Category: Advice

Mise-en-place

by MAÔ, posted in Organization

Another in a series of thoughts on decluttering and belongings, the French culinary specialists have given the world mise-en-place, or everything in its place. And the principle extends beyond the kitchen. When I lived in my small home, I tried to adhere to this principle to maintain my sanity (with mixed results).

How far you take it is up to you. Maybe the bookshelves keep a clean and orderly appearance.

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Or you meticulously organize your pantry.

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On the other hand, maybe you’re lucky if everything fits on a shelf. 11844881464_95278ba223_b

Whichever side you currently find yourself on, remember that it can be better. Find a home for everything – one that looks pleasing to your eye. Then, make sure every item returns to its home after use.

If you don’t have room for everything, then that’s a discussion for a later time.

Simplicity

by MAÔ, posted in Organization, Writing

When working towards simplifying life, it’s easy to forget to take care of certain things. Relationships, for one. And the quality of your relationships directly affects your well-being.

Remember to be honest with those closest to you, and honest with yourself. What are you trying to achieve? And why? Knowing your reasoning, and being able to communicate it, will go a long way towards easing your transition into a scaled-down lifestyle.

Down to the wire

by MAÔ, posted in Advice

Here it is, December 2019. Have you accomplished all that you wanted to this year? I know I haven’t. Sometime later this month I’ll do a personal check-in, showcasing some successes and failures of the year.

I recommend you do the same.

Try to think back to the resolutions you made on New Year’s last. Then, you can set them aside. Resolutions tend to be thinly-veiled attempts to make us live the lives we think we should have.

Really, just be honest with yourself over what worked and what didn’t this year? And ask yourself why? Maybe you’ll find 2020 is a time for new beginnings, or to recommit to the things that you really enjoyed in 2019. Either way, if you start thinking about it now, it won’t come as such a shock come January 1.

Routines pt. 4

by MAÔ, posted in Advice

So, you have a routine that’s working for you. Or maybe several routines that get you throughout your day, or your week. You’re not in a rut, and you’re mindfully going along. The routine’s in place, and now you can avoid any discomfort where your routine is concerned.

Wrong. The discomfort may just be what you want.

If the discomfort is Resistance. As Steven Pressfield said of Resistance, “We experience it as an energy field radiating from work-in-potential. It’s a repelling force. It’s negative. Its aim is to shove us away, distract us, prevent us from doing our work.”

One of the sad things about a routine is that Resistance can use it to discourage us from doing real work. We issue excuses about it not being a part of the routine. We quantify and qualify our responses. We demur.

However, if we’re mindful, and honest, we’ll notice whether or not it’s the work that we need to be doing.

Routines pt. 3

by MAÔ, posted in Advice

Let’s say you are stuck. You’ve found yourself in a rut that you can’t seem to get out of. Maybe it’s work; maybe it’s a relationship; maybe it’s everything. What do you do?

Like all good programs, the first step is admitting the problem. And you’ve done that now. You have a problem – it’s a rut.

The next step gets harder. Part of solving it is being mindful throughout your day.

The other part is taking an honest inventory of your life. Notice where your attention is pulled. Do you have trouble performing certain tasks as opposed to others? What are you phoning in? What doesn’t really interest you?

If you say it’s your entire job, then maybe it’s time to find something else. But most people tend to enjoy certain aspects of their work, if not the entire situation. Find ways to rekindle that interest.

The same can be true of relationships. Some of the interactions may not be working, but there are probably parts that you still really enjoy. Be honest with yourself.

When we get in a rut, we can put blinders on. We try to ignore where the problem actually is, and focus on the fact that we’re just not feeling particularly happy with our situation. But we have to be honest.

Take a good, hard look. And then evaluate.

Routines pt. 2

by MAÔ, posted in Advice

There’s a flip-side to routines: complacency. Complacency breeds a feeling of settling. Settle enough times, and you find yourself in a rut.

First of all, it’s easy to find yourself complacent in your situations. Routines can be used to auto-program your life, and then you can just set the cruise control. How to prevent this? Be mindful.

Being mindful in your day-to-day will create moments of miraculous significance – even in the mundane. Being mindful will illicit feelings of joy, and sorrow, and peace. Complacency means you’re looking at your situation and you’re okay with it.

Peace is looking at the situation and knowing that it’s exactly where you are meant to be.

Routines pt. 1

by MAÔ, posted in Advice

The benefit of routines is the creation of a kind of daily specialization. Routines program your body to daily perform the same tasks (or similar tasks) at the same time. Your body knowing this, it starts to prepare for that task as the time nears.

You free up precious decision-making capabilities, your mind already aware of what you’re going to be doing. Then it can focus on limiting or ignoring potential distractions.

Routines are extremely beneficial, and routines can be designed around any number of specific needs – morning routines; workouts; meal planning; scheduling meetings (or running meetings); etc.

Some examples of morning routines can be found in My Morning Routine from Benjamin Spall and Michael Xander. 99U has a small book called Manage Your Day-To-Day. And of course, Tim Ferriss’s books Tools of Titans and Tribe of Mentors are full of examples you can use.

What you are

by MAÔ, posted in Advice

There’s a tendency to use the word failure as a description of a person who has failed. But people are not failures. Someone may have failed, but it does not make them a failure. Often, those who fail are persevering.

If you have a disease, you are not that illness. In the same way, if you have failed, you are not that failure.

You are who you are supposed to be. Trying, and failing, and persevering. And that is enough.

Checking in

by MAÔ, posted in Advice

Every once in a while it’s good to check in. How does this feel? Are you noticing any discomfort?

They tell you this in yoga, but it’s true for life as well. We go through so many days blind to the experience – just getting by. Check in. At least weekly, but daily is better.

My check-ins are scheduled on my calendar, every Sunday. Sometimes I forget them, it’s true. But I know that when I do, I can expect the week to veer off-course in unexpected ways.

When fear leads

by MAÔ, posted in Advice

There are times when doing that one thing seems so scary, it’s nearly impossible to take the first step. Fear stopping you in your tracks; leading you away from your goals.

Steven Pressfield calls this the resistance. But it has many names. Practicality. Complacency. Normalcy.

The vast majority of us are just skating by, no more sure of ourselves than any other. What we consider to be normal is that same fear leading all of us.

What happens when you give fear the backseat? What do you do? The truth is, only you can answer that. But I bet you it feels a hell of a lot better than letting fear have control.