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Clear Your Desk, and Your Mind Will Follow

A neatly organized workspace telegraphs to others that you are serious about your work, whatever it may be. If your workspace is cluttered, it can be distracting and unsettling, decreasing your productivity. When we are less productive, we are less happy. If you can find papers and emails when you need them, you’ll get more done throughout the day.1. Go paperlessPaper constantly comes into our lives from all directions. Identify where these unwanted documents are coming from, and put a stop to it. Sign up for the do-not-mail list, cancel unwanted catalogs, and start paying bills online. (You are not only getting rid of clutter, you’re also helping save the planet.)2. Practice ShauchaShaucha is a yoga principle that can be applied to everyday life. The philosophy suggests that through a clear and clean environment, we can achieve a higher understanding of ourselves, and the world around us. When our space is clear, our mind is clear. When our mind is clear, we can focus and find time for the things we want to do. We all have goals to achieve, and if you’re constantly dealing with the mundane, you will never have the time to reach your higher aspirations. 3. Scan what you canScanning is a great way to store documents, without taking up much space. Find a scanner that’s easy to use, and make a time to scan least once a month. Keep a “to-scan” bin nearby so you have a single location to put items that need scanning.4. Be mindfulWe race through our days, and we very often don’t take the time to simply stop and think about what we are doing. Being mindful and present not only helps you feel less stressed, it can also help you improve your workspace organization. Stop and think before you toss something down on your desk. It takes virtually the same amount of time to file something properly as it does to just throw it on the desk.5. Set aside timeMake organizing your workspace part of your weekly schedule. That way, things won't pile up over months, making the prospect of clearing it even more daunting.6. Pay attention to the small thingsMake the right decisions about the little things over and over again, and it will pay dividends in the long run with a more productive and organized life.How do you like to keep your workspace—messy and loose, or neat and tightly organized? And does it increase your sense of wellbeing? Let us know in the comments, below.

Lifestyle

Note to Self

In Eric Hutchinson’s business, there are lots of ups and downs. One minute you are all the rage, and the next…no one is interested. His ability to stay grateful for everything he has achieved keeps the singer-songwriter balanced in the volatile world of being a musician. This refreshing perspective and his love affair with writing and performing music, inspires his creativity and allows him to push his art into new places. Pop that's catchy and sticks around “I don’t really subscribe to the idea that you have to be miserable to make great music. At least for me, it’s actually the opposite,” Eric says. “When I’m not happy, the last thing I want to do is pick up the guitar and start playing. I find that my music sounds best when it comes from a place, if not [of] being happy, then at least [of] being curious, trying to analyze why I felt a certain way.” His sound is often described as soulful pop that’s catchy and sticks around. On his first two albums, Sounds Like This and Moving Up Living Down, Eric says he was making music as therapy and using it to work through some issues in his life. But with his latest album, Pure Fiction, he took a different approach and decided to celebrate the good things. The cynical optimist A self-described “cynical optimist,” Eric works at focusing on the positive things going on around him. Over the last few years, he says, he has kept a running log of all the good days, and even a few good hours he has experienced, so he can remind himself of them whenever he is feeling down or lonely. He credits this exercise with helping him become aware of when that good moment is happening so he can maximize the feeling he gets and make it just a little better. However, it’s not always easy, and, he admits, there are days when it’s hard to find the right melody or to face shows without much of a crowd. As he has gotten older, though, he tries not to beat himself up too much over the disappointments. He compares the process to fishing, and by sticking to it, he manages to catch the right sound and everything falls into place. Music that makes you feel better “I spend a lot of time working to cultivate and appreciate the good stuff because it’s kind of my natural tendencyto skip over some of that,” he says. “That’s what my music is about…reminding me about all the things there are to be happy about. I think a lot of my listeners gravitate toward music that makes you feel better.” And if you are having a good time listening to his music, that just adds fuel to his desire to keep doing what he’s doing. His resilient attitude toward his passion keeps him penning head-bopping pop hits like “OK, It’s Alright with Me”; “Rock & Roll”; and his newest single, “Tell the World.” Celebrate the music “At my shows, I pick up on the fact that it’s something fun for the fans and it’s actually something fun you can share with someone else,” Eric says. “I make sure everyone is having a good time, singing, dancing and celebrating the music.” The payoff for Eric is singing in front of sold-out crowds and listening to everyone sing back his songs; soaking up that feel-good reverb and feeding off of the electricity. When he is in that moment, he’s sure to take a “mental snapshot” and save it for a time when he needs to shine.

