Simple Life Together

Dan Hayes & Vanessa Hayes, Daniel Hayes
  • 4.8 (199)
  • SELF-IMPROVEMENT
  • SERIES

Leading a Simple Life in the Modern World

  1. 11/07/2012

    SLT 001: An Introduction to the Simple Life Together Podcast

    An Introduction to the Simple Life Together Podcast Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you! Welcome!  We’ve waited a long time to get started on this and we’re so excited to finally “get it out there.”  So, in the show we give you an introduction to us, a little bit about our background, what “simple” means to us, and then we talk about our format for the show. We shared the major “pillars” of our life plan, highlighting that our focus is on the following: – Faith – Family – Friends – Finances – Future Ok, so here’s how we envision the Format of the show: Every episode, we’ll each pick topics for discussion. Vanessa’s will likely focus on organizing, the household or her business and Dan’s will likely be centered around technology, business or DIY projects. Together, we’ll also focus on family issues/kids, our relationships, future plans, designing our lifestyle, etc.  These are just some areas, but we haven’t set any boundaries because life has endless topics. We’ll also have a segment where we each pick one thing per episode that we want to highlight…something that’s had a positive impact on us since the last show.  It could be an app, an experience we had, a conversation, a product, whatever. We tried to come up with a name for this thing, whatever it is, and in the end we just decided to call it ”The Thing.” Our commitment for the show: – Nearly complete candor…but some things you know you can’t just put “out there” – Little sugar coating because life isn’t always sweet and besides, we’re low carb eaters – Imperfection…because nobody’s perfect. Perfect is the enemy of really good.  Our goal is to produce a really good (but simple) show. – Open to feedback and new topics!  We want you to be part of the show because that’s how we all learn – Not too much structure…because we’ve both had jobs that pegged-out the “structure meter” and now we like our lives to be a little more “freeform.” A little bit about us… – We both have our own businesses, which really helps with designing our simply life together – Dan is retired from his first career and now does  Business Development Consulting helping niche business with their branding, media presence, and strategic planning. – Vanessa is a Professional Organizer and helps clients simplify and organize their lives, at home and at work so they have more time to focus on what’s truly important to them, too. So that’s what we do for a living and I’m sure we’ll share more about ourselves as we go along. What Simple Means to Us – Actually having time to enjoy life with those we love – Living within our means – Not being slaves to our possessions – Embracing the concept of “less is more” – Living more deliberately – Focusing on our endstate and how we want our lives to be in the long run – Less  distress (negative stress), more eustress (positive stress) The Thing Segment: Vanessa:  Not compare herself to others Dan:  Quote from Antoine de Saint Exupéry “Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” Closing Thoughts: We hope you join us on the journey If you like the show, please subscribe and consider giving us a good review in iTunes If you know someone else who might enjoy the journey too, send them a link to SimpleLifeTogether.com There are links to our Twitter and Google Plus profiles and other contact info on the left side of the website. We’d love to hear from you ! Be sure to leave comments below or send us a voicemail.  Comments, questions, thoughts, ideas, suggestions…they’re all welcome! Links we mentioned in the show: Tim Ferriss 4HWW Deferred Retirement Plan Michael Hyatt’s Life Plan  Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you!

    26 min

  2. 11/14/2012

    SLT002: How Routines Can Simplify Your Life, Simple Ways to Get the Most out of Search and Research

