Welcome to The Simplifier, brought to you by…

Contents:

1. A Note From Lance

Bad “balance” spokesperson

2. Our Featured Quote

by Euripdes

3. Article: The Recipe for a Balanced Life?

by PS Head Simplifier Shawn Tuttle

4. Your Simplification Tip

Move it or lose it!

5. In the News

Dedication or addiction? What’s driving your work habits?; Ways to live simply; and Bringing up work-life balance at job interviews?

6. Featured at ProjectSimplify.com

Your Search Secrets Revealed!

7. Keep Smiling

Macabre balancing act

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1. A Note From Lance

I’m probably the wrong person to write the Note for an issue that’s focused on finding balance. Attentive readers will remember that I confessed to being out of balance in the “In The News” section not long ago. As I search inside myself, I’m thinking I’ve never really been in balance. That’s 35 years out of balance so far. And trust me, I’ve felt the side effects. (35 years of side effects so far.)

But if there’s one thing I’ve learned (there may not be, but if there is), it’s that we can learn from our mistakes. The past is a teacher, with the future as its student. And I’m waaaay more balanced nowadays than I ever was in the past.

Are you? I mean, I’ve been bathing in simplification talk over here for so long now that I can’t help but calm down, and slow down. But I can very easily recall what I was like, say, 5 years ago. Overcommitted to the max, to put it simply. I went way too far with it, and ended up having to basically shut it all down and start again from scratch. But you still have a chance to head it off at the pass, and tame your bucking bronco of a life before it kicks you in the head. (See, Shawn would never say something like that. Now you know why I do these guest Notes!)

Wait…I want to do another faux-wizened statement, like the “The past is a teacher…” one. Lemme think. Balance is…

(That was it.)

Enjoy,

Lance

Lance Brown
Simply Here for Irony, Project Simplify
Co-editor, The Simplifier

 

 

 

 

2. Our Featured Quote

“The best and safest thing is to keep a balance in your life, acknowledge the great powers around us and in us. If you can do that, and live that way, you are really a wise man.” 

-Euripides

 

 

3. Article: The Recipe for a Balanced Life?

By Shawn Tuttle

Balance. It sounds like a great idea: work doesn’t overtake your life, you have the time to develop good relationships with your family, and who knows, maybe you even make enough time to train for and run a marathon. (Not my goal, per se—but my kind of thinking. :-)) 

But what is a balanced life, really? I’d wager to guess that everyone has heard the popular term “work/life balance”. I’ve never liked the phrase. I mean, your work is a part of your life, is it not? I think what the term is trying to say is: balance what you want to do with what you have to do. For the most part, I agree with this concept. However it sounds as if there is some magical balance point to reach, after which all is peachy, when really it’s an ongoing dynamic. Just like if you enjoy a perfect meal; you will be hungry again…

Many have attempted Stephen Covey’s scheduling approach to balance, using Roles. Some have worked with coaches or gone to workshops to obtain a more satisfactory mix of work, personal interests, community and family activities. While there is success to be had balancing the proverbial food groups, where do your “cravings” fit in?

Let’s break it down. If you want balance, that means you want more (or less) of something than you have now. Do you actually have a desire for balance itself? Not likely. Wanting balance is usually a reflection of the desire to change the ratio of how much time you spend in different activities. What are you really wanting? What will motivate you to make changes? 

Note that these examples are stated in the positive (what you want) rather than the negative (what you don’t want).
- more free time?
- more vacation/R&R? 
- more quality time with family or loved ones?
- more community service?
- more experiences of calm and a quiet mind?
- more creative expression?
- more progress on your goals?

Identify what’s important to you that you aren’t getting enough of. Understanding your motivation will provide the juice to keep you moving toward your target. Go ahead and write it down to anchor it. 

To determine how to approach your goal, consider whether it’s an external or internal target you are aiming for.

The externals have to do with what you do. For example, activities such as playing the guitar or helping a friend put up a website. They also include things like a two-week vacation in Hawaii or a monthly weekend get-away. 

You’ll use planning and scheduling tools to increase the amount of time you give these. This is where tools like what Covey and coaches have to offer can help you thrive. 

The internals have to do with how you feel–kind of like cravings. They reflect the quality of your state of being, which includes: 
-care of the body through exercise and nutrition, 
-care of the mind through growth and monitoring thoughts, 
-care of emotions through self-healing, and
-care of spirit through meditation and expressing creativity.

Each of these are cyclical, and while you can strive to work with the cycles you understand (for example, setting a sleep or meditation schedule that feels natural), you know from experience that life happens. 

