mentee coach clients to help them understand themselves and their coaching better. In 2005 I gave a presentation to an ICF Chapter and that’s where the original worksheet (Reflective Practice For Coaches) came from. Since then I’ve used a variation of it with a range of clients who just wanted to understand themselves and a situation better or be more effective in the work.

So I’ve updated the worksheet to be ‘Reflective Practice for the rest of us’ (or Reflective Practice For Work and Life). No matter what you do, you can use this simple technique to respond more thoughtfully in highly charged social situations or relationships, or, be more effective at work.

Reflective Practice brings awareness, insight and simple steps for change.

DOWNLOAD: Reflective Practice for Work and Life (PDF)

DOWNLOAD: Reflective Practice for Coaches (PDF)

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This week, another idea jumped out at me from a blog’s comments section.

Over at the Herman Miller Lifework blog, they have a column called The Playlist where they interview people about the music that inspires them as they work.

Recently, they interviewed gallerist/artist/curator/writer,  Annie Wharton, and she provided an eclectic playlist of tunes that work for her – from Duran Duran and Lady Gaga to Peaches and The Normal. However, it was in a parenthesied side-note to Lady Gaga’s Alejandro that she revealed her Brilliant! idea:

“There is a very sweet backstory here involving this music video and dancing to it with someone via Skype”

What’s so Brilliant! about this?

Dancing + Skype = Brilliant!

Pretty simple.

Okay, what makes this truly Brilliant! is someone using a fairly ubiquitous tool/technology (ie skype) in a unique way. Sure, bored teenagers have probably been dancing on skype for years but for those of us who use it as a work tool (or to catch-up with far-off friends) this is a brave new world.

Once you realise that Skype doesn’t equal sitting stationary in front of a webcam, then you can begin wondering what else can you do with it? (Yes, okay, now move on from the obvious…) While videoconferencing has been around for a long time, are we finally at a stage where the technology will allow anything that can be done in person to also be done by skype?

As with many tech advances it is both exciting and frightening. But that’s what Brilliance is: Powerful. Revolutionary. Life changing.

Here’s the kicker (or, my little lesson) on this Brilliant! idea.

I didn’t notice the skype-dancing aside when I read the article. It only came to my attention because there was one comment on the piece which said dancing on skype was a cool idea.

That made me think about how there are Brilliant! ideas all around us but we often don’t see them. While it’s all well and good surrounding ourselves with like-minded people, it’s also very helpful to have people in our lives who sees things from a different perspective (or at least read articles fully!). Or, to give ourselves the opportunity to see things from a different perspective …

So, go on, do something different – dance with someone on Skype tonight… you never know what might emerge.

You can receive a roundup of Brilliant! ideas for work and life in your Inbox every month by subscribing to the Brilliant! newsletter here