Clutter is not just the stuff on your floor – it’s anything that stands between you and the life you want to be living. (Peter Walsh)
Month: May 2015
Your well deserved closet make over
As temperatures are rising, what are you doing with your wardrobe? You’ve probably read articles on how to change your clothes. But why wait for the end of a season to do so? Now is the time!
I’ve started clearing my closet on a regular basis and couldn’t be happier. We only wear 20% of our clothes. So why do we keep the other 80%? I’ve consciously decided to part from clothes which no longer fit or I don’t like. Remember those Christmas jumpers. Well, they’re gone, too. If you’re in the Middle East, there’s no need to wear them. Not even at Christmas!
This weekend is the perfect time to give your wardrobe the make over it and you deserve! Here are 10 easy steps to create the wardrobe of your dreams:
Here’s to a productive and fruitful week
Today was probably one of my most productive days this month. The UK and the US were off for their public holiday, I had blocked time for a project I procrastinated on for too long (yup, I also have weaknesses), defined achievable steps for an upcoming project with some colleagues and answered the majority of my emails (yeah!). Wow! By the end of the day, I felt ahead of the day and even week.
Want to leave your office with the same feeling of accomplishment and success every day? Feel at the top of the world? Make your purposeful planning and actions thrive you to reach your best? Here are some tips for you to increase your efficiency and productivity:
Saturday quote
The more you have, the more occupied you are. The less you have, the more free you are. (Mother Theresa)
What are your dreams and goals?
It’s now mid-May and many New Year’s Resolutions are out of the window. For me, I’ve used the end of the year as an overview for achievements and looked at my goals for the New Year and the next year’s ahead. Rather than a mainly short-term change, I’m nowadays focusing on far reaching and long-term changes helping me to live the life I’m dreaming of.
When determining your goals, you automatically look at your dreams. But what do you want? Have you sat down and thought about your vision for your future? Defining your vision and setting goals gives you a long-term view as well as short-term motivation and actions. It’s been proven that writing goals down will increase your achievements, yet, only 3% currently have their goals documented in writing.
Thinking of your home and office, use these questions to set your goals:
Just where to start
“Oh, I’ll need to make this one call.” or “Let me just wash the dishes and I’ll start.” These were some of my excuses when it came to writing this post. For some reason or another, I didn’t seem to find the right start and postponed and postponed and postponed writing.
For many of my clients, the thought of getting organised is overwhelming. How many times have I heard them say: “I just don’t know where to start.” Starting is actually easier than you think:
Help! My guests are coming!
Spring time is always the start of the new travel season. You can still go to places in the South without having to suffer from roaring temperatures and peak season fares. And so I’ve decided to fly my mom over. In Dubai, it’s now just over 40 C (104 F) and Emirates offered a great promotional deal. How could I not do it?!
With everything else going on, I didn’t want to stress about preparing my mom’s room. Instead of doing everything in one big go, I opted for 30 minute blocks. A lot easier to digest. If you don’t want to break into a sweat, check out these tips:
The Home Office – Are you still cleaning or already getting things done?
Today was a great day. Starting with a walk around the lake, I’ve attended a very informative seminar about medical benefits in the GCC. The best was finishing my work day from home.
To me, working from home has many advantages: Less interruptions and less distractions, a lot more focus and productivity! Given my various deadlines (who doesn’t have them), it was just what was needed and I was so pleased to close a number of activities off.
To some, working from home is a very different story. The laundry basket is calling your name, you haven’t seen your neighbour for a while, why not catch up and oh, you haven’t decided what to cook for dinner yet. What can you do to treat your home office just like your regular office?
Summer’s coming – Get ready for the heat
Arriving sleep deprived to a brunch in Dubai is never a good thing. Learning at the entrance that our table is booked outside on the terrace was quite the surprise. The biggest realisation and shock though was that summer is approaching. Fast!
For us in the Middle East, we’ll also observe Ramadan which is expected to be from 18 June until 17 July. This and the heat will impact our activities and it’s time to organise your social and outdoor activities.
Get ahead of the game and get your calendar out. What do you want to do before it gets too hot and Ramadan starts?
Here are some suggestions:
Work smarter, be more productive
Organised Life and Mind
168 hours! That’s how much time each of us have per week. The majority of these 168 hours will be spent in bed, hopefully being sound asleep. The second biggest chunk is being taken up by our work. Being in the Middle East, we often face working outside of our normal working hours. Who doesn’t work with colleagues in Western countries which are 2, 3 or even 8 hours behind our time zone and which have the Monday – Friday working week instead of our Sunday – Thursday working week?
Just like you, I don’t want to spend day and night working. There are too many great things in Dubai (and in life) which I like to experience. Over the years, I’ve been experimenting with different approaches to become more efficient. Here are some tips to help you work smarter and enjoy life more: