Welcome to The Simplifier, brought to you by…

Contents:

1. A Note From Shawn

Being nice to Shawnself, a.k.a. Mine ‘r 49er

2. Our Featured Quote

by R. Smith

3. Article: A Simplification Syllabus

by PS Head Simplifier Shawn Tuttle

4. Your Simplification Tip

Instant Messaging

5. In the News

Paper trail travails, Editorial: Simple Living, and It’s income tax organization time 

6. Featured at ProjectSimplify.com

New logo!

7. Keep Smiling

Homer Simpson quotes

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1. A Note From Shawn

“Be nice to yourself,” I say to my clients again and again. They set such high expectations for themselves! And while this drive results in their success, it also pushes them to the wall at times. The signs are clear: feeling tired after a full night’s sleep, dropping the ball at unexpected times, losing their temper in silly situations. “Maybe it’s time for take a break?” I’ll ask gently.  

Well, dear readers, I’m calling for a break for myself this time! :-). No original article this issue—instead, an index of all the Project Simplify articles we’ve put out since we began the newsletter almost two years ago. I’ve been wanting them indexed for quite a while and this seemed the perfect opportunity to do so. Two of the articles are by my fabulous co-editor and tireless encourager Lance Brown, the other 47 by yours truly. 

Enjoy and be nice to yourself!

Shawn

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

 

 

 

2. Our Featured Quote

“Most of the critical things in life, which become the starting points for human destiny, are little things.” 

-R. Smith

 

 

3. Article: A Simplification Syllabus

By Shawn Tuttle

Following is a reference guide for articles published in The Simplifier since April 2005.  They’re meant to inspire and encourage you to simplify your life by helping you connect deeply with your goals, make room for the life you desire, and establish habits to support your journey.

Choice
Making change begins with acknowledging that you have the power to design your life—just take hold of the reins and exercise your right to steer. To receive the gift of choice we need merely to choose.

• The Calm After the Storm July 12, 2006
• Frogger vs. On Golden Pond December 20, 2006
• Measuring Your Gross Personal Happiness January 17, 2007
• Relax! January 31, 2007
• Healing Journeys Interview March 28, 2007
• Let yourself have more fun working! April 25, 2007
• Beginning the Journey May 9, 2007

Clarity and Focus
Usually, your desired life doesn’t happen by chance. I think one of our major lessons in being human kicks into play here—to get what we want, we must know what we want. And then the tough one: keeping it present and clear enough in your life to make it happen. Hence clarity. Hence focus. Hence go get ‘em!

• (The Lessons of) Biking for Groceries August 9, 2006
• Following Your Heart to Success—A Case Study December 6, 2006
• You Run The Show March 1, 2007
• Release the Power of Intention October 10, 2007
• Time to Get Intentional! October 24, 2007
• The Resolution - Simplified December 19, 2007

Making Space
Giving/finding/making the space to live your desired life is an ongoing process, and it gets easier with practice. Here are ideas, encouragement, and support to make it easy for you.

• Clearing Space for the Best of You May 9, 2006
• Problem Solving vs. Solution Creation April 11, 2007
• Creating a Simplicity Statement August 15, 2007
• Inventory, Part 2: Your Stuff vs. You September 13, 2007
• Take Inventory of Your Assets September 26, 2007
• An Element of Success: Coaching October 25, 2006

Service and Sustainability
By service I mean involving our contribution to others and to the betterment of the world. By sustainability I mean working and living in a way that can be sustained over a long period of time. While sorting the articles by general subject, I was interested to see that the ideas on our service to the world were often intertwined with the concepts embodied by sustainability, hence the two subjects were combined.

• Grow Your Business Like a Tree June 7, 2006
• The Dance Between Perfection and Life August 16, 2006
• Sustainability—Good for Business, Good for the Environment November 22, 2006
• The sun radiates - and so should you! November 21, 2007
• The Recipe for a Balanced Life? February 28, 2008

The 5 Core Concepts Series
This series walks you through goal setting to accomplishing Project Simplify style—from the inside out.

• Creating Meaningful Goals May 24, 2007
• Getting Started with the 5 Core Concepts June 6, 2007
• Clearing Your Way to a Brighter Flame June 20, 2007
• Planning Your Own Personal Masterpieces July 6, 2007
• Doing It Right July 18, 2007
• Getting Together with Your Essential Self August 1, 2007

Work Flow and Systems
Clear systems and good work flow habits make or break a good day at the office. What feels better at the end of the day than a completed ToDo list, clean desk, and a clear mind?

• Multi-tasking — The Cost June 21, 2006
• Why Systemize? September 13, 2006
• Systemizing Made Simple September 27, 2006
• Make it easy for your clients with A/R calls August 30, 2006
• Filing 101 March 14, 2007
• A Simplification Potpourri November 7, 2007
• The Inbox Zapper January 2, 2008
• Organizing By Zones January 16, 2008
• Turning On the Easy Access Station February 13, 2008

Time Management
While you can’t “manage” time, you can manage what you do with your time. From planning ahead to scheduling to renegotiating responsibilities, you can manage your life.

• 5 Ways to Make Your Busiest Days Flow Smoothly April 25, 2006
• Planning Time vs. Doing Time May 24, 2006
• Plan to Prevent Overwhelm July7, 2006
• Getting There On Time! August 2, 2006
• Tired of being late? October 11, 2006
• Taking Inventory, Part 1 August 29, 2007
• Staying on top of your game December 5, 2007

Organization in General
Get organized… what’s that mean? It’s a popular concept that plays out differently for everyone. The better you understand what it means for you, the easier it is to do.

