January 15, 2013

How to be Fresh Online (part 2)

Wurlitzer jukebox 8×12 by Beth Berg  Click image for details

In the first part of this feature, Joy asked for some more help with syncing our online time with our offline lives. So without further ado, and in the words of the Jukebox DJ, “Joy, this one is for you.” Here are some pointers to help you craft your own “fresh” plan.

It’s perfectly natural to sometimes feel things are getting a little bit out of control in our digital lives. When we feel we don’t have room to breathe in our online jaunts, then it’s time for a little re-jig. Let’s move from rushed, resistance, and remorse to rhythm, relief, and results.

How to be fresh online

  • Be clear about what you want to do online each day. Consider activities that will move things forward whether in work or in life. For me tody that was to finish this post; list an item on ebay; email my list; scan a document; and then schedule some tweets (not happening). And check in with my in box.
  • Choose the tools that support your creative ventures. Support, not overwhelm, is the aim. Know yourself, know your needs and know how you like to work. I use Evernote to hold draft blog posts. I use Dropbox to store digital courses and books. I use TeuxDeux as an electronic daily to do list. And sometimes I use Buffer to schedule tweets.
  • Decide how you want to handle your inbox. The best approach is to find a system that works for you. Or make up your own. Your inbox is there to serve you. You get to choose how you engage with it.
  • Set aside money and time  for online courses and products. Gather the intelligence you need to plan ahead, e.g. launch dates and seasonal savings. And then when other fabulous offers come through — and they will — you can pass. I say this with love: You cannot do them all, and you do not need them all, even if you want them all.
  • Indulge in digital binges. This includes creative research, video teaching treats, and audio downloads. Some can be enjoyed while cooking, having your hair done, driving, or having a lie in. Or you can just put time in the calendar.
  • Develop a strong offline life. Fill your world with activities and people that make you feel alive. Enjoy slow food, the slow lane, and the scenic route now and again. Develop daily practices that nourish your inner life and that keep you aware of how you are feeling in your body.

Oh, and you can go slow online, too.

What will your “fresh” plan look like?

Okay this tune is over. Happy New Year!

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December 11, 2012

How to be Fresh Online (dance?)

‘Salsa Dancing’ by Jayne Ifeacho

I’m perching on the arm of a chair, in between dances.  I watch the couples stepping back and forth, turning, twirling, and smiling, energised by the music and the movement of their own bodies.

♪ ♫ La salsa. ♪ ♫ Happy music. This was me last week on a special night out. It was such fun.

Today Africando is playing on You Tube as I draft this post. I keep jumping up to shake a leg. Both legs.

The Internet has revolutionised our lives. I’m sure there are pockets of humanity who are as yet unaware of the wonder of the web. But for us reading Scoutie Girl it has made the world bigger and smaller all at the same time. I, for one, am grateful for the opportunities it has brought my way – working with great minds, making new friends from across the globe, and encouraging and enthusing other creative souls in both hemispheres while listening to my laptop.

And mobile technology is taking it further. In the morning I can reach for my smartphone to check my inbox. If there’s anything that needs doing sharpish I note it and get on with my day as intended. Before, I’d have to fire up my laptop to do that. But once I did I would fall down a digital rabbit hole, and two hours later have all sorts of pages open and my to do list very undone.

I use simple systems to bring structure to my life, otherwise it becomes this mass of possibility. Like a big blob of jelly. What shall I do now? Who shall I speak to now? What experience would I like now? Online tools and applications are a huge help. That’s why I’m a raving fan of Evernote, Buffer, and the little task bar on my Google Apps email account.

But it doesn’t feel good to me to be perpetually online. What about you? I need to fill up my creative tank, find raw material for my imagination, give and receive hugs, and I need to move my body. I’m wired for the sheer pleasure and physicality of dance, and I’m wired for spending time with living, breathing people.

Our mission, if we choose to accept it, is to be intentional in lining up our use of technology with our values, dreams, and desires.

To be fresh online we have to get fresh air, fresh experiences, and fresh conversations offline.

Does technology ever get in the way of your time with people or does it help? How do you keep yourself feeling fresh and alive so that you can integrate online you with offline you?

