The 5 Minimalist Planning Skills – as taught by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits

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5 Minimalist Skills To Simplify Your Life – As taught by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits

Life is simple?
How many of your friends have dropped their phone in the toilet?
Think about it.

What does that say about our society?
Are we so connected and so busy we can’t even take a second to use the bathroom?

Sure modern life is complicated. But what if it doesn’t have to be that way. What if we could learn to live more simply and with more joy?

I recently attended a webinar with Leo Babauta of Zen Habits about simplifying your day. First, he shared 11 obstacles to simplification
1. Underestimating Completion Time
2. Overestimating Capacity
3. The Ease of Yes
4. Misallocating Personal Resources
5. Distractions
6. We Forget To Make Time for What’s Important
7. The Demands of Others
8. Wanting to Please Others
9. E-mail
10. Expectations
11. Small Task Mode

He explained how these 11 habits can get us of track and keep us stressed out. Then went on to explain a short set of skills we can use to overcome them.

5 Minimalist Skills to Simplify Your Life
These 5 skills are the ways he discovered to living a simpler and more fulfilling life. And though none of them are secret or revolutionary there application can be.

1.Consciousness
Often we don’t pay close attention to how we spend our time. We move from one activity to the next responding to situations without considering the bigger picture. As soon as we get going the momentum of activity carries us away.

Leo defines consciousness as deciding ahead of time how you are going to live your life.

He says we need to continually ask, “Is this how I want to be spending my time?” Is this in line with my values?” And then assess the answer.

You can make this assessment at the beginning of each hour, each day, each week, then look again at the end of the day, and see how you did. The key to simplification is to make sure you have a system with reminders built in.

2. Mindfulness
Making good choices about how we spend our time is a great start. But if we are not careful during the day, we can easily get off track. Many of the obstacles that Leo listed arise in the moment. And without mindfulness, we won’t be able to notice and avoid them.

He identified 4 things that we need to be especially mindful of: expectations, plans, goals, and energy levels. When we are mindful of these things we can start to make simple conscious choices about how to spend our time.

3. Limits
Leo defined limits as tools for consciousness. Setting limits creates cues for us to check in see what we are doing.

One way is to simply limit the number of things you have on your to do list. Another is to limit the amount of time you spend on work in a week or a day. Leo suggested setting working hours after which you shut off your phone and computer or to only do email in limited amounts of time.

4. Priorities
Leo points out that when we first list our priorities we may have 10 or 15 items on our list. As we begin to use the tools we’ve already talked about we realize that there isn’t enough time to do all of them.

We can try, but Leo warns that when we say yes to everything you are really saying no to all of them.

If we underestimate time and over predict capacity, then we will be unable to do all of these things proficiently. And in the process, we will actually destroy our capacity to handle an even short list of items.

Stress and overwork will take their toll and lead to distraction or burnout.

So, Leo encourages us to shorten and simplify our list by ordering priorities and regularly eliminating the bottom item. We simply see what the least important and bow out by contacting those involved and excusing ourselves from that responsibility.

Every item we eliminate gives us more energy to focus on what is more important.

5. Negotiate
Negotiations have to do with expectations. Leo warns that expectations can significantly affect our ability to simplify our day.

But he doesn’t think that we can just wish away these expectations. Instead, he encourages us to renegotiate them.

First, we need to renegotiate our own expectations. There is nothing wrong with being driven and focused, but often we think we can do it all. Leo encourages us to focus on a few important tasks. If we have extra time we can always do more, but this assures that the important things get done first.

Next, you need to renegotiate expectations with everyone else. This could include your family, friends, or coworkers. If you explain what you are doing and why, you may find more support than you expect.

Like a Boss
Leo noted that many people fear renegotiating with their boss. We often view our bosses as inflexible. And are afraid that if we say we want to do less, our jobs may be at risk. So, Leo offered his personal experience of how he used this technique with his boss, back when he had one.

First, Leo would go in and say he thought all the things on his to do list were important. But that he knew couldn’t get them all done today. He asked to collaborate with his boss to make sure their priorities were in line for that day.

He would work with his boss to identify what was important and what he thought he could do that day. Once they came to an understanding he would go out and get to work.

If he got done with the list early, he would go back to his boss and talk with her about what else might be important to do.

This not only helped Leo manage his day better. But helped him communicate more clearly with his boss, which no doubt built some rapport between them.

What’s Really Important?
At the end of the webinar, Leo shared a lovely bit of wisdom. He reminds us that our expectations and ideals can cause a lot of anxiety in our lives. In truth, we don’t really know what is going to happen. The future is unexpected.

