While talking with my neighbor the other day, he told me that when he and his wife would visit family in Southern California, they’d pack their bags and send them UPS. This way they wouldn’t have to lug the luggage into the airport, worry about it getting lost, stolen, or picked apart. They’d arrive at their destination and breeze past the luggage carousels, get taken to their family’s place and voila! Their luggage was already there. Very clever, eh?

Time to clean out the hall walk-in (don’t you wish!) closet. You know, the one that you can barely slide into even after a successful scuffle with the pressure pushing on the other side of the door.

Or maybe it’s time to sort through that enormous box of un-filed papers that include everything from 2002 tax return documentation to last month’s grocery lists.

Or is it time to sort through the stuff in the basement to decide: donate, give to someone, recycle, or trash?

Each one of these have the ability to slip off of your schedule as easily as water streaming off a windshield sealed with RainX. Unfortunately they don’t slip off your mind quite as easily. Denial, guilt, or just souring an otherwise beautiful fall day–it’s in your best interest to get that project off of your plate!

What if there was a way to make it exponentially easier? and, oh-my-gosh maybe even a little fun? (”don’t tease me!”) All right, deep breath, pick up the phone, and call a friend. Some call them clutter-buddies, come call them filing-buddies, call ‘em what you will, but just call.

The idea is to allow for 2 appointments (usually on different days), one at your place and one at their place. It’s your job to have all the necessary supplies ready to go. With your friend, establish a doable goal, time limit, removal strategy and get going!

Hello, hello! Posting has been few and far between these last few weeks. The timing seems to correspond with a major schedule shift experiment, namely, get up at 4:30-5am and go to bed by 9:30-10pm.

The early morning hours are mine for yoga, meditation, shower, breakfast, and some writing/planning time. Then it’s time for everybody else by about 8:30am.

While it’s been working well for the most part, there are still a few wrinkles wanting ironing out. Last week the shake up came from morning meetings–Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday–that started at 6:30, 6:45, and 7:30am. Something had to give and it was typically the writing/planning time. Not having enough planning time is one of the most sneaky trains that shoots me straight into feeling overwhelmed.

The other is a pattern I’ve seen emerge involves time for ToDo/admin stuff. Ex. my own bookkeeping, non-urgent email correspondence, processing incoming info, and then all the tasky things that are easy to brush off like flies.

Once the day gets going at 8:30am, priorities lean towards client work & networking. Before the schedule shift, ToDo work happened late into the night–now it just isn’t happening. Hmmm, not good.

So what’s a girl who is committed to a success, balance, & a healthy life to do? For the ToDo/admin work, I can schedule appointments with myself, and then hold those as sacred as client appointments. I’ll see if 45 minutes two times a week suffices.

For the loss of morning writing/planning time… this one is a little tougher because even without somewhat regular early morning meetings, I’m not creating enough space for this Important-Non Urgent time. I should actually be spending about four times as much because of the Project Simplify program in development. [side note: this program has not been announced yet and I’m leaving it in the realm of mystery just a little bit longer… suffice to say I am excited!!!!]

Again, the solution will lie in my scheduling. Back to Covey’s First Things First–schedule in the “Rocks” first, rather than try to make this crucial activity squish within the spaces that never seem to appear. Choices can be tough, but the more I check in with the vision of my successful, balanced, healthy life, the easier those choices become.

The twenty-third issue of the Project Simplify newsletter The Simplifier is now archived on our newsletter archives page.

Here is a brief summary of the contents:

1. A Note From Shawn
Knowing what smooths your marble is a wonderful awareness
2. Our Featured Quote
by Socrates
3. Article: An Element of Success: Coaching
By PS Head Simplifier Shawn Tuttle
4. This Week’s Simplification Tip
Stop Freaking Out by Using These Three Steps
5. In the News & On the Web
Mackay: Make the most of your time; Prioritizing builds productivity; Moving toward effectiveness in your business; Family’s high-tech day has 43 hours; Falling victim to procrastination
6. Featured at ProjectSimplify.com
The “Print this” feature
7. Keep Smiling
The Free Hugs Campaign

Read the full issue here.
Subscribe to The Simplifier here.

[posted by Lance]

“Why all the writing on meditation? How is it relevant to simplifying my life and business?” you ask. Oh, let me count the ways! Meditation is about focus and disciplining the mind.

Consider, what is happening in the mind when you feel overwhelmed or stressed out. Usually, your mind is spinning around seeing all the things that need to happen but going too quickly to stop, prioritize and act. If that ain’t a mind that needs focus and discipline, I don’t know what is!

Check out this passage that we read at Meditation Class last night. It is from Anodea Judith’s book, Wheels of Life:

We take it for granted that we need to take showers, clean our houses, and wash our clothes. We’d be uncomfortable if we didn’t, to say nothing of being the object of social criticism. Yet, the mind and its thoughts need cleansing, perhaps even more than our bodies. The mind works longer, encounters wider dimensions, and runs the operating system of our life as well! While few of us would consider eating dinner on yesterday’s dirty dishes, we think nothing of tackling a new problem with yesterday’s cluttered mind. No wonder we feel tired, confused, and ignorant!

Time to clear off the desktop. Feeling the urge for everything to be clear (and clean? maybe this is the next step - LOL) My internal head workings, the computer desktop, my desk, my room, the kitchen counter–all of it! my car seats and floor. Is this compulsive? But then, what is the drive for a spiritual practice? A connection to the divine, yes? How can Stuff not get in the way? Too assumptive? Fine. At least, how can it not help to be clear? Isn’t that what we want for relationships, projects, goals–Clarity? What is that? being sure of what you want. The desired result understood and strong. Clear. Sure you can see through the windshield with rain or some dirt on it, but isn’t it easier wiped clean? You betcha.

The first of six meditation classes was great fun last week. One of the goals of this method of meditation is being in the world. Action in Contemplation & Contemplation in Action. Perfect for a Project Simplify frame of mind! Simplification of action and thought is reached in slowing down (which is the real reason for my anti-multi-task convictions!) Simplification is the first step to savoring, the first step to delicious enjoyment of the moment. When I got home after the class I had a few bites of some smoked salmon. It was a little tough and at first, I found myself chewing through the toughness. Then I slowed down, and let my taste buds in on the action. Chew, draw some tasty juice over my tongue, swallow. And again, chew, draw some tasty juice over my tongue, swallow. Mmm, yummy!

The instructor, Mary Jane Ryan-Connelly teaches “passage meditation” that she learned from Eknath Easwaran. We are reading from his book entitled, Meditation: A Simple Eight Point Program for Translating Spiritual Ideals into Daily Life. In this non-denominational method, you take a prayer passage or spiritual text and repeat it to yourself. The goal is to give the mind something to do, not to get attached to, or think about, the words, and for the words to sink into the consciousness. Hmm, I don’t think I’m explaining it as well as Mary Jane did last week…