    Well, we got past our first episode and in Episode 2 we discuss how using routines can help simplify your life, and some simple ways to get the most out of search and research. Routines help make things predictable, let you better plan you time, and make things more efficient. So, we’ll be sharing some tips on how to tap into that power so routines can simplify your life, too! When something is new to you or you need more information, most people turn to Google to find answers. But are you using Google as effectively as you could? We’ll share some of our tricks to help you become a wizard at search and research! Read more… Main Topics:   Vanessa’s Topic: How Routines Can Simplify Your Life Two Common Reasons People are Disorganized: Lack of Defined Priorities or Life Goals:  Without purpose you’ll continue to run around aimlessly allowing others to dictate to you what’s important. Lack of Routines:  Overwhelming reason for disorganization but having set routines is one of the greatest tools to helping you get and stay organized. Key Components of Creating Routines w/Family, Co-Workers or Employees:  Establish EXPECTATIONS: Example: You want your kids to clean room, make the bed, get ready for bed, clean up time, play time, etc. SHOW exactly how to get the task done and WHY. PRACTICE with them! Repetition and recency (do task often and not too far apart…daily) are keys to learning a routine faster. Establish a system of REWARDS and CONSEQUENCES Morning /Nightly Routines: Morning and Nightly Routines: Your day really starts the night before! Pack lunches. Set out clothes and iron if necessary (I use a hanging shoe organizer to set out 2 weeks worth of clothes). Set yours and your kids’ alarms clocks. Have kids shower at night…it’s calming and one less thing to worry about! Prep your coffee and set out your vitamins and medications. Set the breakfast table. Check school backpacks and folders. Review your calendar and school schedules. Create a checklist and post it on the door or common area for all to see. Prep dinner: review your menu, take out freezer items to defrost. Paper and Mail Routines: Check mail daily and sort it right away…don’t let it pile. File…don’t pile. Use and Action File to organize your daily papers. Use a scanner to keep digital files instead of paper files. Save documents in Evernote or Dropbox. Sort through your kids folders daily and be scrupulous.  Don’t keep what’s not important.  Use a keepsakes bin to store your child’s favorite papers. For a more detailed list of routines and links to helpful tips, check out the notes Vanessa created for a special presentation she gave to a group of moms: http://getsimplifized.com/routines-briefing Dan’s Topic:  Simple Ways to Get the most out of Search and Research We all use the web to Search and do research, but many many of us were never really taught good search skills. When you’re doing research, know that many search engine results are skewed positive simply because of advertising and affiliate efforts. First few results on a page, the ones typically bolded or with a highlighted background at the top (and sometimes the bottom) of the page are paid advertisements. These may provide you lots of information, they’re also there to lead you to buy the product.  Many other top links are what’s called Affiliate Links. Affiliates get a small percentage of the sale of a product. So while not all affiliate links are bad, they too are there to lead you to a sale. Many websites that end in “review” or “reviews” are affiliate sites that compare different models or brands of whatever you’re searching for. The key is determining if the review is from someone you trust. If this search is the first time you’ve been to that site then you’re trust level may not be as high. We use affiliate links for products we use and would recommend anyway. Not all affiliates disclose their affiliation so take the advice of many of those site with a grain of salt. Crowd sourced reviews…like reviews on Amazon.  When we do buy things, we often buy from Amazon and we’re Amazon Prime members because you get free 2-day shipping, and access to free Amazon Instant videos (not that we watch much TV, but thought you might like to know they’re free). It makes things simple. Items typically rate between 1 and 5 stars The more ratings the better because then you have a broader view Click on the Star levels to see ratings from each You can learn as much from 1-2 star reviews as you do from 4-5 reviews For restaurants and service locally, check out Google Local and Yelp Both have crowd-sourced reviews So do services like Angie’s List but you pay for membership A technique I use for lots of things, including searching and researching: Think in the obverse (or opposite) You’ll find lots of info out there about how “good” things are, but as I mentioned, it’s skewed So when you’re searching for whether something is good, you’re also hoping to find out whether it’s not good so you don’t get taken! So, search for “xxx sucks” People have less motivation to take the time to post bad info (not making money from it) Highlights problems they’ve had with the product or company…you won’t find that on the product’s site! Obverse searching helped me decide on which online backup to go with. I chose DollyDrive, hands down.  The two other big names I searched where just riddled with results (over 2000 for one) and zero for Dolly Drive.  Unscientific? Yes. Simple technique? You bet! Some simple tips for using your Google Search Bar: Exact Phrase:  If you want to search for an exact phrase, use quotes. [“simple life together”] will only find that exact phrase. However, if you type “simple life” together, you’ll find pages that contain the exact phrase “simple life” and also togther. Either/or: Google normally searches for pages that contain all the words you type in the search box, but if you want pages that have one term or another (or both), use the OR operator Not: If you don’t want a term or phrase, use the minus “-” symbol. Using the sample example as before, if I search for “simple life” in quotations, I’m swamped with results for the TV shoe “The SimpleLife” with Paris Hilton.  So, I could also choose to use “simple life” in quotations and then “minus symbol” Paris -Paris Give music a test drive: Looking for the latest tunes or a song from your high school days?  just type the artist or song title in the search bar and you’ll probably get a few YouTube Options!  Speaking of YouTube:  You know it’s the world’s #2 search engine, behind it’s daddy, Google (who owns YouTube).  Need to know how to do something? Install a car stereo, make an Everything Bagel Mix, Delete a Facebook post from your iPhone…YouTube is the place for you! Current Weather Conditions: Type “weather” followed by the city and state, US zip code, or city and country. Conversions: Google Converts Units of Measure: Google’s conversion tool can convert between many different units of measurement of height, weight, volume and many others. Simply enter your desired conversion into the search box and we’ll do the rest.  This tool is perfect in the kitchen when you need to convert for recipes.  So, to convert from cups to tablespoons I simply type in: X cups in tablespoons. But don’t stop there…you can use this tool to convert all sorts of things from currency, and distance, to measurements in time (although I have to admit I could easily convert years to days but still have no idea what 4 score and seven years equals…so sorry Abe). Simple Math: Yep, the Google search bar also has a built-in calculator function, simply enter the calculation you’d like done into the search box.  To add use the “+” sign, to subtract use the (you guessed it) “-“ sign, use “*” to multiply, and “/” to divide. Google Is a Dictionary: No more smelly old books if you wanted a definition, correct spelling, or a synonym!   To check your spelling, simply make a good guess, and Google’s spell checking software will automatically check whether your query uses the most common spelling of a given word. If it thinks you’re likely to generate better results with an alternative spelling, it will ask “Did you mean: (more common spelling)?” Definitions: To see a definition for a word or phrase, simply type the word “define” colon, then the word(s) you want defined. To see a list of different definitions from various online sources, you can type “define:” followed by a word or phrase. Movie Info: Just type in “movies” and your “area code” (e.g. movies 90210) Area Codes: Just type the three-digit US area code, hit the Enter key or click the Google Search button and Google gives you the area code service area. Track Flight Status and Airport Conditions (awesome):  For arriving and departing U.S. flights, type in the name of the airline and the flight number into the search box. Check delays at a specific airport by typing in the name of the city or three-letter airport code followed by the word “airport”. Track Packages (way awesome!): Type in the tracking number for your UPS, Fedex or USPS package directly into the search box. Google returns results that include quick links to easily track the status of your shipment.  You can check out these and other Google Search Bar tips at: http://getsimplifized.com/search The “Thing” Segment: Vanessa:  Change is a process…even though we are on this journey to create a simple life together, we can backslide and fall into the trap of “wanting”more sometimes.  Just acknowledge that changing your lifestyle is a process and get back on track. Dan:  Dan gave thanks to Cliff Ravenscraft the PodcastAnswerman at PodcastAnswerman.com o

    52 min

  3. 11/21/2012

    SLT 003: Why We Can’t Let Go of Our Clutter, Backing Up Your Digital Information, and A Little About Dropbox