Leo reminded everyone that what’s really important is being happy right now. There is no way to know if all of your dreams will come true. But if you work at it, you can learn to be happy right now.

And whether your day is simple or complicated remembering this one thing can make a huge difference.

What tricks do you use to simplify your day?

MindFitMove Practice:
Make a list of what you’d like to get done today.
Now eliminate the bottom item.
Set a time that you will you stop and take a break.

When you do take a break, reflect on 3 questions:
How’s it going?
What could I do better next time?
What did I totally rock at?

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Simplify Now: The 10 Obstacles To Radical Simplification

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Simplify Now: The 10 Obstacles To Radical Simplification (Based on a Webinar by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits) 

What Time Is It?

My hands hurt. My eyes hurt. And I’ve got a crick in my neck that would make the Spanish inquisition tremble.

As my mind ticks away at all my daily tasks I hear a soft thumping in the hallway that matches the pounding in my head. I suddenly realize that it’s my girlfriend walking up the stairs on her way home from work. Her key in the lock wakes me from my daze.

What time is it? What have I been doing?

I feel tired and cranky and I fear the question she is going to ask me. It’s the same one she asks me almost everyday. What did you do today?

I’ve spent all day working but if feels like I haven’t gotten anywhere. I feel defeated and confused. What the hell happened?

Working Hard
This happens to all of us. We get caught up in working and a whole day vanishes before our eyes. We work hard, but it feels like we are hardly working.

Our jobs can feel like a Sisyphusian task, but it doesn’t have to be that way. We can choose to live differently, to live more simply, to do less, and get more done.

I recently attended a webinar with Leo Babauta of Zen Habits about simplifying your day and here is what I learned.

What does it mean to simplify your day?

It means different things to different people.
It could mean taking time to write, exercise, spend time with family, and enjoy a good book.
Or it could mean working on a project you are passionate about, coordinating with a team, and collaborating with your boss.

Everyone’s simplified day looks different, but there is one universal theme.
Simplifying your day means making time for what’s important.

Well as Leo Babauta pointed out we all strive for this, but we get caught. And the same things often catch us.

He identified 10 main obstacles to simplifying your day and one bonus obstacle that I’m sure you’ve gotten caught up in as well.

10 Obstacles to Simplifying Your Day.

1. Underestimating Completion Time
Completion time is simply how long it takes to get something done. We are good at guessing a general completion time, but we often gloss over transitional steps.

The example Leo gave was that before the webinar he decided to go on a run. He wanted to run 8 miles and at 9 minutes a mile he should be able to complete his run in 1 hour and change and have plenty of time before his webinar. But he failed to factor in things like putting on his shoes, grabbing his keys, and making his post run smoothie.

Because of that he was still drinking his smoothie as he signed on to the webinar. This is something we’ve all done before. We don’t think about all the extra little steps that are added to other tasks.

We often plan for everything to go perfectly and things rarely do. These small steps and delays add up and before we know if our whole day has gotten off track.

2. Overestimating Capacity
Many people underestimate what they are capable of, but overestimate what they can do. Leo gave the example of a typical daily to do list.

Let’s say you make a long to do list for your day. You work all day and can’t get it done. Instead of simplifying your list, you think, “Man I need to work harder tomorrow.” So, you add that list to tomorrows list.

Tomorrow you work even harder and get your list done. So you think, Wow look at everything I did. Maybe if I work even harder I can get more done. So, no matter if you do your list or not you end up trying to do more.

This process leads to you rushing through your tasks and results in a ton of stress. Even if you get a lot done, you probably aren’t doing it well.

3. The Ease of Yes
Saying yes is so easy, especially when you say yes to someone else. We rarely say yes to things like exercise or self care, but we are great at saying yes to all sort of other things.

Leo tells us that fulfillment is much harder than commitment. Saying yes only takes a second, but fulfilling that commitment takes time and energy, which are two of our most precious resources.

We always think we are going to have more time, more energy, and more money in the future. But when we say yes all the time, we run out of these resources faster that we think. Our short-term commitments eat up everything and we never

4. Misallocating Personal Resources-
One thing I always tell my clients is “You are your most valuable resource.” We are great at protecting our assets but often neglect to honor the precious resources of our energy and attention.

Leo gives the example of waking up early and working hard all morning. But because you have pushed yourself, in the afternoon you are spent.

