teaching productivity

On Saturday I went up to London to teach my very good friend the principles of Accelerated Productivity.  When I arrived she had amassed a VAST pile of stuff that was bothering her, piling up files, and folders, and brochures, and old work and college notes, and a long list of things that weren't as she wanted them to be.  From photo frames that didn't stand up, to tax returns that hadn't been done for..... way too long.  It was almost a whole room

So we got stuck in.  And I think she got it.  She really got it.  At the end of the day.  Her bed was cleared, everything had found a place (a lot of it was in the bin!) and she had a clear idea about what her next steps were on everything.  And where to find those next steps.  Her inbox was empty.  She had several key things entered into her calendar.  I think she was quite amazed.  It was hard work, but it was very satisfying.

"I can't belive its all been put away.  I was expecting to rearrange the piles a bit.  I think I was expecting a time management prioritisation techniques, not that it was lacking in that, but I was really pleased to be able to put it all away, that everything has a home.

I feel like I have achieved so much  - even though I haven't really done anything yet.  I know what to do and where it all is. Its like everything is doable, from building a new house to getting a tax disc for my bike, the next step will be taken.  I have to admit I feel clear, and by the time you arrived this morning I was quite stressed out.

It was nice that there was the reward at the end (wine!!) I felt I deserved a treat."

From my point of view, I think I got it all across pretty well.  As she was a good friend, if I backtracked and had to re say some bits at a later point to clarify, she didn't mind at all.  I was knackered by the end of it all.  It required a lot of concentration, pulling her back to focus on what she was doing, and what her decisions were going to be.  Its a clever system.  You basically do all your thinking at the front end.  So that the doing becomes easy and lightweight.  And trackable.

Anyway, I will be checking in with her in a week's time to see how she is getting on.

On a personal level.  I am definitely more on the case.  It was lovely to get back to actually doing some creative stuff yesterday (I am trying to post a picture, but its just not going through right now).

ah, I am tired this week, I have actually got a lot going on right now.  Ah, but there is no rest for the wicked, or for mums who are trying to set up their own income streams!! Speaking of which, I am in the gallery today.  And I have had time to do some research for my art business.  Hence, I have signed up for (yet another) e course.  I waivered.  But I was hooked.  Cleverly its with Beth Nichols  - she of the Do What you Love art retreat (and blog and website and ecourse) and Kelly Rae Roberts, whose Flying Lessons e course so influenced me last year.  Yup, its not cheap, but here we go.  Its a business expense isn't it.  And goodness knows I just need another course on my plate!!  If you are interested its called Hello Soul Hello Business.  And they promise that if you don't earn the money back in increased sales you get your money back.  ooh they ARE clever. 

dreaming

of being and doing a workshop with Michele Cassou

"The creative painting work offers practical ways to dissolve creative
blocks and find inspiration so that, in a state of infinite possibility, art
becomes not a means to an end but a place we inhabit, a place to explore our
true selves and the mystery of our lives."

guests from Aus

Hmm the no alcohol and lemon thing slipped a little with visitors arriving from - the other side of the world.  Last time I saw N and G, one was the same age as Bub is now.  N is now Dr N Phd.  Go her!  And when I first met her nearly 20 years ago, she was a nanny, doing housekeeping and a bit of clothes mending on the side.  She's gone far, not just in miles but in her academic career.  Impressive.

Ah but its good to catch up.  I can get back on the hot water with lemon again, but I can't see my old friend again for a long time. At least she does get to travel through work (she's on a whistle stop tour of European Universities and friends and family) so we might get to see her again soon.  And Bub is gagging to visit Australia (and Africa and India), mainly to see the animals of course. 

I am gearing up for my first practice session of Accelerated Productivity. My guinea pig will be my good friend, Bub's godmother, JW.  She is actually pretty organised, but she loves this sort of thing and wants to see me anyway.  Plus if she likes it, she's the best saleswoman and trumpet blower.

Wish me luck.