    Why We Can’t Let Go of Our Clutter, Backing Up Your Digital Information, & A Little About Dropbox Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you! In Episode 3 we discuss reasons why some people can’t seem to let go of clutter and some tips that may help you decide what to keep and what to let go.  We also talk about some lessons learned from a catastrophic hard drive crash which sparked the “Your Backup Strategy’ strategy segment, and we wanted to sing a few praises for Dropbox. Dropbox is one way to save documents to the cloud and sync them across all your devices simply. Main Topics:   Vanessa’s Topic: Why We Can’t Let Go of Our Clutter We feel the need for abundance. We are a consumer-driven society and conditioned to think more is better…it’s all about quantity over quality. We’ve lived a life “without” and find security with having more. Living through the Depression, growing up in a modest or poor  household, or surviving a rough financial patch can play a huge role in why folk don’t ever want to “live without” again. Forget Justin Bieber…we’re more influenced by Justin Case.  You know, “I might need this someday…just in case.” Some folks want to be ultra-prepared for any scenario. It’s ok to be prepared, but try to be realistic…especially if all that stuff is getting in the way. We feel a sense of obligation. Many feel a sense of obligation to keep every gift. It’s ok to hold on to things but you do have the ability to say no. We fear losing the memory if we get rid of something. Many of us have had wonderful and meaningful experiences throughout our lifetime but we fear that if we get rid of a gift, we’ll forget that person, experience or important time in our life. We want to pay tribute to our past experiences.  Like from our childhood, past careers or travels.  It’s easy to go overboard on collections but try to be mindful of collecting too much. We’ve spent too much money and feel like it’s a waste if we give it away. Let’s face it. We’ve all probably spend a good fortune on things that we never used or never really liked. Boy does that sting! Chalk it up as a lesson learn, be more frugal and research before purchasing another product and find comfort in donating your goods to folks who are less fortunate. We’re holding on to the past. We tend to keep things that remind us of times when we were happy, the most confident, or the most successful. And sometimes we hold on for a deeper reason...like allowing our things to define our self-worth…or define our happiness.  Many folks believe that shopping and having more makes them happier but often times it’s just a temporary fix to “fill the void” of something else that’s missing in their lives.  Simple Steps to Help You Let Go:  Start with the space that’s causing you the most grief or anxiety. This could be the home office, the kitchen, the laundry room, the bedroom etc. Then start small. Pick a small area to work on like a drawer, a shelf, a cabinet, one spot on the kitchen counter, one filing drawer.  You wouldn’t eat an elephant in one sitting right?  You’d take small bites and eat a little at a time.  (Not sure I like that analogy…the thought of eating an elephant is stomach wrenching but you get the point right!) Then ask yourself these questions when deciding what to keep or not to keep: Do I love it? Do I need it? Do I use it? When was the last time I used it? When do I plan on using it? Can I borrow it? Can I rent it? What’s the worst that will happen if I got rid of it? If you answered “yes” to the first three questions then you should probably keep the item. If you answered “no” then considered letting it go.  If you’re still struggling then ask the other questions and you’ll more than likely find your answer. Dan’s Topic:  Backing Up Your Digital Information and an Intro to Dropbox Backing Up Your Digital Information:  As anyone who has experienced an unrecoverable hard drive crash knows, your first thoughts are “oh my gosh…what files did I just lose forever?” The reason I lost some files is boils down to one thing…I failed to make the process simple. Negative Lessons Learned I took too long to make my decision on which backup system to use for my huge video files Foolish rookie decision making mistake. George S. Patton: “A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.” (when it’s too late) Positive Lessons Learned:  My routine of using Dropbox (and Google Drive) for all my important work docs proved a complete success. While all docs, pics, vids, etc, that were hosted in my iMac are gone, every single one I had on the Cloud (whether Dropbox or Drive) are intact and those workflows are seamless. I use Dropbox and Drive as much for convenience as I do as a part of my backup plan. I love to have my docs accessible wherever I am and it’s so convenient to be able to share docs with clients. By having everything in Dropbox intact reinforces a solid backup strategy: again, ensure you have your info backed up to an external drive, and be sure you also have an off site/cloud storage backup, as well. Ensure you test your strategy from time to time.  Your big takeaways! Follow the 3 S’s…Make your backup Simple, Seamless and Solid.   Simple…so you don’t have to think about it, it just happens in the background. If you do have to think about it, set reminders in your calendar. If you use Google calendars, send text message reminders to yourself. Seamless…if you have regular backups to an external drive, make sure that drive is also backed up off site.  Initial backup to the Cloud can take up to a couple weeks, depending on your connection speed and how much data you have, of course. Solid…evaluate that your system works. Try to download files from your backup system and see if there are bottlenecks or barriers to your system. How easy would it be to do a complete system restore if you lost your hard drive? As I reevaluated my backup strategy, I added immediate (and blazing fast Thunderbolt external backup) that can handle my huge video files, followed by nightly off site backup with DollyDrive. As I mentioned in Episode 002, I chose Dolly Drive because they’re Mac specific and I really couldn’t find any complaints about them anywhere! I can’t endorse DollyDrive yet because I just started using it, but I’ll be sure to give updates. Make sure your backup plan is simple but complete… On site backup to an external drive Cloud backup off site. A Little Bit About Dropbox Dropbox is probably not your total backup solution. Use Dropbox to supplement a good backup plan by storing docs there. Dropbox is FREE and they give you 2Gb to start out with.  You can sign up at SimpleLifeTogether.com/Dropbox. You can earn up to 18 Gb of additional storage through referrals, too. They have paid plans if you use LOTS of storage space (that’s what we use) How It Works: What dropbox does is simply add another folder on your computer that acts as a virtual drive. You can load Dropbox on your PC, Mac, smartphones, tablets, etc, and have everything synchronized on every device. If you change or edit a document in Dropbox while working on your laptop, it will automatically update everywhere else. Even if you’re on someone else’s device, you can log in to your Dropbox account on the web and access your information there. You can even share documents or folders with others so they can have access, too.  And it’s all done seamlessly…on the Cloud. You can use it for photos and videos, too. While Dropbox isn’t our backup plan, it supplements our plan since I host most of my everyday documents on it, making them always available on every device and always synced. The “Thing” Segment: Vanessa: ANALYSIS PARALYSIS: Too many choices can be overwhelming and frustrating…life is much easier and simpler when choices are few.  This strategy works great with kids too! Dan:  EVERNOTE!  We both use and LOVE Evernote!  It is what they say, an external brain.  If you’re into David Allen’s Getting Things Done system, or any other productivity system for that matter, then you know how every system touts “ubiquitous capture,” aka “getting everything out of your head or your environment and getting it recorded somewhere (notebook, 3″ x 5” cards…or Evernote). We plan on doing a future podcast(s) dedicated to how we use Evernote, but in the meantime, check out Evernote.com and see if it might just rock your world like it has ours. Closing Thoughts: If you like the show, please subscribe and consider giving us a good review in iTunes If you know someone else who might enjoy the journey too, send them a link to SimpleLifeTogether.com There are links to our Twitter and Google Plus profiles and other contact info on the left side of the website. We’d love to hear from you ! Be sure to leave comments below, send us a voicemail from the little microphone icon on the right side of the page, or you can go “old school” and email us!  Comments, questions, thoughts, ideas, suggestions…they’re all welcome and we’d love to hear from you! Links We Mentioned in the Show: Get Simplifized.com: Vanessa’s article on Letting Go of Your Clutter Dropbox: You can learn more and download Dropbox at SimpleLifeTogether.com/Dropbox Evernote: Your “external brain” Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you!

    44 min

  4. 11/29/2012

    SLT 004: Benefits of Organizing & Having Less, and Some Weird Sounding Simplicity Tools That Might Just Help You Out