You have to take a nap or you just can’t seem to get going. Even if you do take a nap, you might find that you are groggy all afternoon and can’t really work effectively.

When we misallocate our resources, we don’t have energy for what’s really important. We find ourselves rushing around and tiring before we can get anything done.

5. Distractions
Distractions are not new, but with the pace of modern technology the amount of time and energy that we can lose to distractions is greater than ever.

Leo gives the example of sitting down to write. But first he wants to do this one little thing. That one little thing leads to another. And then he has to check something else and then something else.

All of a sudden, he looks up, it’s five o’clock, and he never got around to writing. He spent the whole day caught up in distracting tasks.

Distractions always start will a small diversion, but if we’re not careful they can eat a ton of our time. All those little 5 min diversions add up to a ton of lost time and energy.

6. We Forget To Make Time for What’s Important
Most of us know what’s important to us, but we often don’t live our lives in accord with our values. Leo notes that most people value things like spending time with loved ones, creative work, and self-care.

But even though we care about those things we forget to prioritize them. Because those things don’t jump out and demand our attention. We have to make a conscious choice to focus on the things that really matter.

7. The Demands of Others
Humans are by their very nature social animals, but if we don’t have direction we can get lost in the herd. My teacher used to tell me, “Without strong vows, you will spend your whole life caught in someone else’s agenda.”

Leo said that you could spend all day answering emails and responding to phone calls. But this means you are letting other people dictate your day.

Working with others is great. But if you don’t find a balance, your priorities will get lost in the shuffle.

8. Wanting to Please Others
Other people are not the enemy, but even people with good intentions can get us off track. Leo noted that simplifying your day doesn’t mean we should never try to help others. But there has to be a limit.

If we don’t set these limits, we not only become stressed out, but we lose the ability to be present. And that doesn’t benefit those whom we want to help.

9. E-mail
Leo put this in a category all its own, because E-mail can become a black hole from which nothing escapes.

There are many good reasons you need email. A lot of our work is done there and it can help us organize our correspondence. But when you are working in your inbox, other things are always coming in. There may be questions, requests, and/or the demands of others.

Leo warns that email can expand to whatever time we give it. Which means email demands a special kind of awareness.

10. Expectations
My father always used to tell me, “You’ve got to inspect what you expect.” Expectations are common, but often lead to a load of problems. Because when reality doesn’t match our expectations, suffering ensues.

Leo identified 2 categories of expectations that act as obstacles.
1. Our Own expectations- This is how much we think we can do, who we think we should be, and how we think we should respond. These expectations can lead to inner criticism and doubt. They also often hide the fact that we are actually doing a kick ass job.

2. Other peoples expectations – This includes what everyone expects us to be able to do, who they expect us to be, and how the think we should react.

It’s really easy to get tied up into knots about these expectations. They begin with the primary relationship we have with our parents, continue through school, and then expand, as we become an adult.

They can be a prison that keeps us from realizing our potential or maintaining balance in our lives. But for living a human life, expectations are par for the course. If we aren’t aware of these expectations, they will buffer us at every turn.

Bonus Obstacle
In the original list that Leo shared on the webinar there were only 10 obstacles but in the Q&A discussion he identified 1 more.

11. Small Task Mode
Leo describes small task mode as being caught up in doing lots of small tasks. These small tasks include things like emails, social media, and anything that is done in small bits.

The real danger of small task mode is that once our mind enters this space we tend to avoid doing larger more complicated tasks. For example, have you ever noticed that an email that takes more thought to respond to stays in your inbox longer than other emails? We often skip over these longer emails while we are dealing with fast response items.

The way to get over small task mode is to slow down and give yourself space to do longer tasks. Not only will we get these items done more efficiently if we just take a moment to work with them. We will also give ourselves space to be creative and work on the harder things which are often more important.

5 Radical Simplification Skills

Leo didn’t stop with these obstacles. He went on to talk about 5 simplification skills that can help anyone tackle these obtacles. So make you check out my next post where I’ll share these 5 skills. And how you can put them into use today.

Or even better make sure you don’t miss another one of my posts by subscribing to my blog.

When you do you get a free E-book Fit and Mindful. Which offers simple and practical tips to add mindfulness in to your daily life and exercise routines.

Get started on a simple path to movement and mindfulness that helps bring more balance into your life. Subscribe Here

 

The Mistake Every Successful Person Makes

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Our culture and society revere the self-sacrificing individual. The person who puts aside their own desires to advance some cause, effort, or endeavor. They are our revered captains of industry, revolutionary leaders, and trailblazers.