Little changes are adding up to a big difference

Its the second day I have woken up and drunk a cup of hotwater with lemon instead of tea. One of the things I have taken away from my Accelerated Productivity course is the idea of being a bit more disciplined.  Not a lot, just a bit.  And how this can affect big changes.  I guess its like the idea that once your house is clean and tidy it is easy to keep it so.  And then from there, if there is no more procrastinating to be done in tidying up, then you move on to the to do lists that are really going to make a difference.  And discipline in terms of, well, lets just do that NOW shall we.  Don't be putting it off or to the back of the pile.  Just go ahead and do it. 

One of my long term goals has been to be 'the kind of person who eats clean food'  In its extreme form, this involves being vegan and only eating organic and alkaline foods sort of thing.  You know, a lot of raw flavoursome stuff with no nasties in it.  I ackknowledge that I am most likely not going to be that full on.  But given that I have been waking up sluggish, and to be honest the week of wonderful Frenchness (wine, bread, cheese, meat, pate.... and more wine) was gloriously enjoyable.  It did take its toll.  I cannot drink that much and keep healthy!  Good for holidays, but bad for body.  Lots of little niggly things, like coldsores, hmm nice, which only crop up when I am run down, appeared afterwards.  As did 2 kilos of extra blubber around the middle.....

So day two of hot water and lemon.  Famously a yoga way to start the day.  And also alkalising.  Which is the new health buzzword on the block.

Day 2 of a avocado, water and hemp protein smoothie for breakfast too. Mmm nice (not that nice actually - but filling and on diet)

And nothing 'bad' til after noon. 

And I am down almost a kilo.  Impressive huh.  Just one day.  And I feel good.  Maybe its not just the lemon thing.  Maybe it is also the proactive attitude.  The idea that I am actually doing something about it.

Oh and I can say I am being immensely tidier too.  Little things that have been hanging around forever are being picked up and sorted through.  Book are going back into the shelves as I see them  - just that small sort of thing.  Its not much, each little thing, but it is all adding up to a rather pleased withmyself me.  And yes, I do feel better.

burning man inspirational guiding principles

with thanks to the burning man site and for the inspirational photos posted by inspirational artist, Flora Bowley

What a wonderful wonderful set of guiding principles.  I think I might have to take a big fat leaf out of this book. 

Radical Inclusion

Anyone may be a part of Burning Man. We welcome and respect the stranger. No prerequisites exist for participation in our community.

Gifting

Burning Man is devoted to acts of gift giving. The value of a gift is unconditional. Gifting does not contemplate a return or an exchange for something of equal value.

Decommodification

In order to preserve the spirit of gifting, our community seeks to create social environments that are unmediated by commercial sponsorships, transactions, or advertising. We stand ready to protect our culture from such exploitation. We resist the substitution of consumption for participatory experience.

Radical Self-reliance

Burning Man encourages the individual to discover, exercise and rely on his or her inner resources.

Radical Self-expression

Radical self-expression arises from the unique gifts of the individual. No one other than the individual or a collaborating group can determine its content. It is offered as a gift to others. In this spirit, the giver should respect the rights and liberties of the recipient.

Communal Effort

Our community values creative cooperation and collaboration. We strive to produce, promote and protect social networks, public spaces, works of art, and methods of communication that support such interaction.

Civic Responsibility

We value civil society. Community members who organize events should assume responsibility for public welfare and endeavor to communicate civic responsibilities to participants. They must also assume responsibility for conducting events in accordance with local, state and federal laws.

Leaving No Trace

Our community respects the environment. We are committed to leaving no physical trace of our activities wherever we gather. We clean up after ourselves and endeavor, whenever possible, to leave such places in a better state than when we found them.

Participation

Our community is committed to a radically participatory ethic. We believe that transformative change, whether in the individual or in society, can occur only through the medium of deeply personal participation. We achieve being through doing. Everyone is invited to work. Everyone is invited to play. We make the world real through actions that open the heart.