    Benefits of Organizing & Having Less, and Some Weird Sounding Simplicity Tools That Might Just Help You Out Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you! In Episode 4, we discuss Benefits of Organizing & Having Less, and Some Weird Sounding Simplicity Tools That Might Just Help You Out. Main Topics:   Vanessa’s Topic: Benefits to Organizing and Having Less You’ll save money, have less debt and be better able to handle tough financial times. It’s pretty simple: less stuff  =  less money you’ll have to spend…especially on off-site storage rentals! You’ll cut down on buying duplicates when you’re organized and know what you have. You’ll save on late fees and interest rates if you have a good system of tracking and managing your bills. You’ll have more usable space. You’ll be able to properly utilize desktops, countertops and your dinner table. And maybe your garage too! Less stuff means you can use the spaces in your homes for their intended purposes and not just for storage. You’ll help avoid “analysis paralysis.” We talked about this in Episode 3. When you have too much stuff it’s difficult to make decisions. With less choices, there’s less time wasted. There’s less to clean and maintain! Average home 3 bedroom home has over 350,ooo items in it! Knick knacks and all those other things require lots of dusting, laundering, storage, cleaning and maintenance…and lots of money! You can invite guests over without hesitation. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to have them over without feeling embarrassed or in a rush to clean it up? Having simple routines and “a place for everything and everything in its place” makes for easy clean up. You’ll be more productive. Start getting organized by having scheduled routines(mentioned in Episode 2): laundry, housecleaning, meal planning, etc. Helps ensure the “must-dos” get done…plus allows more  time to focus on other priorities or those…“want-to-dos.” You’ll  have better concentration. Piles of papers, heaps of laundry and sinks full of dishes are haunting reminders of stuff you still have to do. It’s hard to concentrate when your home and office are a mess. You’ll save time. The average person wastes about 55 minutes per day searching for things…keys, files, tools, clothes, etc. That’s a lot of time over the course of a year! Again, having “a place for everything and everything in its place” helps speed up the time it takes to clean up or find things. You’ll have a sense of control.  Control = Confidence = Nicer You! Knowing where things are and when important tasks will get done creates confidence. Most folks are ashamed of their clutter and therefore ashamed of themselves. You’ll have less guilt Don’t you feel guilty when you buy something when you know you really didn’t need it. It’s way more empowering when you can say “no” to those buying impulses and not bring in more stuff. You’ll have more Joy and be more content. Striving for more and waiting for the day that you’ll strike it rich will deplete the joy you could be experiencing every day. You’ll never be content if you’re always comparing, striving for more stuff, collecting, etc. You’ll have more time and better relationships. You’ll have a feeling of calm and peace of mind. Dan’s Topic: Backing Up Your Digital Information: Some Weird Sounding Simplicity Tools That Might Just Help You Out Occam’s Razor: “Of two equivalent theories or explanations, all other things being equal, the simpler one is to be preferred.” Benedictine monk…William lived in Ockham, England from 1285-1349. William wasn’t the person who came up with the idea behind the razor, but he was widely known for professing it’s benefits, so it soon came to be known for him. The first time the term Occam’s razor was used, was in 1852, over 500 years after Occam’s death. Occam’s Razor Take Away: Try to develop the simplest solutions to problems and challenges. Much like the KISS method, keeping processes, workflows, recipes, you name it, simple, helps you to be able to replicate successes. Next up is Parkinson’s Law which states: Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. C. Northcote Parkinson (30 July 1909 – 9 March 1993) British naval historian, author of sixty books (most famous of which Parkinson’s Law), scholar within the field of public administration, satirist of government bureaucracy. Storage requirements will increase to meet storage capacity Data expands to fill the space available for storage. Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. Expenditures rise to meet income The amount of time which one has to perform a task is the amount of time it will take to complete the task. The Stock-Sanford Corollary to Parkinson’s Law reads, “If you wait until the last minute, it only takes a minute to do.” I call that the “Homework Corollary.” Parkinson’s Law Take Away: Realize that the “status quo” can quickly turn into the status “whoa!”  What that big house because you enjoy the extra space? It’ll fill up.  Pareto Principle: Often called the 80/20 Rule. 80% of the results likely comes from 20% of the effort. Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, observed in 1906 that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population Developed the principle by observing that 20% of the pea pods in his garden contained 80% of the peas. This same 80/20 split kept revealing itself. Led ol’ Villy to determine that, generally, 80% of effects likely come from the 20% of causes. Another way to think about isOrganization: Do you keep the 20% of the things you use almost every day in logical places to maximize your efficiency? Are the other 80% of your belongings getting in the way when you don’t need them? Maybe it’s time to look at how much stuff you really need, identify your vital 20% and pare the other 80% down a bit? Productivity: When it comes to productivity you need to think “systems.” Look at the vital few tasks you do that have the biggest impact. Do you have a system in place for your “to do” list, paying bills, buying groceries, filing important documents, home and vehicle maintenance, etc. More about Pareto’s 80/20 Rule at SimpleLifeTogether.com/Pareto Take Aways from Pareto: Use Pareto’s Principle to determine key actions that have the most results in your life, your most important 20% of effort, habits, possessions, etc, to learn where you can pare down what you do, have and use. Use these tools individually and together to your advantage to simplify your life. The “Thing” Segment: Vanessa: Michael Hyatt Blog Post:  The Gift of Today-Lessons from a Monk.  This post featured a beautiful video that Michael Hyatt forwarded and wrote about .  It’s an absolutely beautiful video that’s narrated by a monk where he encourages us to be grateful.  Here’s one of his excerpts: “You think this is just another day in your life.  It’s not just another day  It’s the one day that is given to you today…It’s the only gift that you have right now.  And the only appropriate response is gratefulness.” Dan: The Decline of Fascination and the Rise in Ennui (on-wee). A blog post by Seth Godin…a fellow Buffalonian and some consider him a modern day philosopher.  Here’s a quick excerpt from his post: “The real opportunity, I think, is in trying to build longer arcs. Now that the cycle of new is eating itself in a race to ever-faster, there’s a bigger chance to make long term change by consistently focusing on what works (and what’s important), not what’s new and merely shiny. What’s important, what’s always important, is useful change.” Closing Thoughts: If you like the show, please subscribe and consider giving us a good review in iTunes If you know someone else who might enjoy the journey too, send them a link to SimpleLifeTogether.com There are links to our Twitter and Google Plus profiles and other contact info on the left side of the website. We’d love to hear from you ! Be sure to leave comments below, send us a voicemail from the little microphone icon on the right side of the page, or you can go “old school” and email us!  Comments, questions, thoughts, ideas, suggestions…they’re all welcome and we’d love to hear from you! Links we mentioned in the show: Get Simplifized.com: Vanessa’s article on Benefits to Organizing and Having Less. Very good article on Occam’s Razor over at You’re Making Me More about Pareto’s 80/20 Rule at SimpleLifeTogether.com/Pareto Michael Hyatt Blog Post:  The Gift of Today-Lessons from a Monk.You can find more of Seth Godin’s work at http://sethgodin.typepad.com Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you!

