Happy August! All kinds of good stuff this issue so I’ll forgo the musings for a moment.

Several months ago, we shifted from a bi-weekly to a monthly publication schedule. I’ve become increasingly aware of the fact that our info-(and hopefully inspiration) packed newsletter is deliciously chunky–no slim pickings here. In the interests of making it easier for you to take in the info, we’ve decided to split it up and resume a bi-weekly schedule. Basically, you’ll get the same amount of info as previous issues, but over a two week period. We’ll be starting this format with the September issue.

You’ll be getting a notice about the fall workshop schedule in a couple of weeks. People have been asking for the Papers in their Place workshop, and it will definitely be offered. If you have any specific pet peeves, let me know and I’ll do my best to make sure they are covered. I’m also offering a day-long Natural Professional ‘shop for those ready to integrate natural flow into your way of doing. Get ready for mucho fun with that one!

Since I love the philosophical ponderings, here’s a recent twist on my interpretation of simplifying:

We cultivate simplicity in order to remain in the calm eye of the storm. From here, we are poised to act deliberately and at the right time–a characteristic trait of the Natural Professional!

Enjoy,

Shawn Tuttle
Head Simplifier, Project Simplify
Co-editor, The Simplifier

“A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days. It is a scaffolding on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at sections of time."

-Annie Dillard

by Shawn Tuttle

"Freedom to be my own boss!" is the #1 rallying cry for taking the plunge into the self-employment world. Free from bosses telling me what to do and when to do it! Free from wonky co-workers! Free from tech support, free to buy my own office equipment, free to pay for my own health care… Uh-oh. Who’s going to take care of all this stuff?!

Is it really lack of freedom that keeps you from getting what you want? Nope, it’s lack of structure. Don’t get me wrong, I love spontaneity. Absolutely, be spontaneous–but in the areas that thrive with creativity, like attention-grabbing marketing campaigns and new and improved ways to help your clients. But be structured in the areas you want to spend minimal time in, like paper work and record keeping.

Structure doesn’t have to mean a grandiose system requiring extensive setup. The point is to give your brain guidelines so that it can relax, knowing that it doesn’t need to be on call to improvise. Since your mind is so critical for making your stuff happen, your heightened ability to train it on the task at hand not only gets your work done faster, but with less brain-strain.

The following five remedies will help you pull in the reins of your scattered mind so that you can get more done more easily, by focusing. Nothing to buy or configure. Just take a couple scoops of determination, ladle on some perseverance, and top with a dollop of discipline.

1. Zapping, the mindset

Sharpening your decision-making skills enables you to pick up the pace in critical times. It’s too easy to get into a slow waltz pace when in the office for hours at a time. Zap time is sprint time! 15 minutes to Zap that pile of papers or chunk of emails. Turn on the punk music and slam dance! Scan. Assess. Deal. Done. Next. Zap it!

2. One thing at a time, all the way to completion

Take one (and only one) thing at a time, decide, and take it all the way to its destination. Stay focused. Diffused light is nice, but a magnifying glass starts a fire. Get it? We’re all about blazing out the mental junk! Whether Zapping your desk, a stray pile of papers, your inbox, or the mysterious pile of stuff by your back door…deal with one, and only one, thing at a time, determine its fate, and take that thing to it where it needs to go. This prevents you from asking the same questions about that same thing again. In this case, there is no tomorrow, no such thing as later–this baby wants your attention now!

3. No browsing

Browsing through your inbox is like pushing peas around your plate. That’s right Janie, they’re still there and you cannot feed them to Skippy under the table. No digging through the inbox to find the easy stuff, no skipping emails you don’t really feel like dealing with… Pull in that stray energy. If you pick it up, deal with it. (See how nicely it ties in with one thing at a time and Zapping?) If you are too tired for this, then stay out of the inbox and take a break. Your brain health and freshness are crucial!

4. Single next action

I can feel this one coming on when a client picks up a piece of paper and groans, "Ohhhhh, yeeaahhhh." Obviously she’s been shuffling it around for ages. I want to tell her to buck up! It’s not like it’s a demand from the Grim Reaper threatening to nab her first born. Really now. Instead of responding with dread, disarm it with objectivity by asking "What is it?" and making a super-quick answer. Then ask, "What is the single next action required here?" Either do it right now, or write down the next step on the paper itself, on a sticky, on your ToDo list–whatever your system is for tracking items needing action. The point is to take it to the next step in its lifecycle without having to assess the situation yet again.

