Productivity Tuesday: Maintain Good Habits By Making It Easy On Yourself

In today's episode of Productivity Tuesday, let's talk about habits. We all recognize that we have "good" and "bad" habits. I think many of us might agree that journaling is a good habit. Many of us might also agree that drinking until you puke every Friday and Saturday night is a bad habit (It might be fun every once in a great while, but it takes its toll on our bodies, spirits, emotions, and productivity in a big, bad way). We could list a variety of habits and judge their merit, but the theme that binds them all together is that we tend to do them without giving them conscious thought.

Sure, when you are four, your parent has to remind you to brush your teeth. By the time you are an adult, you've like got that habit down. If you don't do it after every meal and before bed, you at least likely brush those pearly whites when you wake up.

Many studies have shown that repetition builds habitual action. In other words, if you want to make a behavior habitual, repeat that behavior for some time et voila, it will ingrain itself into your routine and before you know it a habit is born.

That works great if nothing in your life changes, and you can develop and maintain a consistent routine. But what happens when life blasts you a curve ball? You have to roll with it and try to maintain equilibrium in the face unexpected change. Heck, even if you knew the change was coming, a disruption to your routine can make all your good intentions go the way of the do-do.

So, what do we do? How do we ride those changes and keep our good habits on deck? We do it by making it as easy as possible to continue our habits regardless of our situations. We facilitate a pattern of behavior by creating an atmosphere where that pattern can continue unimpeded regardless of outside circumstances.

Here is an example. I have a rule that I've mentioned before. Regardless of anything else going on in my life, I am required to at least step on my yoga mat, every, single day. In my world, at my house, that is easy. I know where the mat lives. I know how much time my yoga practice will take. I know how long I can go before the dog requires his morning constitutional. So, I can practice yoga and move on with the rest of my day.

But, what happens when I have to travel like I do this coming weekend? Suddenly, the routine flies out the window. I'm in a different space, different city, and with a different schedule. And on top of that, depending on where and how I am traveling, I might not be able to bring my yoga mat with me. So, I have to plan ahead and make things easy on myself.

I figure out my morning schedule. Will I have early meetings? Great! Then, I set my alarm 30 minutes early to make room for yoga. Will I need to walk my dog because he traveled with us? No? Then, that 30 minutes is bought and paid for because I can now place yoga into that time slot. If I plan it ahead of time, my routine doesn't have to change much at all.

But what happens if I can't take my mat with me? Well, some people buy Yoga Toes. I've tried them, and they don't work for me because my feet slip out of them too easily. Instead, I created my own version of a yoga travel mat. Someday, I might even make these for sale. But for now, this is what my yoga travel mat looks like. Instead of the big, long rolled up tube, I have just a few small strips to carry with me.

It does take a little extra prep time, but that conscious planning ahead of time helps me remain true to my good habits. I look at this planning as an investment in ourselves and in our future. If we keep ourselves accountable to our inner planner, we can maintain positive habits for all the days of our lives. Remember, the habit is an ingrained unconscious behavior. But the prep time to keep that habit going? That's something we can plan and implement. And that's how we thrive!

Just what's so wrong with being centered on ourselves?

I just wrote this as part of a comment on someone else's thread, but to me, it bears repeating.

"There is nothing wrong with having a strong ego. The word ego has gotten a bad rap. It means knowing yourself. It means having a strong sense of identity."

I'm getting tired of the promulgation of this idea that we should not be self-centered or have big/strong egos. There is nothing wrong with being centered on yourself. If you take care of you first, then you will be free and able to help others (notice the second follows the first. I'm not saying we should only be centered on ourselves, but that we should make ourselves a or the priority). If you sacrifice yourself on the altar of helping everyone else, you will burn out. I know this from experience. It was a hard won lesson, and it is one I will never forget. My life is about service to others, but first I have to take care of myself. If I don't, I will eventually burn away.

And as for having a big or healthy ego, I believe that if we all had strong egos, if we all knew ourselves and more importantly accepted those selves (strong egos, strengths, frailties, passions, fears, flaws, and all), the world would be a far more healthy place.

/end rant

Happenstance Art - A lesson in mindfulness

I love Happenstance Art. It sneaks up on me and throws fairy dust in my eyes. It challenges me to stop what I'm doing and pay attention. It reminds me to be mindful.

I think that most of the time, art is placed as something separate from our day to day lives. We tend to think of art as something we must to seek out rather than something that is present all around us and inside us every minute of every day. We need to look at images, paintings, sculpture, etc. that were created by artists specifically for being studied and appreciated. We go to museums. We look art books. We treat art as something magnificent and yet purposeful. And often, those of us who don't feel we are creative, believe art is to be created by those other than ourselves. Here's the message from me to you: We are all creative. We are all artists. And we have an incredible opportunity to share what we see and sense.

Art is there every second. The curve of the line of a guitar's body can take your breath away. The way a car changes lanes with skill and finesse so that it melds its motion with and against all the other cars on the road has a certain artistic beauty. The pillars of light that filter sun rays and grace us with heavenly visions have an artistic sense. These all appear in our lives and can give us that momentary sense of the sublime.

And sometimes, art goes a step further. In an otherwise innocuous moment, it presents itself like a dare. "See me! Acknowledge me! Bathe your senses in me."

This morning that happened to me. Art smacked me awake when I was changing my guitar strings for a video shoot I have this evening. I slipped the G-string out of its packaging, and it made this:

I love the shape and the lines. I also love how my fingers holding the string winder make it all look somehow like a stylized imagine of a tropical bird. This morning the simple act of changing guitar strings transformed into a profound meditation on the state and nature of art.

I had to stop and appreciate it, because to do otherwise would be to ignore art's insistence that it be acknowledged. What a wonderful lesson first thing in the morning. "Remember, art comes at you. Your job is to meet it and play in its world."

Mother's Day and every day, we thrive.

I wish a happy Mother's Day to all of you who guide, protect, and love others. Some of you are biologically moms. Some adopt (humans and others). Some work with kids and help them thrive. Some have that nurturing energy and give it to those in need.

I send you my wishes that you are loved and appreciated this day and every day.

I read somewhere recently that a mother's love gives her child the ultimate sense of belonging and that children who don't have that vital love feel its lack for all the days of their lives.

I respectfully disagree. I think we can overcome even that giant obstacle. As long as we remind ourselves that we have the right to exist, that we deserve to be here, to be alive and to thrive, we can find that sense of belonging within ourselves.

I send this wish out to those of you who didn't have loving mothering. May you always remember that simply by the fact that you are here, you deserve to be here, you are loved, and you belong.

We are enough. We have enough. We do enough.

So may it be.