Immediacy

Immediate experience is, in many ways, the most important touchstone of value in our culture. We seek to overcome barriers that stand between us and a recognition of our inner selves, the reality of those around us, participation in society, and contact with a natural world exceeding human powers. No idea can substitute for this experience.

one day

one day (soon - ish)I want to be able to say the following

I am a trained yoga teacher
I am a creative consultant
I get paid to do what i love
I am a painter
I own a horsebox which has been converted into somewhere I can live and work and travel
I could, if I had to, support our family, easily with my part time and flexible income.
I can do full navasana
I have been to Burning Man


OK that's enough for now! 

Life post Accelerated Productivity

I haven't posted for ages!  I have this new spinky spanky email account which allows me to email from a People Who Do address.  But its all based in google and I lost my password.  AND AND blah blah.

I expect you have all forgotten who I am!   Well, it was for me anyways this bloggy.  Its my personal personal personal blog. 

I know I keep muttering about a new one.  And I have plans. For a portrait blog,  for a full on art one.  And all.  And it will happen. One day.

For the mean time.  Here I am.

I also went away and a most beautiful if calorific time in France with friends.  Hub stayed home, but you know, some Hubs would complain and insist that I stay home too.  But mine lets me go on holiday even though he doesn't want to!

So in case you missed the last post.

I am now an organised person.  Well, I do most certainly feel more organised.  Its not that much has massively changed, but I now know where I am at.  AND to be fair, I have tackled the ugly monster that was the VAST pile of receipts in 2 box files.  I have sent off 2011 accounts (for year ending april 2011 for those who think I am actually doing my accounts in the future...) which is pretty massive.  And to give you some sense of the scale of this. My personal accounting year 2011 actually runs from 1st May 2009 to 30th April 2010.  I know, its complicated.  And I am considering changing it.  But that is how long ago I had receipts from.  2009.  And you know what I am pretty much there with my 2012 receipts entry as well.  Just my share dividends and interest to go - as for some reason this runs the same year as the rest of anyone elses accounts and i won't have the figures until April 2012.   And just to be truly shockingly organised.  I have actually done some receipts entry into my 2013 accounts.  yup.  get me.

I have also
tackled and sorted the understairs cupboard (monumental!)
sorted through Bub's toy over spill (kind of cheated a little as there is a mashoosive bag of unsorted STUFF in the loft.  But hey)
And.  Oh.  That's it.  Oh yes, kept my in tray at empty.  I think I need a 'glory list' of STUFF I HAVE GOTTEN DONE ALREADY.  Because there are things every day.  Little things, like collecting the bulbs for the kitchen light, taking those tops back to Fat Face, posting the thank you notes and also the gifts, talking through my list of items to discuss with the accountant (all those years and I didn't know I could have put in a proportion of my council tax...) found someone to take on the playgroup after the people I had already found let me down, set up 2 appointments for practise sessions for accelerated productivity, bought tickets to see both Gillian Welch and Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares (been wanting to see them for YEARS) met the neighbours (after a little drumming up of support for the Zocalo Brighton) Hung some pictures of my folks in the hall way. Got the boiler fixed. Cancelled a credit card I don't use, reordered one I had lost, got the list of NHS dentists in Brighton, bought and organised my husbands birthday presents (got him a kindle as we are getting overrun with books here) and cake, registered as an organ donor. Sold a shed load of baby clothes (weep) cleaned the car out on the inside, hoovering and all....  oh hum etc etc.  as well as the usual work in the gallery go to a few meetings etc.

I feel as if I am doing a massive clearing.  Ready for the future.  Getting rid of all the dead weight things I don't need any more. It is in the words of many north americans, AWESOME!!

So can I say that Accelerated Productivity (Getting Stuff Done) works. And so does having Bub back at preschool.  Lets face that fact.  WOW I have time to do stuff. 

The next tranche of things is going to get more tricky.  I am clearing the runway so that I can get my studio up and running and start doing some portraits and art work.  And I need to be disciplined about scheduling in more YOGA.  Watch this space!!