Say you desire more mind quietness. Somewhere between blank and active is the perfect amount of mental activity for you. You make time in the morning for daily meditation, but once done with your sitting time, how do you keep this calm state? Uh-oh! You stub your toe on the door jam and you have a conversation with your partner who’s feeling particularly cranky. Grrr.

Just as your stomach sends you to the kitchen when hungry, you can let the feeling of an agitated mind be like a craving that tells you it’s time to engage in a mind quieting activity. The only training you need to let this craving be recognizable like a hunger pang is to act on it! When your body knows that this signal gets that response, it will communicate with you in that way. 

Your response doesn’t have to be a big deal. It might be a few deep breaths, your favorite relaxation technique, or just consciously sitting quietly, doing nothing for a few minutes. Just as learning is more effective in small doses over a long period of time as opposed to one big chunk, catching the “craving” when it happens helps you grow your awareness of the balance you seek. 

Taking a combination approach to balance in your life can have outstanding effects. Working with both your external and internal experiences provides strong ammunition for making positive changes. By expanding the concept of balance from just what you do to how you feel, you can increase your chances of having that “perfect meal” every time you sit down to eat from the plate of life. Because remember, you will get hungry again!

—

Shawn Tuttle is founder of Project Simplify.

4. Your Simplification Tip

Move it or lose it!

How long have you been sitting at your computer? If you are like many information workers, you sit at your computer, often slouched or with some form of bad posture, for hours at a time. Think your body likes this? No way! (And having an ultra-ergonomic keyboard doesn’t excuse you!)

Remember that cumulative aches and pains take time to develop. This means they take time to release. Give your body and yourself permission to move!

If the time flies and you just forget to get up and move, then set an alarm, for example in your scheduling program, that will go off every hour.

Have fun with short movement breaks. Dance! Boogie like no ones watching—or is watching, if that’s your thing =). Do slow and continuous movements extending arms or leg out to the side, like an octopus, with one foot on the ground at any time.  Jump up and down and shake your limbs like a boxer. Stand like a tall redwood, one foot resting on the other and arms extended overhead. Get it? Have fun with it!

 

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5. In the News

Compiled by The Simplifier co-editor Lance Brown

Dedication or addiction? What’s driving your work habits?  (TheSouthern.com)
URL: http://tinyurl.com/2e6449        
My work habits aren’t driven at all. In the grand tradition of simplification, my work habits walk or ride a bicycle only. Not only do I leave a smaller carbon footprint that way, but it’s safer as well. ;-) Truthfully, my work habits are driven by a motley mix of caffeine and walks in the woods. (That counts as balance, right?)

Ways to live simply (Cordele Dispatch - Cordele, GA)
URL: http://tinyurl.com/254yk7           
Seven simple suggestions. 

Bringing up work-life balance at job interviews?  (The Wall Street Journal)
URL: http://tinyurl.com/yodpw8       
If you’re going to do it, wait until you’re getting the job, and then be sly in how you ask. This article has these and more tips on diplomatically protecting your “me” time while job hunting.

If you know of something in the news that should be featured here, let us know!

 

 

6. Featured at ProjectSimplify.com

Your Search Secrets Revealed!

This issue’s “Featured at…” is invisible to the naked eye. Your naked eye, at least. Our naked eyes can see it. And by “it” I mean our new Search Meter plugin. It shows us what folks are looking for when they use the search feature at the site. It also lets us know how many results the search produced…or if there were no results at all. And this is why the search meter is cool, not creepy…because it helps us provide folks with what they want. In this way, the search meter can also double as a passive communication outlet for you, if you’re the quiet-but-demanding type.

It’s sort of like the whole “your call may be monitored or recorded, to improve customer service” thing they have when you call in to call centers these days. The difference is that we actually will improve customer service, if we get a sense that the site isn’t serving people’s needs. So go ahead and reach for the stars - tell our little search box how we can help you. You just may get your wish!

 

 

 

 

7. Keep Smiling

by The Simplifier co-editor Lance Brown

Macabre Balancing Act

Take a handful of silent characters, give them big weird white heads and dress them all in black, and have them act out a bizarro skit with a dark but comical tone. What have you got? No, not Mummenschanz. (I didn’t say giant toilet paper rolls, did I?)

In this case, what you’ve got is Balance, an Oscar-winning short film out of (I’m guessing) Germany. And you thought you had a hard time staying balanced? Be glad you aren’t one of these long-armed morbid freakazoids, struggling to remain floating on a big black square. (See, there’s always something to be thankful for.)

Here’s the full URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJWT3p7uM6Y 

 

 

 

 

 

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Thanks for reading!

Publication Information
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The Simplifier is published by:
Project Simplify
P.O. Box 597
Nevada City, CA 95959
phone: 530.205.5775
web: www.projectsimplify.com
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