Seizing the moment just might be key to your successful health and happiness.

I’m done putting my life into categories. Quadrants. Day types. Feck.
Here’s how it happened: Last year I turned my life upside down. Took a break from marriage. Moved. Shelved numerous obligations to meet a writing deadline. Avoided said writing deadline for a long time. Slammed that writing deadline. Put my health significantly further up on the priority list. Chose yoga over blog posts. Hung with friends instead of wooing clients. Launched stuff at light speed. Killed projects. Stopped cooking dinner mid-boil to capture an idea. Talked on the phone with friends…in the middle of the day…for hours.

I lived more, because it was time for some things to die.  I had to arrive at thrive or I would get stuck in survival mode. In this dimension, nothing is predictable, and unbridled is the only way to go. It was not the time to “manage” my time.

Time management systems are tricky beasts. They may help us be more productive, but not necessarily less stressed, or more fulfilled, or more in touch with our true nature. We may look freer with our priorities all tidy, but too often, time remains the master and we get “given” time for obeying the system.

I’d rather be fulfilled than obedient. And it turns out that when I’m fulfilled, I’m…fulfilled – whether I’m productive or not. And that gives me plenty of energy to be more focused on what matters most, which makes me truly productive. It’s a beautiful thing. Here’s how I got there:

HOW TO PUT TIME MANAGEMENT IN ITS PLACE. 
(BUT ONLY IF YOU WANT TO.)
1. Stop keeping a detailed to-do list. If it’s truly important, you’ll remember to do it. A few post it notes and texts to yourself should be all you need.

2. Say no, thank you to four things a day. My coach gave me this assignment. It changed my life.

3. Relentlessly focus on the one or two vocational desires that turn you on so much that envisioning doing JUST those things seems so fantastical that it borders on erotic pleasure (yep, I think it’s your birthright to feel that hot about your work in the world). Everything else that is not about fulfilling your most intense vocational desires is getting in the way of making your fantasy life a reality.

4. Work with talented and excellent human beings. Amateurs, posers and mediocrity-makers are time squatters. Move ’em out.

5. Delegate the stuff that doesn’t light you up.


6. Have (only) 3 important things to accomplish every week. Make those three things happen and you’re closer to making your fantasy life a reality. Accomplish more than that and you’ll feel like a super hero (good esteem fuels fulfillment AND productivity.)

7. Batch n’ chunk. Pay all of your bills at the same time. Create a day just for errands. Make all of your calls before noon. This “while you’re at it” kind of momentum is incredibly efficient.

8. Ask yourself every morning what you really feel like doing. Not what’s most important. Not what’s expected of you. But what you’re most excited to do. Enthusiasm is the DNA of making things happen. Start there.

Flying without a to-do list made me worry. It was scary to let go of revenue streams and planned projects. Going to yoga when I had obligations actually took some moxie. Doing what I was truly stoked to do each day was unnerving, guilt-inducing and exhilarating all at once. And it didn’t take long for this free forming time style to reveal my most lucrative, artistically satisfying, relationship-enhancing year ever.

Easy does it.

Editor’s Note: Danielle LaPorte is the creator of WhiteHotTruth.com, which has been called “the best place on-line for kick-ass spirituality.” She is the author of The Fire Starter Sessions: A Digital Experience for Entrepreneurs, an inspirational speaker, former think tank exec, and news show commentator. You can read all of Danielle’s EcoSalon guest articles here, and find her on Twitter @daniellelaporte.

Image: blancalala

The post How I Kicked My Time Management Habit and Became Exceedingly More Productive, Profitable and Thrilled appeared first on EcoSalon.

Column“We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.” -The Dalai Lama

In this era of heavily manipulated, Photoshopped images, we have come to expect dramatic differences from before and after pictures. How many times have we seen famous faces and bodies dramatically transformed by the push of a pixel here and there to generate a person’s super version of what he or she actually looks like?