• Key Elements of Being Organized July 19, 2006
• Simplify From the Inside Out February 14, 2007
• Organization — The Mystical Destination (Not!) January 3, 2007

—

Shawn Tuttle is founder of Project Simplify.

4. Your Simplification Tip

Instant Messaging

When simultaneously working on a project with someone in a different location, instant messaging (IM) makes for a very efficient method of communication.

• It’s better than emailing because it’s instantaneous. Besides, if you are deep in a project, I recommend not checking email in order to minimize distractions.
• It can be better than the phone because you can ask questions as they arise (though complex questions will warrant a phone call).
• Your conversation is recorded in a thread making it easy to refer back.
• Even though it’s “instant” messaging, you can choose when to respond to the other person, for example once you finish the thought or task at hand. (This does take discipline. A new message in instant messaging can be even more enticing than the “beep” of a new email!)   
• It’s free over the internet.

There are many IM programs available. Lance and I use ICQ. There’s also Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, Skype,  and many others.  If you choose one of these,  you’ll download their proprietary software, set yourself up as a user, find and add your “buddies”, and then you can use it whenever you are both online. (There are also programs that support several different IM protocols. Two examples are Pidgin for Windows and Fire for the Mac.)

 

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5. In the News

Compiled by The Simplifier co-editor Lance Brown

Paper trail travails  (Peoria Journal Star - Peoria, IL)
URL: http://tinyurl.com/32ay43          
Tax time is, you know, taxing. So you need to, um, audit your organizational habits, in order to make things more EZ. Then you’ll have less ire, yes?

It’s income tax organization time (Petaluma Argus-Courier - Petaluma, CA)
URL: http://tinyurl.com/2obvg3             
This article gives a basic rundown of some of the simplest ways to be best prepared at tax time, particularly if you’re self-employed.

Editorial: Simple Living  (The Rising Nepal)
URL: http://tinyurl.com/2mqteq         
Our friends on the other side of the globe offer some worthwhile thoughts on simple living, with a focus on women.

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

 

 

6. Featured at ProjectSimplify.com

New logo!

There’s not too much to say about our new logo, except that it’s a lot simpler than our old logo. Apropos, no?

The new logo will be taking its rightful place in the masthead of the site sometime soon, along with a few other changes that are upcoming. For now, it can be found in tiny replica form, as the “favicon” - the little site icon that shows up in your browser’s address bar, or in your Favorites list, or on the tab, if your browser uses tabs. That version looks like this:

If you have thoughts or comments on the new logo, you can let us know what you think here. Thanks!

 

 

 

7. Keep Smiling

by The Simplifier co-editor Lance Brown

Homer Simpson Quotes

I’m an unabashed fan of television, which I know is probably unfashionable in this day and age. And certainly, TV has its downsides, especially from the simplification perspective. But if you strip away the ads and the redundancy (which is actually pretty easy to do these days) the actual content of many television shows often has a lot of value - educational value, cultural value, and good old entertainment value.

I know some people consider films to be a greater art form than TV shows, but with the exception of the occasional trilogy or franchise, no movie experience can emulate the relationship that forms between a loyal viewer and the characters of a long-running TV show. If you’ve been a steady fan of a show before, you probably know what I mean. TV disdainers probably find it an absurd concept, or feel that part of the decline of society is hinged upon the fact that so many people engage so enthusiastically in these so-called relationships.

If you do feel that way, then Homer Simpson probably serves as an iconic figure of that decline for you. He’s a phenomenally dysfunctional, intensely stupid patriarch of a cartoon family that never ages and never matures; he strangles his son, eschews both knowledge and religion, worships TV, donuts and beer, and drinks and eats to ridiculous excess. And yet, through the power of television, this simple drawing and voice has become a folk hero of sorts. His catch phrase (which, notably, is an exclamation associated with doing something dumb) is so widely-used that it’s been added to the Oxford English Dictionary. And The Simpsons has been on TV for a staggering 19 years, with no signs of letting up any time soon.

Does this global moron-worship signal the onset of the End Times? Is the popularity of Homer Simpson the canary in the coalmine of civilization’s collapse? Does it mean that our collective consciousness is possessed with a sickness from which it will never recover?

No. I’m not sure what it means, but it doesn’t mean those things. But don’t take my word for it…here, let this imaginary person that I’ve known for half my life explain:

“All my life I’ve had one dream: to achieve my many goals.”

“I think Smithers picked me because of my motivational skills. Everyone says they have to work a lot harder when I’m around.”

“Donuts…is there anything they can’t do?”

“Television! Teacher, mother, secret lover.”

“Beer: The cause of, and solution to, all of life’s problems.”

“Well, it’s 1 a.m. Better go home and spend some quality time with the kids.”

“Bart, with $10,000, we’d be millionaires! We could buy all kinds of useful things, like…love!”

“Lisa, if you don’t like your job you don’t strike. You just go in every day and do it really half-assed. That’s the American way.”

“Son, if you really want something in this life; you have to work for it. Now quiet! They’re about to announce the lottery numbers.”

“How is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain. Remember when I took that home winemaking course, and I forgot how to drive?”

“Getting out of jury duty is easy. The trick is to say you’re prejudiced against all races.”

“It’s not easy to juggle a pregnant wife and a troubled child, but somehow I managed to fit in eight hours of TV a day.”

“I’m normally not a praying man, but if you’re up there, please save me Superman.”

“Maybe, just once, someone will call me ‘Sir’ without adding, ‘You’re making a scene.’”

“That’s it! You people have stood in my way long enough. I’m going to clown college!”

 

Thanks to 2Spare for compiling some great quotes to choose from!

 

 

 

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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
e-mail: (newsletter@projectsimplify.com) newsletter (at) projectsimplify (dot) com