I’m continuing my attempt to do something new every day. Some days I make it, some I don’t. Sometimes they’re meaningful, sometimes not. Sometimes they may not be actually be new, but meaningful to me.

This week I:

• Tuesday: went to speed dating (it was huge fun)
• Wednesday: floated up into bakasana without any effort or stress (this has always been my most challenging yoga pose. I usually hear the name and my eyes tense and my brain starts screaming ‘OMG. You can’t do that. Crap.’ So this was significant.)
• Wednesday: Listened to Röyksopp (new music for me – and

I liked this 🙂 I wish I could find the source…

“Girls are like apples…the best ones are at the top of the trees. The boys don’t want to reach for the good ones because they are afraid of falling and getting hurt. Instead, they just get the rotten apples that are on the ground that aren’t as good, but easy. So the apples at the top think there is something wrong with them, when, in reality, they are amazing. They just have to wait for the right boy to come along, the one who’s brave enough to climb all

This week my workload is a bit lower than usual – I have plenty to keep me busy, but a lot of it is background work, not urgent work.

It’s the type of week that is usually hard for motivation and where I am usually fairly unfocused and end up at the end of the week feeling like I could have done better.

So I thought it would be a good opportunity to get into some new work habits – while I have time to focus on some ways of working without the work getting in the way.

So here’s Read on “New work habits”

I’m trying to do something new-to-me every day. Sometimes they are big, sometimes small. But they challenge me, help me grow and keep life interesting. Some days I don’t, and that’s OK too.

This week…

Monday

Practiced treating everyone as if they were already my friend.

Tuesday

Had the mad idea to set up this blog. Of course, I’ve had mad ideas before, I’ve set up blogs before, and I’ve written personal stuff before, but I think it was a pretty big step to put those three things together.

Wednesday

Cycled all the way up Northborne Ave to Barton. Read on “This week’s firsts”

I finished this working week at 5ish today (which is late for a Friday) with an insanely high level of energy. Like, so high that sitting still is a bit of a challenge.

Of course, feeling this amazing made me wonder why – what was it that made me get to the end of the week feeling so amazing.

I think it was 2 things.

The first is, as it always is, people. I had a couple of days client work with lovely clients. Then on the days I was working at home I caught up with friends – breakfast Read on “On energy levels”

I grabbed a copy of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance today – a book I haven’t read for maybe 20 years, and that I was too young and inexperienced to understand the first time around.

I’m a page in, and it completely nails what I love about being on the back of a bike (and maybe one day on the front):

You see things vacationing on a motorcycle in a way that is completely different from any other. In a car you’re always in a compartment, and because you’re used to it you don’t realize that through that

Yesterday I spent the day practicing something suggested in Personal development for smart people.

I’m paraphrasing without looking at the source, which I don’t necessarily like doing as he spent a long time explaining this idea, and I’m going to short cut the whole thing.

Anyway, the idea is to treat everyone as if you’ve already known them for a long time and already have a relationship with them – as if they are already someone you care about and are connected to.

Yesterday I was doing client meetings and travelling, so came in contact with lots of new Read on “When everyone is already your friend”

I’m currently reading Personal development for smart people.

I don’t usually have a lot of time for personal development books (which is sort of funny given that I just started a blog about it) – a lot feel like new-age waffle. But I really like this book as it is sensible and practical.

The writing is easy to read without being simplified. He doesn’t pretend that it is easy to be a better person or that there are any quick answers. But he explains clearly and gives loads of practical activities. It’s approachable and sensible.

So for a little Read on “Personal development for smart people”

[originally posted to facebook on new years eve]

I’m writing my ‘new year resolution’ post a day early as tomorrow I’m off to an ashram for a week, with no tech, no phone, no internet (no booze, meat, chocolate, caffeine too – and believe it or not, I’m OK with that).

I also don’t usually worry about new year’s resolutions. I usually think it’s a meaningless date and I adjust my life as I go through the year.

But this year is different. I’ve had the most up and down year I can remember, and it feels meaningful to stop Read on “In 2011 I resolve to try less hard”