While giving to others, is surely a virtue. If we go about engaging in acts of kindness from an empty tank, it’s bound to cause problems. Giving needs to be genuine, to be meaningful. And genuine giving comes from a strong foundation.

The Trial
I once had a job where I received a ton of criticism. Part of the problem was I had two bosses. Everyone knows that every great organization has two leaders, right? (Insert sarcastic eyebrow raise)

It would have been one thing if they just complained about me. But they also complained about members of the staff in a very unskillful way.

When this happened I had a choice. I could take that criticism and dump it onto the staff. (Knowing that wouldn’t help them perform better.) Or I could absorb the brunt of the criticism. I chose the latter.

The Martyr
I took the yelling and then turned around and showered the staff with encouragement, kind words, and constructive feedback. It worked, for a while, but then I started to get tired.

Eventually, my energy filter was getting clogged more often. At first I got a little snippy with my employees. Eventually,it became when I get yelled at, you get yelled at.

I felt like a failure and started to feel depressed. I was turning into my bosses and it was making everything worse. But I didn’t know what to do.

The Error
Looking back now I can see it was inevitable. I was making a critical error. It’s the same mistake nearly every successful person makes.

No, it wasn’t a mistake to be kind to my employees. And telling my bosses to go to hell wouldn’t have worked either. My big mistake was that I wasn’t taking care of myself.

I wasn’t setting good boundaries with work. I wasn’t sleeping enough. I wasn’t exercising.

I was working myself to the bone, because I thought I had to. I thought I was taking care of my bosses and my employees. But the hard truth was I was really taking care of my ego. I was more concerned about how I looked then how they were treated.

My Ego
I stopped taking care of myself because I thought I was tough. I was the man in charge after all. I had to rise to the challenge.

I thought self-care was simply selfish. But even that was just my ego getting in the way of the reality. I imagined overworking made me a sort of secular saint.

The Help
If I had really wanted to help, I would have taken better care of myself.

If I had been well rested, I could have been more patient. If I had exercised, I would have been less stressed. If I had set good boundaries with work I could even have helped my bosses set boundaries of their own.

But instead, I got caught up in the ego game of self-sacrifice. And because of it, I suffered and so did everyone around me. Instead of having a calm levelheaded boss, they had an exhausted, cranky boss.

I realize now that if I really want to help my partner, friends, and colleagues one of the best things I can do is take care of my self. I know that by learning to access my own resources I have more space to be present with others.

In addition, by engaging in self-care I show others that self-care isn’t selfish. It is in fact one of the best things you can do to help those around us. If we can’t take care of our selves, no one can do it for us.

MindFitMove Practice
Engage in at least one act of self-care this week.
Then come make a comment or send me a message and tell me how it went.
Here are some simple examples of self-care.

Take a walk/Run
Go for a short 10 min walk or run by yourself. Go without an ipod or other stereo. Be clear that you are taking a walk for you and no one else. Listen to the birds, breathe in the fresh air, and just enjoy moving.

Take a Long Bath/Shower
Set up some candles, grab your favorite book, and turn on some soft music.
Take a long soak or rinse and relax completely.
Notice the sensations of warmth on your skin and let it help you let go of your day/week.

Do Body Work
Go to a restorative yoga class, get a massage, or see an acupuncturist. Whatever your flavor, go see someone who is trained in caring for others. Sometime paying someone can remove the guilt of self-care. And it’s always nice to be pampered.

Let’s Talk: What’s you favorite type of self-care?

 

Thank You, Stress!

It Begins With a Thought
I was walking to meet a client and a thought popped in my head: “There is something wrong with me.”

My low back had gone into spasm over the weekend. I had experienced a ton of pain and discomfort. I had a few nights of little sleep.

Now a few days later I was experiencing some localized numbness in my low back. As I walked, my body felt weird. I wasn’t sure how exactly, just weird.

The Spin
As soon as the thought entered my head, it happened. I was sure my whole body was going numb. My breath shortened. Thoughts spun in my head.

Stressed Out Girl

What if I slipped a disc?
What if the numbness was permanent?
Should I even be walking right now?
I’ll need to get an MRI.
My insurance sucks.
How much is an MRI going to cost?
How long is it going to take to pay off?
What if I need surgery?
What if I can’t exercise?
What if I can’t walk?
I just started my new business.
I feel like I’m on the right track.
I’m doing something amazing with my life.
Why is this all falling apart?
What am I going to do?
What am I going to do?
Oh my god, I think it’s getting worse!