    47 min

  5. 12/07/2012

    SLT 005: The One Secret To Accomplishing Anything and the Laws of Simplicity

    The One Secret To Accomplishing Anything & the Laws of Simplicity Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you! Feedback: We got some terrific voicemail feedback from John Bukenas from  LetsReverseObesity.com. John’s podcast Let’s Reverse Obesity is fantastic! John is doing great things chronicling his weight loss and is helping so many others along the way. Thanks, John, for listening, subscribing, and taking the time to send us some feedback. We also got a very, very nice comment here on Episode 004 from Marshall Ponzi. Thank you Marshall for your kind words and you’re so right…it IS amazing what we can do without. And, I think we’d agree that doing without all the extra allows us to truly appreciate what we do have all the more. Marshall also has a terrific podcast over at InboundInFocus.com that gives great inbound marketing tips for business owners. If you’re a business owner you’d be well served to check out Marshalls podcast, Inbound In Focus, as well. Main Topics:   Vanessa’s Topic: The One Secret To Accomplishing Anything  “I’m often asked what my secret is to being organized and how I get my clients to become more organized.” The single most important component to becoming organized is commitment. So why is commitment to change so difficult? 1. It’s not a priority….at least not yet. 2. Change is hard…even when you know it’s good for you. 3. It takes a lot of work…and that can be daunting and discouraging. 4. Unfortunately, often times people have to reach some sort of “breaking point.” Vanessa highlights some of her efforts to change: Finances $24K in debt Electricity and phone cut off Creditors hounding her for payments. Fitness 40 lbs heavier than her current weight Combined, the struggles led to: Low self esteem Depression Low energy Keys to her commitment to change: Stopped playing the victim Committed to a lifestyle change vs “quick fix” Results? Paid off debt in 2 years  Rebuilt credit score Kept the weight off Better level of fitness than in high school (20 years ago! Wow! She’s OLD!) Vanessa’s Truths: Truly believes “If I can do it, so can you!” One key is to be realistic about the change you want to make…and understand that it’s a process…not a quick fix. Be patient, systematic and strategic…otherwise you might do something you’ll regret or resent. One positive example is a blog she subscribes to, “Becoming Minimalist” by Joshua Becker.  I like the word…Becoming…because it implies that it’s a process. So, here are some points to ponder if you are thinking about making a change in your life: 1. Change your mindset…it’s a lifestyle change not a quick fix. Just like my progress with weight loss and fitness. 2. Change doesn’t happen overnight. 3. Realize that you may get discouraged at the task ahead.  But don’t sell yourself short.  You can do it! Again, think of it as a process and break it down into bite-sized chunks. (organize one space at a time…pay off one bill at a time…try one eating lifestyle or fitness plan at a time) 4. Realize that you may “fall of the wagon” and that maintaining your lifestyle may be difficult.  Pick yourself back up, and hop back on the wagon! 5. Once you get in the groove, you’re probably going to get addicted! Ask Dan…I can be a real grouch if I’ve missed a few workouts and if my house gets too cluttered.  That’s because I’ve gotten addicted to the results and love how they make me feel.  Feeling comfortable in my clothing and in my home are incredibly elating.  You’ll feel the same once you get in the groove. These are healthy addictions in my opinion. 6. You’ll start to build confidence!  And reduce stress.  You won’t have those negative thoughts lingering around in your mind.  Instead you’ll be thinking about taking the next step…decreasing your debt further….trying a new fitness routine…shedding some more clutter…etc. 7. You’ll love the results! And the freedom you’ll experience. Creating goals and setting out to achieve them is one thing…accomplishing them is nothing short of AWESOME!  Dan’s Topic: The Laws of Simplicity Laws of Simplicity by John Maeda John Maeda is the president of the Rhode Island School of Design, where his bio says he’s dedicated to linking design and technology. Entertaining TED talk on YouTube (link below) While the book covers more, Dan discussed just the ones below Actually “rules” more than “laws” There are some really terrific take aways Some of the “Laws” REDUCE – The simplest way to achieve simplicity is through thoughtful reduction ORGANIZE – Organization makes a system of many appear fewer. TIME – Savings in time feel like simplicity. LEARN – Knowledge makes everything simpler. DIFFERENCES – Simplicity and complexity need each other. You can only appreciate “highs” if you’ve experienced “lows.” CONTEXT – What lies in the periphery of simplicity is definitely not peripheral.  Think of this like “margin” … room in your schedule to breathe, margins on a sheet of paper that highlight what’s within the margin, etc… Simplicity is highlighted by margin. FAILURE – Some things can never be made simple. Yep! Unfortunately, this one is true and we just have to accept it. THE ONE – Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful. Much like Dan’s quotation in Episode 001 from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: “Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” Dan’s Musing’s About More Simplicity “Laws”  Sometimes complicated leads to simple. (Example: Apps and computer programs are very complex in the programming/designing process; yet hopefully simple for the user). However, sometimes complicated leads to more complicated, as there is always a human element and relationships can easily be very complicated Positivity tends to lead to simplicity. Negativity tends to lead toward complication. Much like Sir Walter Scott’s line: “Oh what tangled webs we weave, when first we practise to deceive” Simple does not equate to easy. Over-planning for contingencies causes complexity. Considering Murphy’s Law (“If anything can go wrong, it will”), but don’t let it stifle simplicity. The “Thing” Segment: Vanessa: Vanessa’s “THING”:  Vanessa discussed a client’s successes since implementing some strategies that Vanessa suggested during an organizing session. The client relayed how much more effective and easy organizing had become, how the Action File Vanessa recommended had drastically reduced their paper clutter, and how Evernote (after some “getting used to it” time) has become part of her workflow. Dan:  Being a “tech guy,” Dan talked about how much he loves RSS feeds. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and “pushes” out updates on blogs and podcasts so you don’t have to go searching for new episodes and “pull” them into your reader or audio device. Dan’s RSS uses: He uses Google Reader to collect content from his RSS feeds. He links his Google Reader account to apps like Flipboard on the iPad Going through his feeds is part of his morning routine…like reading the paper used to be back in the day Closing Thoughts: If you like the show, please subscribe and consider giving us a good review in iTunes If you know someone else who might enjoy the journey too, send them a link to SimpleLifeTogether.com There are links to our Twitter and Google Plus profiles and other contact info on the left side of the website. We’d love to hear from you ! Be sure to leave comments below, send us a voicemail from the little microphone icon on the right side of the page, or you can go “old school” and email us!  Comments, questions, thoughts, ideas, suggestions…they’re all welcome and we’d love to hear from you! Links we mentioned in the show: John Bukenas’ Let’s Reverse Obesity Blog and Podcast Marshal Ponzi’s Inbound in Focus Blog and Podcast Get Simplifized.com: Vanessa’s article, How to Create and Use an Action File. Vanessa’s article The One Secret To Achieving Anything Joshua Becker’s Becoming Minimalist BlogJohn Maeda’s Blog: lawsofsimplicity.com John Maeda’s TED Talk:  John Maeda on The Simple Life Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you!

