happiness is a skill
Vanessa Shaw prioritizes her week in under 30 minutes using sticky notes to physically categorize, organize and prioritize work. I have a similar-in-intent strategy with my paper planner. Vanessa captures why I love my paper planner: it allows me to both visualize and interact with my time. As I re-read the article, I realized that… Continue reading Visualizing and Interacting with Time
I know that when my car has a flat tire, there’s no way I can drive it without doing serious damage*. I’d pull over and fix it, then get back on the road. I’d be both annoyed at the inconvenience, and proud of myself for fixing it. But if anything else more serious happened, I… Continue reading Call the Experts
You know how sometimes at work you're asked what your super power is? Sometimes I think mine is "finding complexity". I love lists so much I could make a list of my lists. I add things to cross them off, which makes it easy to replace accomplishments with activity. Over the last week, I've even… Continue reading Aggressive Simplicity
“Do you have a best friend at work?” was one question on the first “employee engagement” surveys I took. The question was considered somewhat of a joke at the time. After all, work is for work. You could have friends on your own time. Fast forward a decade or so, and suddenly both having social… Continue reading Fellowship of the … Cubicle?
You know that feeling when there are ideas swirling around your head that keep bumping up against each other, yet haven’t yet been distilled into what is essential? I’m there with thoughts about setting boundaries at work, self- and community- care and how I define both happiness and success. I need Dumbledore’s pensieve so that… Continue reading Saying Yes… and No
I've been feeling as if life is more hectic than I'd like recently. The end of the school year does this to many of us - I know I'm not alone! Mix in a threenager, some big projects at work and increased commitment to this blog and helping other to "work your happy", and some… Continue reading Cascading Habits
I kicked off my Memorial Day weekend - the official start of summer - by emailing a group of coworkers inviting them GAME OF CONES*: a series of informal, ice cream-based summer meetings. From Redbubble! Immediately after hitting send, I regretted it. Not because I don’t want to hang out with my coworkers and have… Continue reading Game of Cones: Why Ice Cream Matters
This past Sunday, my family kicked off our Memorial Day to Labor Day tradition: Ice Cream Sundays! We visit our local creamery each Sunday evening during the summer months. It's an easy family activity that helps make summer memories, establishes a routine and since it ends at Labor Day, keeps ice cream treats a little… Continue reading Seasonal Bucket Lists: 15 Minutes Happier
When I graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 2000, I didn’t give much thought to what I was leaving. My experiences at MHC weren’t all strawberries and champagne. I applied to transfer my first-year, staying only because my parents let me know that a transfer meant no study abroad in Ireland. After graduation, I moved… Continue reading The hope I needed this week
I recently had the opportunity to attend a Leading with Purpose workshop with Nick Craig. For anyone not familiar with Nick’s work, he coaches leaders to find their purpose by focusing on magical moments from childhood and crucible stories. Exploring these life experiences, both positive or negative, is how Nick guides others to find where… Continue reading Getting to Neverland