Peter Seidler set out to explore the concept from a very different angle. In his series “Before and After,” Seidler presents a unique and subtle perspective:

“This series of photos, titled ‘Before and After,’ comes from a larger project called ‘Contemplatives,’ a visual exploration of the physiological qualities of meditation practice,” the artist explains. “I set up the ‘Before and After‘ project to explore the observable effects on practitioners after long periods of intense meditation practice. The question is: what are the observable changes?”

Somewhere along our conscious travels we may have heard that meditation practice can offer glimpses of increased clarity, health and happiness. With a change in those qualities, one might expect to see a difference in our looks. Seidler gives us a chance to observe his examination.

“Each participant in the project was asked to simply sit for a portrait on the first day of a dathun, a month-long meditation retreat.” Seidler says of his process. “I photographed them against a consistent background. Prior to the photograph, I asked each person to consider what they were looking for in the practice period ahead. This was on day number one.”

“Then, at the end of the program, after approximately thirty days of retreat, I asked each participant in the project to sit in front of the same background and asked each to consider what the experience of mediation retreat had been for them. The result is the series of photos. It’s clear from results that the person in every one of the portraits has undergone an important transformative experience. I leave it to the viewer to draw their own conclusion.”

Do the results make you want to sit for a while?

Images Peter Seidler via Shambhala Times

Eco, trends, art, creativity and how they tumble through social media to shape culture fascinate EcoSalon columnist Dominique Pacheco. Her personal blog, mixingreality, speaks to these topics daily, and here at EcoSalon, she takes a weekly look at the intersection of eco and art. We call it heARTbeat.

The post heARTbeat: The Meditative Effect of Peter Seidler’s Before & After Project appeared first on EcoSalon.

Hey there, lady readers! For over two years, we’ve been bringing you stories about the stylish side of sustainable living. We’ve been chatting, we’ve been tweeting, we’ve been friending something fierce – but we’ve never met in person! It’s time, don’t you think?

Join EcoSalon’s EIC Sara Ost, Fashion Editor Amy DuFault, and a host of other EcoSalon writers when we host our first ever event, EcoSalon Shops! at Green Spaces on June 4, 2010, from 7 p.m.-10 p.m. at their 394 Broadway, New York, NY location.

Our susty soiree will be haven to 20 sustainable clothing and accessories designers including Lara Miller, Study by Tara St. James and Cri De Coeur shoes, four eco-boutiques, Buddha Nose organic body care and A Perfume Organic. Designers from all the lines will be on hand to chat with you as you peruse new looks and try on your favorites.

You should come prepared to shop, mingle, sample sustainable goodies and organic cocktails – and participate in a Twitter #FollowFriday eco-fashion tweet up.

In addition to shopping, Save The Garment Center’s Erica Wolf will be on hand with Save The Garment Center t-shirts to answer your questions about the status of New York City’s historic Garment Center and how you can help the cause. Though there won’t be an admission fee to the event, we do suggest making a donation to our friends at Save the Garment Center.

Whether you’re in the market for a sexy strappy number or a new pair of kicks, you can do it all in eco style with us as we toast to green fashion with delicious organic wine, Divine Chocolate and Fair Vodka, and much more. Swag bags filled with sustainable gifts are available for the first 50 shoppers. Throughout May, we’ll be featuring all the participants for EcoSalon Shops!, and answering any questions you may have about the event, so stay tuned. (You can also bookmark this post for daily updates about each designer.)

For more info, check out some of the designers we’ll be showcasing:

• H. Fredriksson
• Feral Childe
• Ecowrist
• Doucette Duvall
• Divine Chocolate
• Fair. Vodka
• Cri de Coeur
• Buddha Nose
• A Perfume Organic
• Ryann
• Lara Miller
• NatureVsFuture
• Rebecka Froberg
• RESTORE
• Tara St. James’ Study
• T-Luxe Lingerie
• Zhena’s Gypsy Tea
• Foundfuture
• Juno & Jove
• Mission Savvy
• Feisty Elle

We can’t wait to meet!

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