Fear
Fear sits underneath so much of our lives. Just stepping out of our house everyday we face a thousand fears.

When we give in to those fears, others follow. To live we have to face our fears. Facing our fears leads to stress.

Stress
Working on my dreams meant, I was facing my fears. The stress built up. Then the dam burst.

Was the injury the result of fear and stress? Or did it give me space to finally feel it?
I’m not sure. I do know we must face our fears, but we must also see our stress.

MindFitMove Practice
(I’ll be doing the following practice this week to respect my stress.)

-Everyday when you come home from work or before you go to bed, write down one stressful event that happened today.
-Write down the fear you faced.
-Accept that this event was hard.
-Accept that you did the best you could.
-Accept that you can’t go back and do it differently.
-Thank yourself for facing this stress.
-Then write down one thing you can do the next day to thank yourself.
-A few suggestions are: Tell a friend about your stressful situation, engage in a small act of self-care, forgive yourself for not being perfect.

No matter what we choose to do, we must see the stress in our lives. Then we must honor our stress with attention and care. If we don’t, if we deny our stress, it will find us in our weakest moments.

What are you afraid of? What stressed you out?

 

The art of not caring too much.

Seal on a Beach

My United States of Whatever

So it happens to all of us. Work gets crazy busy, we don’t have enough time to exercise, we can’t see our friends, and things just won’t stop.

Stress can make any of us lose it a little bit and the long term health consequences are real. Stress causes all sorts of chronic illness and leads us to engage in unhealthy habits like overeating, drinking, and using drugs.

Hectic times can’t be avoided, but there are some. Here is one practice that is vital if you want to navigate these waters with as little stress as possible.

Preferences

Hold your preferences and opinions lightly: Ok, so this is one of the toughest practices to develop as a habit, but it’s probably one of the most transformational.

Everyone, and I mean everyone has some perspective on everything that gets done. Even if that perspective is ‘I don’t care.’ Very often people think there way is the best way.

Usually there are several good ways to do something, but we start to identify with our way and then we get upset when things are done differently. Our way becomes us. An attack on our way, becomes an attack on us.

It’s Not All About You

Now the truth. Our way, maybe it’s the best, maybe not, but mostly it’s just one of many opinions in the universe. Also it’s probably not an especially important one.

Now an opinion on whether or not you should give birth to a child, or kill living beings, that is an important preference. Mostly though our preferences are for the way we put silverware in a dishwasher, or the proper way to put on a roll of TP.

I have learned to let go of many these types of preferences. They just don’t really matter that much in the long run and when they are challenged, I go, “You know this isn’t really worth getting upset about.”

It’s a relief to do it, because then I’m not holding up this big sense of self. I don’t have to lug around my silly ego manifested in 1000’s of little tiny preferences and opinions. Life becomes simpler, but I don’t lose my sense of power or self worth.

As Long As It Matter

When something really matters to me I speak up and I speak up loud. When this happens people listen, because I don’t  speak up about just anything. When I speak up I know it’s important because I’ve let go of so many unimportant preferences go. Things that drove me up the wall and things I’ve fought about with ex-partners are no longer a big problem in my life.

So you may be wondering how to practice letting go of preferences. First, just notice when your preferences are coming up and pay attention to if they are really important or not. Next when something rubs you the wrong way learn to breath and let it go. Then repeat until you are getting really reactive then take a break. Finally, learn the difference between boundaries and preferences.

Boundaries

Boundaries keep you safe, but preferences keep you trapped in reactivity. While trying to let go of preferences notice those that make up your sense of integrity and well being. Part of the way you find you boundaries is by letting them get crossed. When I let go of preferences often I find that some preferences think are important, aren’t and some that I saw as silly, are actually important to me.

Experiment and don’t be afraid to talk to someone about getting reactive. It’s not the getting reactive that is the problem, it’s the stewing about it. Letting go of preferences isn’t the same as holding it all in. The key, as always, is paying close attention to the little tricks our mind plays.

Letting go of preferences and opinions is a hard practice, but now that I have done it for years I can stay calm and cool in many situations. People tell me that I’m such a calm person and I’m convinced the reason why is that I have learned to hold myself lightly.

MindFitPractice

Try letting go of preferences this week. Start with some silly ones and go from there. Put the silverware in the ‘wrong way,’ roll that TP from the underside, and mostly have fun with it. When we see how silly we have been all these years it’s less embarrassing, then hilarious.

Thanks for reading and Be Well
Gentoku