5. Protect your focus time

Appointments with yourself shall be held sacred. Whether they are in small chunks of 15 minutes to Zap the inbox, or 2 hours for big project time, stick with your pre-determined intention. Besides the time and mental effort required to resume an activity after interruption, when you let yourself get distracted, you are essentially saying that the activity has no importance. Which is obviously a case of denial, as you wouldn’t be doing it otherwise, right? This is one of the reasons to do small sprints for the maintenance stuff. You can almost always find a way to protect 15 minutes of focus time.

These remedies for a scattered brain are relevant no matter whether your system is paper-based or paperless, or whether you work out of cafes or in a big office. We can suffer from a spinning-out mind anywhere.

Rather than limiting your ability to be spontaneous, reeling in your scattered mind actually gives you the opportunity to have more freedom! We all know that stress kills fun and creativity. Your will and commitment to making these remedies a part of your workflow are all you need to anchor them in your life. Keeping your simplified life moving with these powerful habits will free you up for the important stuff, like getting more clients, brainstorming brilliant solutions to save the world, figuring out how to get paid to go to Italy…

—

Shawn Tuttle is founder of Project Simplify.

We’ve talked about them before. Spent thousands of words to prevent them from ruthlessly butting in on your best intentions to manifest your dreams. The unspeakable "D". Well, I’ll have to say it to get on with the tip: Distractions. There. I’ve said it.

Internal and external shiny things jump around for your attention when focusing on the task or project at hand. I’ve shared all kinds of tips to support your mind in its distraction-prone state. Things like turning off your phone during focus time, setting a timer, turning off email inbox alerts, putting a sign on your door asking for privacy, and so on. These are just a few of the many options that you may have tried on your own simplification journey. The trick is to find the solutions that work for you.

A great solution is easily integrated into your flow because it works the way you work. Often times, simply acknowledging that something is an issue is all that’s needed for your mind to pop up an answer for it.

The tip for you this issue is in the form of an exercise.

1. Pick one (just one!) distraction that you know you are vulnerable to. The first one that comes to mind is probably a good one to use.
2. Brainstorm three to five remedies for this distraction. What could you do or say that would help you stay focused on your work at hand when this internal or external thing threatens to pull you away? Can’t think of any good remedies? Call in the troops for help (in the form of a friend or colleague).
3. Write down your solution as a reminder somewhere that you’ll see it when you need it.
4. Use it like a shield to protect your focus time.

With a solution-oriented attitude, this exercise can take as little as a minute to do. The mind is a funny thing. While it’s easily distracted, it takes just a little intention to focus it on a remedy to keep it from those distractions. When it comes right down to it, I think the mind just likes to be active. So let’s get it active in supporting your goals!

Compiled by Lance Brown

Less is More – No more racing for a finish line that is never reached (Winston-Salem Journal)
URL: http://tinyurl.com/kmclcm
This is a thorough review of the new book "Less is More" by TV simplification guru Wanda Urbanska and eco-author Cecile Andrews. The book itself is a collection of essays on…well, you’re smart people, I’ll give you two guesses. (Less is more, after all.)

Radically rest: Creative ways to (finally!) relax (CNN/Oprah.com)
URL: http://tinyurl.com/lnhlk7
Chronic stress can damage DNA? Yikes. That’s pretty stressful. Luckily, global powerhouses CNN and Oprah have pooled their collective wisdom to come up with some creative ways to save those poor little DNA strands. Unless…hey, you’re not one of those sickos who gets off on hurting poor innocent DNA, are you?

How to Reclaim your Time (Huffington Post)
URL: http://tinyurl.com/mnuqxw
This article focuses on how to relieve your mind from the task of carrying around all the weight of everything you’re involved in all the time. Shawn has her daily check-in; author Eli Davidson has her own spin on the process.

Introduced by Lance Brown

We want to make it easy for people to find The Simplifier on the Project Simplify site, and we want them to be able to get a good sense of what it’s like so they can decide if they want to read an issue or subscribe. We’re hoping our new intro page for The Simplifier gives people a better look inside than our old subscribe page did. (There’s still our Newsletter Archives page for those who are ready to take the next step and start readin’.)

In addition to the new intro page, we’re now featuring the most recent issue on the front page of the site, right under Shawn’s welcome message.

You already know about the tasty treat that is The Simplifier, but maybe you have friends or colleagues who haven’t taken the plunge. Hopefully our new intro page will give you an easy way to show them what it’s all about. Just send them to this address:

http://projectsimplify.com/thesimplifier

Thanks!