    52 min

  6. 12/13/2012

    SLT 006: Going “Paperless” and Making the Most of a Small Living Space

    Going Paperless & Making the Most of a Small Living Space Main Topics:   Going Paperless: Guest Interview with Brooks Duncan from DocumentSnap Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you! We had a fantastic interview with Brooks.  There’s no doubt he’s way out front as a lead expert in the field of going paperless.  Here is a list of questions we asked Brooks (you definitely should listen to the podcast because he gave some great answers and advice!): So, Brooks…who are you and how do you make people’s lives simpler? Is it really possible to go paperless? What about… Tax paperwork (Brooks sent IRS guidance, too.  Links below.) Receipts Contracts Other docs that people have been “married to” forever? How do you recommend people get started with going paperless? What does the workflow look like, or are there lots of different workflows? Your article “We Are Our Own Worst Enemy When Going Paperless” is fantastic! Can you describe some of the challenges people face when going paperless? What equipment do you recommend and why? Mac PC Scanners Mobile device/apps Etc… Your Paperless Document Organization Guide and it’s an amazing value…do you have other courses? How can people sign up for your newsletter? What is the best way for people to reach you? Website: documentsnap.com Twitter: @BrooksDuncan and @DocumentSnap Facebook: facebook.com/documentsnap Dan and Vanessa Discuss Tips for Small Home Living Planning Our “Dream Home”…five years of planning Taking Action…designing, saving, paying it off and then… Oooops! Rethinking Our “Dream Home”…reasons for our change of plans: affordable green living, time to travel and visit family, not wanting to be slaves to possessions Intro to Cece Reinhardt + Brenda Daugherty from the blog “On the Green Road” Downsized their lives Totally eco-refurb’d an Airstream remodel and lived full-time in their RV Now they’re transitioning to a 500 sf house and planning a complete eco-refurb of that, too! They blog about health, travel, self-sufficiency and as they say, “anything else that blows our skirts up.” Guest Post on On The Green Road from Katie White from the blog DIY Mother: “DIY Tricks to Make the Most of a Small Living Space” (Note: We added some tips, too! Our additions to this are Italicized) The main theme was: 
Reducing your footprint doesn’t have to be uncomfortable She also pointed out some of the advantages of living in a Small home. They are : Use less land and raw materials Cost less to heat and cool You’ll be less tempted to fill them with things you don’t need.  Ties right into the spin off of Parkinson’s Law we talked about back in Episode 004…“Storage requirements will increase to meet storage capacity” Kitchen Keypoints: Small kitchens can be noisy, crowded little pressure-cookers, breeding hot tempers and short fuses. Paint your kitchen in light, cool shades to help everyone relax, and if possible, coordinate the entire kitchen in two or three colors to avoid a busy, disorganized vibe. Another simple trick to increase the visual space in your kitchen is to try open shelving instead of cupboards. We have raised Euro-style cabinets off the floor so you can see under them…it adds visual depth. Also, a mix of solid frosted glass cabinet doors help, too. Tall upper cabinets really max out your vertical storage space. Pull-out lower drawers, versus standard cabinets are a lifesaver. Forego “uni-tasker” appliances and opt for multitasking appliances. Living Room Lessons: The easiest way to open up your living room is to get things off the floor. Instead of a clunky bookshelf, try wall-mounted shelves. Small house plants and lighting can also be placed on the walls or ceiling (Hanging plants are especially good for small living rooms). Just like in the kitchen and bedroom, light penetration is everything. Remove sofa skirts, try a translucent coffee table, and hang a nice mirror or two to really expand the visual range. If you need new furniture, steer clear of round, rolled arm and back pieces—they fill up a room like nothing else. Again, use multitasking furniture that doubles as storage like coffee tables and ottomans. Try wall-mounted televisions and hanging lamps instead of floor or table lamps that take up a lot of room. Bedroom Basics: The simplest visual trick to open up your bedroom is to make your baseboards visible. Stilted furniture, wall-mounted shelves and light fixtures, and a skirtless bed frame can all increase the visual range in your bedroom and make it feel larger. Colors such as a single accent wall painted in a bold, darker color can “stretch” your bedroom visually, especially if it’s the smaller wall. Paint the other three walls in light, airy colors that complement the accent wall. The room will feel more open, and it also adds a personal, expressive touch. Again, use hanging lamps or wall mounted end table lamps to free up space. We also have a platform bed that makes the room look larger. Bottom Line in the Bathroom: Plumbing makes bathroom renovation a tricky proposition, but you can swap out a bulky vanity for a pedestal sink without too much damage to the delicate habitat of your sink fixtures. Make up for the loss of your drawers with an extra set of wall shelves, or a deeper medicine cabinet. To increase the light-penetration in your bathroom, swap out your shower curtain for a clear glass door (or a frosted privacy screen) to create wall-to-wall visibility. We agree with the the light penetration, but we’re advocates of no shower doors or curtains.  The water is so hard here and creates lime deposits on glass…but if your water is ok, then glass works great! Textured wallpaper in a light color can also create illusory depth that makes a bathroom feel bigger; and finally, To avoid a sense of clutter, limit your bathroom décor to “singles”—one piece of art, one rug, one towel per person, etc.  Storage Suggestions: The key to using your storage space efficiently is to think in three dimensions Get rid of the junk drawer, use a shoe organizer Put a link to vanessa video on http://getsimplifized.com about shoe organizers. Use on your pantry door for odds and ends. It’ll keep your drawers and counters clear while leaving scissors, batteries, and pens accessible. We use an over the door shoe organizer in our hallway closet.  Vanessa even did a video on it! Consider a tankless gas water heater Much more energy efficient, saving you money and energy. Makes room for storages space for tools, home repair supplies—anything that you’d otherwise store in a shed or garage. Keys to storage: Only store things you really need. Look for ways to exploit unused areas and vertical space. We’ve found dozens of square feet of space by building cubbies in wall cavities. Consider this if you’re handy. Link to http://getsimplifized.com cubby post. Use containers to max out small areas. Link to http://getsimplifized.com container post. Thanks again to Cece + Brenda of On the Green Road for their inspiration…and to Katie White for her guest post at there, as well. Katie is a writer and handywoman from DIY Mother @ diymother.wordpress.com where she blogs with 4 other gals about DIY projects around the home.  I checked it out and it’s a great resource!  Each post is laid out in steps to follow…”easy…breezy, lemon squeezy,” as our little girl Jordan would say! The “Thing” Segment: Vanessa: discussed a section from Enough, by Will Davis. Basically…we have waaaaay more than enough!  Need to appreciate what we have. Dan:  Discussed his “Facebook Fast” and the new Google+ Communities Listener Feedback: Gilbert: He loves the show and gave us great feedback! He even gave us an idea for a future podcast.  Thanks! Augusto: He’s all about the idea of simplifying and having “enough.” He also sent us some free tips (link listed below) that are worth checking out. Closing Thoughts: If you like the show, please subscribe and consider giving us a good review in iTunes If you know someone else who might enjoy the journey too, send them a link to SimpleLifeTogether.com There are links to our Twitter and Google Plus profiles and other contact info on the left side of the website. We’d love to hear from you ! Be sure to leave comments below, send us a voicemail from the little microphone icon on the right side of the page, or you can go “old school” and email us!  Comments, questions, thoughts, ideas, suggestions…they’re all welcome and we’d love to hear from you! Links we mentioned in the show: Brooks Duncan from DocumentSnap IRS Bulletins from Brooks; Guidelines for Businesses and Guidelines for Individuals Cece Reinhardt + Brenda Daugherty from On The Green Road Katie White from DIY Mother Blog (BTW…love your tag line, “Not afraid to use power tools in a dress”) Free Tips From Augusto Pinaud Organizing  book by Peter Walsh “It’s All Too Much” Get Simplifized! Links: Shoe Organizers for Office Supplies Shoe Organizer in the Pantry Containers Extra storage in DIY wall cubbies Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you!