- – -

Enjoy the holidays! And perhaps a dance or two?

Filed Under: Buy You, For You, Plot Notes, The Setting Tagged With: , , 4 Comments
November 13, 2012

Dust Storming and Energy Shifting

Dust storm texas 1935 NOAA George E. Marsh Album. Click image for details.

I have a confession to make: I don’t own a vacuum cleaner. Er, no, I’m not a scuzzy scallywag who doesn’t clean her home. I use a brush and dustpan. I can hear you laughing. I’m laughing myself; it does sound a little ludicrous.

But it works…for now. I don’t have a burning desire to get a vacuum cleaner. One, it will take up precious storage space, and, more importantly, two, I use brushing the carpets as an energy shifting tool. Yes, you heard right. Because I know why I’m doing it and what I’m getting out of it (the carpets look great, too), I get to create a more fun and fulfilling life with a very simple action.

It only takes me about 30 minutes when doing a general sweep. Although when I move to my 48-room mansion I might consider a different strategy.

A couple of days ago I decided to do a proper sweep. You know, the kind that means moving boxes, furniture, shoes, and other floor-squatters out of the way. Well, I moved my bed and there were two carpets – one was the original and the other was made of what seemed like two inches of dust. In that moment a ginormous suction device would have been most welcome.

As the brush hit the pile it raised a storm cloud of dust particles. And it wasn’t exactly easy to get the job done. The last frontier was the smattering of tiny bobbles of dust that clung to the carpet like leeches to flesh. I finally put the brush down with welcome relief. But despite the physical exertion, I felt light and refreshed. And with the clearing and rearranging of stuff it looked liked I’d gained fifty per cent more floor space. And I’m a space girl, cue more feelings of lightness and happiness.

Everything is energy. It’s no surprise, then, that I experienced what I did. I’d been feeling a huge urge to have a big clear-out going into every nook and cranny. And I know it’s because I’m preparing to birth some bigger thoughts and ideas into the world. It’s about making space to receive and making space to stretch into a new way of being and doing.

How do you shift energy?

Old school tools or cool, new to-dos? What are you preparing for in your creative life today?

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And if you’re suddenly enthralled by dust particles, you may want to check out The Secret Life of Dust by Hannah Holmes.

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October 9, 2012

Tooling Around: Happy Birthday, Blender!

Ink and watercolour on paper by Marc Johns. Click image for details.

Five years, a gazillion smoothies, a squillion green soups (doesn’t matter what else I put in them they always turn green because of the spinach), and a billion (okay I’m stretching it) other delights like spelt pancakes, banana ice-cream and chickpea houmous, and my trusty blender has proven itself a life-long (five years equals life-long in this social media age) friend and supporter of my Bold Art life and my emerging and burgeoning creativity.

I’d been rummaging around in a drawer for something else, and found the delivery note in the accompanying recipe book (as you do) for my Blendtec high speed home  blender, arch rival to the Vitamix (grrr), and realised that deux ans was actually cinq. I thought I’d bought this – quite literal- whizkid two years ago. This is where I insert some proverb about ‘time flying’ and ‘having fun’.

It got me to thinking how at the time it was a ‘big’ purchase for something that was going in the kitchen even with the introductory offer. But am I glad I shelled out.

Not only is it hugely fun pulverising and whirring all manner of ingredients, the whizkid also helps keep me nourished with minimum fuss. I cannot imagine what I’d do if I had to chew all the greens I get through in a week. My blender helps me maximise the amount of time I spend learning, creating, and relating rather than chopping, chewing, and stewing. It is hands down one of the best buys of my life.

It even helped me feel wealthy when I went through a period of not having two pennies to rub together. There is something that bolsters your feelings of self-worth and sufficiency when you can feed yourself well by simply blending some pears with some spinach, cinnamon, and water. As we well know, “eat junk, feel like junk,” and then it’s the fast train to no-hope town and the island of dying dreams.

Who would have thought it? My high speed blender up there with pen and paper (allowing me to scribble this post on the run, phew) and camera as one of my creative lifestyle tools.

Which tools support your creative life?

Any surprises? Hidden gems? Any bought with great expectations but spectacularly failed to deliver?

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