    1h 2m

  7. 12/20/2012

    SLT 007: Organizing Tips From an Unlikely Source & Life Lessons From the Playground

    Organizing Tips From An Unlikely Source & A Few Life Lessons From The Playground. Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you! Main Topics:   Vanessa’s Topic: Organizing Tips From A Toddler Vanessa realized the lessons that we have been teaching our daughter since she was a toddler are also great lessons that adults can apply to their lives when it comes to getting and staying organized.  Here are the lessons/tips that were discussed: Limit the number of toys (or projects) that you are playing with or working on.  Too many projects gets overwhelming and cause you to loose focus.  Multi-tasking isn’t all that great.  Having few toys or projects also makes for easier cleanup. Clean up after yourself. Make cleanup part of your project.  Whether you’re baking in the kitchen or working on a craft project, part of the project should include cleaning up after yourself.  Don’t let it all pile up to point where cleaning up your home is an all day affair! Designate a spot for everything. Try using the same concept that preschool or kindergarten classrooms use…create zones and homes for everything. By creating zones in your home and having “a place for everything and everything in its place,” cleanup and finding things will be a heck of a lot easier! Make cleanup easy. Using open containers to store things is a key ingredient to having kids clean up after themselves. Same thing applies to adults. It’s much easier to toss an item into a basket or bin than having to lift a lid.  Bins are great inside drawers, on shelves and in cabinets. Hooks are another great tool to use to hang up coats, backpacks, scarves, belts and purses. Create rules and routines. We’ve previously dedicated  1/2 a podcast to this very topic. Creating rules and routines helps establish expectations so that you and other family members know who, what, when and why certain tasks need to be done and how.  Knowing what is expected prevents you from wasting time, duplicating effort and trying to figure out who does what…which cuts down on bickering as well! Limit the amount of stuff you own. It’s pretty simple…the less stuff you have the less you have to clean and maintain. You can control the amount of things in your home by practicing the “one in, one out rule,” editing your possessions regularly, controlling impulsive buying habits and thinking long and hard about how making a purchase might affect the harmony in your home. Reward yourself. If our daughter wants a snack or to go outside and play, we make a deal with her.  She’ll get the treat if she cleans up first. Her motivation to clean up is all based off of that reward.  You can reward yourself too. Tackle your most important tasks…then treat yourself to a little reward like a movie, reading time or extra time running (yes…Vanessa loves to run). Dan’s Topic: Life Lessons Learned on the Playground Flashback to Episode 5 LEARNING: “Knowledge makes everything simpler.” Do you capitalize on things we’ve already learned? How do our kids learn life’s lessons in today’s fast-paced world? Life Lessons Learned on the Playground.  For each, ask yourself two things: Do I still use this lesson today? How are today’s kids learning these lessons? Lessons: SeeSaws or Teeter Totters: Teach us balance and leverage. Use Pareto’s 80/20 Rule for leverage. Swings: Teach us to take action, coordination, and how to harness & use momentum. Swings also teach us situational awareness, looking out for trouble, timing our actions. Monkey Bars: Let go in order to make progress. Sometimes you have to stretch. You can’t move forward without letting go of the past and the now and reaching for tomorrow. Jungle Gym: How to meet a challenge, overcome fear, and enjoy the view. Be careful of others’ fingers as they climb to the top with you.  Merry Go Round: It’s fun to go fast, but not sustainable.  Getting off a merry go round is a transition. Take time to get your bearings, to stabilize.  Bullies:  They’re obstacles. You learn to go over, around, under, or in some cases, right through a bully. Sometimes it’s easiest to avoid, but in most cases it’s best just to deal with challenges head-on… Sandbox: It’s fun to just get in, get dirty, dig and create. Mistakes in the sandbox are cheap, so practice there. Key take-aways: When you find things out of balance, leverage your skills by focusing on that 20% of effort that Pareto highlights.  Don’t forget to take action when action is necessary and learn to harness and capitalize on your momentum.  Become more situationally aware by paying attention to your environment, looking for dangers as well as opportunities.  Remember that sometimes you need to let go of the past and “the now” to reach where you’re meant to be. Set your goals and move forward to meet them.  Enjoy the climb to whatever you consider to be the top. Define your own top and be careful not to step on fingers and toes as you reach your goals.  Prepare yourself for transitions and know that sometimes Life’s merry go round can throw your bearings off a bit sometimes.  Know there will be obstacles in life. But most often challenges are just opportunities in disguise. Our playground life lessons served us well. Today’s kids need a good mix of “old fashioned” and “modern” Life Lessons, plus a good friend, parent, coach, teacher or mentor to tap into the teachable moments we face in life. Final thoughts: Life is a playground.  And the playground isn’t nearly as much fun when you’re by yourself. What makes it the most fun is enjoying the playground with others you care about and that care about you.  Sometimes it’s ok to have a little alone time out there…but for the most part, Life’s Playground is best when it’s shared. Just like your Simple Life Together. The “Thing” Segment: Vanessa: The One-In, One-Out Rule To Control Clutter Dan:  How much he enjoys his Big Green Egg! Listener Feedback: Laura: Saw a pin on pinterest and followed to “…your simple life together. Enjoyed the Organizing and Having Less …Your dialog was interesting and fun to listen to. I’ve been wanting to have a house of order for some time and keep looking for encouraging guidance to do so.” Derek C. Olsen from BeatnikBudget.com left us a voice message that he loves the podcast! He also shared his passion for juicing, as he heard us talking about juicing in Episode 5 (see links below for more info on juicing). Closing Thoughts: If you like the show, please subscribe and consider giving us a good review in iTunes. It takes less than 2 minutes to review the show in iTunes and that’s the best way for people to find us. In iTunes just search for Simple Life Together… Click on the green “Simple Life Together” picture… Scroll down to Customer Reviews where you’ll see “Write a Review” Click on”Write a Review” Write your review… Click “Submit”! It’s as easy as that and it really helps to get the word out about the the show.  Thanks for doing that.   If you know someone else who might enjoy the journey too, send them a link to SimpleLifeTogether.com There are links to our Twitter and Google Plus profiles and other contact info on the left side of the website. We’d love to hear from you ! Be sure to leave comments below, send us a voicemail from the little microphone icon on the right side of the page, or you can go “old school” and email us!  Comments, questions, thoughts, ideas, suggestions…they’re all welcome and we’d love to hear from you! Links we mentioned in the show: Laws of Simplicity and the Pareto Principle in Episode 005 Dan Mentioned his Big Green Egg (BGE). He buys BGE accessories here. Our listener feedback talked about juicing…here are a couple of links to Dan’s posts: Juicing journey,  Juicing Day Six: A Personal Tragedy and if you’re interested in a juicing clinic that Dan participated in check out Your Chance to Learn About Juicing, Juicers, and the Benefits of Juice Fasting Get Simplifized! Links: Containers How to Organize your pantry (tips on creating zones and using containers) Lessons from a Three Year Old blog post Hooks One-In, One-Out Rule Routines Morning/Nightly Routines Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you!

    55 min

  8. 12/28/2012

    SLT 008: Things To Eliminate in the Coming Year and Tips for Successful Resolutions

    Things To Eliminate in the Coming Year and Tips for Successful Resolutions Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you! Main Topics   Dan’s Topic: Some Things to Eliminate in the Coming Year I’m not a big “New Year’s Resolutions” guy, so in keeping with the Exupery quotation I’ve discussed in previous shows and use to guide me on our simplicity journey, I thought I’d give resolutions a little twist. If you recall, Exupery said, “Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing left to add, but nothing left to take away.” So let’s resolve to remove some things that add no positive value in our lives. Only you know what applies to you and what’s right for you, but here are some suggestions for consideration… Stop wasting opportunities: Opportunities to grow are all around us Grow by Learning…Education is a great way to invest in yourself Take a class (online or in the real world)…lots of places offer Adult Education classes Or teach yourself! Check your local library to see if they have how-to or self help books Other Great Resources: Also check http://www.khanacademy.org for classes I watch CreativeLIVE.com for free courses given live by experts. After the live class is over the classes are available for purchase. Screencastsonline.com has great tutorials for Mac and iOS-based platforms. Run by Don McAllister Lynda.com has all sorts of courses, from business, photography, videography…the gamut of software for Mac, PC and others (you can also get 7 days free unlimited access here) Izzyvideo.com for video tutorials If you’re a podcaster, Cliff Ravenscraft’s classes are great! Find them at PodcastAnswerman.com and use discount code SIMPLE for up to $500 savings on Podcasting A to Z! I have or had paid memberships in all of these and see them as an investment in me and our businesses Grow by Experiences such as Volunteering Getting active in your children’s school or after school activities Mentor someone in your chosen profession or a student studying for your profession If you belong to a church, see if your church needs help with something you’re skilled at  Stop letting what you already have go unused: The first thing that comes to mind is Experience and Expertise and that ties in with the opportunities to grow we just mentioned Look around and see if you are using technology to your advantage If you’re not sure how to use some of your tech, there are tons of free How-To tutorials on YouTube to help out. Stop “holding on”…some stuff is just not necessary any more: If you have unnecessary “stuff” you can donate it, sell it, give it away to a friend or post it on freecycle.org (complete listing for all countries where Freecycle operates at SimpleLifeTogether.com/freecycle But there’s probably more than “stuff” you need to get rid of… Bad habits Same old routines- If they’re not working for you it’s time to let them go Work situation: If you’re ready for a change than check out Dan Miller’s 48 Days Podcast Stop Letting Others Dictate How You Use Your Time: DVR your shows or “cut the cord” and watch online on sites like iTunes, Hulu, Netflix, in the US. Outside the US, just Google TV Steaming sites to find those available in your area, such as the BBC’s iPlayer. Don’t forget to check your local network sites to see what streams they offer, too. Another way to control your own time is to: Choose Podcasts over radio. Podcasts allow for time shifting your favorite content. You can listen to podcasts as your walk, run, work, commute, travel, do chores…whenever you want? Break free of the 10 to 20 minutes per hour devoted to advertising on commercial broadcasting stations. iTunes University has free college-level classes, tying into the education suggestion mention earlier. Podcasts are free and loaded with motivating, encouraging and informative content Remember, each and every one of us have 24 hours in our day, 168 hrs in our week. Every minute is precious…make a concerted effort to control more of your time. Stop Living in the Past Past failures..we’ve all had them Riding on the coattails of past successes…”resting on your laurels” Don’t keep focusing on “roads not taken”…respect your choices and if you made bad choices or mistakes, then work to rectify them, but you can’t undo your past Don’t let past inaction hold you back or wallow in regret for all the “coulda, woulda, shouldas”…we’ve all been guilty of that so just suck it up and press on! The next one is: Stop Undervaluing Yourself You have skills, experiences and a lot to offer…you just need to start Take action! Stop making excuses Produce rather than consume…that’s what my recent Facebook Fast was all about and it was during that fast that this podcast was produced. So, strive to be more of a producer and less of a consumer. And Finally…Stop Letting Drama Have a Stage in Your Life Rumors and gossip are like a cancer…cut them out of your life Bad relationships don’t get better by themselves Don’t be held back by opinions others have of you and… Don’t rush to judgement of other people So how do you cut drama out of your life? I came up with a acronym you can use… Just DEAL with it! DEAL stands for Don’t place blame, Elevate yourself above the situation, Allow for apologies, amends or Agree to disagree, Let it go! Vanessa’s Topic: Tips for Successful Resolutions Well, with the New Year quickly approaching, many of you (including me) are probably thinking about things that you would like to improve on…habits you’d like to quit…or good habits you’d like to start! So…of course I thought it would be fitting to share some tips on how to make your resolutions a success. Keep in mind you can use them any time of the year and for practically any type of goal or project you are working on. Pick only 1 – 2 resolutions. If you’re like me, you’ve probably got a few things you’d like to improve upon, but don’t tackle everything all at once! Pick the things that are nagging or affecting your life the most. Be realistic about your resolution or goal. For example…having more money may be a goal of yours.  Winning the lottery vs. saving a little money each month are two very different ways to have more money.  The later idea is probably a little bit more realistic.  Or take your fitness goals…running a marathon and  tackling a 5 or 10K are distinctly different goals.  If you’ve been running for years then a marathon may be reasonable and attainable.  But if you’re new to running or haven’t run in years…then a marathon is probably not a good idea…and maybe a little bit dangerous.  Or you want to lose 40 lbs in a month…probably not realistic…nor is it a good idea. So try to be realistic. Be specific about your goal.   Choose “I want to lose 20 lbs in 6 months”  vs. “I want to lose weight” or…“I want to organize one room per month” vs. “I want to organize my entire house”.  The more specific you are the better chance you have at accomplishing your goal. Tackle your goals in small chunks.   Break your goals down into small, manageable chunks.  Lets say for example you want to save enough money for a family vacation.  Maybe that’ll cost $2000.  Well, maybe you could divide that amount by the time you have before you go on the trip (lets say…9 months).  Which comes out to $222/month.  From there you can figure out ways to cut spending month by month rather than all in one shot.   Maybe you want to quit eating fast food.  Maybe you can start the first month with eating fast food only 3-5 times/week…then only 3-5 times per month…then only 1-2 times per month. Or maybe you’re working on an organizing project…let’s say the kitchen.  Try to just tackle one drawer or cabinet per day with the goal of getting it done in a month.  Then you can work on the next room in the house. It’s so much easier when you tackle a goal a little bit at a time. Tell folks about your goals.   There is something to be said about positive peer pressure. Tell those you trust and who you know will help you stay on track.  I’m amazed at how much that will motivate me.  I’ve posted things on Facebook about training for a marathon or starting a juice fast…and I’ve been amazed at how some people will track or ask me about my progress.  They’re actually interested in my success….or maybe they’re interested in my success so that they feel motivated to do the same thing?  Whatever the case, positive peer pressure can be a motivator. Get a buddy who can work with you who’s  trying to achieve the same goal.   Get a fitness buddy, organizing partner, or quitting buddy to help you with your goals.  It’s a lot easier to turn off your 4 am alarm to go to the gym when it’s just you.  But if you know you’re supposed to meet your workout buddy…it’s a little bit harder to not show up…you don’t want to face the disappointment. Funny thing is, the journey to achieving your goal is usually a lot more fun when you’re working on it together! Use your calendar to help you stay accountable.  I recommend this to my clients all the time.  If you want to work on a project or to develop a new habit first break it down into steps and then put it on your calendar.  For example: You want to run 3 times a week…well, plug it in on your calendar. Maybe you want to have more date nights…plug in the dates you would like to go out so you can start planning ahead. Use your calendar to track your progress and review your goals.  You could set up a recurring appointment for the 1st of each month to evaluate how much weight you’ve lost, money you’ve saved, how many drawers or cabinets you organized,

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