Well-Being

10 Happy Tips to Boost Your Wellbeing Today

1.Choose hope. Hope isn’t the same thing as optimism. Hope is believing the future will be better than the present, and working to make it so. Pick a goal you are excited about, and write down two things you can do to make it happen.2. Look for your child’s spark. Connect with your children on a deep emotional level by looking for their essence. What are your kids’ positive qualities? What is your child really interested and invested in? Make a list.3. Take your sweat session outside. The great outdoors and exercise have something in common—both improve your mood and reduce stress. Now you can reap all the benefits to your mental and physical well-being by working out in nature.4. Write a To-Do list that boosts your productivity. Overwhelmed by your To-Do list? Break down bigger projects into steps that feel the opposite of overwhelming. Don’t stop until your list turns into a “gladly do” list.5. Name your mood to improve it. Just by saying “I’m worried” or “I’m anxious” to friends or family can dissipate those negative emotions according to researchers. Share away.6. Read happy. Surround yourself with the positive influences and associations and read a book from our Live Happy book list.7. Cultivate compassion. Acknowledge your mistakes and remind yourself that mistakes are something you share with every other human on the planet. When you are compassionate with yourself, you can be more compassionate toward others.8. Eat happiness-boosting foods.Eggs, seafood, nuts and leafy greens all contain happiness-boosting nutrients. Not sure what to do with these ingredients? Here are some easy, delicious recipes that will point you in the right direction.9. Find your flow. Positive psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi coined the term flow—being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. Finding yours can make you happier. When do you lose track of time or feel totally in the zone? That’s your flow activity. Make sure it’s on your calendar.10. Give back. Give a compliment. Tell a joke. Put an extra dollar in the tip jar. Need more ideas to get into giving mode? We’ve got 30!

Self-Care

Embrace Life

Everyone must deal with grief in his or her own way, but because of all that I have been through, I can offer some ideas for surviving—and even thriving—after great loss.In the space of a decade, I lost several members of my family, including my husband, brother and son. Some days it felt like a battering ram of grief was aimed directly at my gut; others, like I was a bowling pin, barely reset only to have another ball knock me down.As a chaplain at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, with years of experience working with grieving families, I thought I should be able to handle this. But I couldn't—not without seeking help and spiritual reflection, as well as connecting to other people through a grief recovery group.Coming back to lifeHere are a few things that rejuvenated my soul and helped me find my way back to living fully again.1. Read something positive every morningIt might be scriptures, poetry or just something funny, but I find that starting the day with positive input helps my perspective. Waiting until afternoon or night doesn’t have the same effect. Jump-starting the day with something energizing or inspiring helps me focus on what I have, not what I’ve lost. I end every reading session with a prayer for strength, and that seems to help, too.2. Make some major changesDuring my recovery, I had to take some time for myself and take care of myself. In my case that meant taking time off from a stressful job and admitting I could not continue working as a chaplain focused on people near the end of life and their loved ones. It meant learning to accept that occasional waves of tears were natural healing agents to be welcomed, not avoided. It meant there were days when I would lapse back into deep sadness. Eventually, I sought out professional counseling, which proved invaluable.3. Find a grief recovery group that fits youI stumbled upon the bookThe Grief Recovery Handbookby Russell Friedman and John W. James. First, I worked through the handbook’s method informally with a friend, then I trained at The Grief Recovery Institute with Russell Friedman to be a certified group facilitator. I began to offer an outreach program in groups at work and church. The method worked for me because it helped me look at all my life's losses, my patterns of dealing with them and the points at which I was getting stuck.4. Find a recovery method you trustUsing the Grief Recovery Outreach Program method,I identified the relationship that was causing me the most emotional pain, and learned that I needed to complete any unfinished communications with that person in order to move on with my life.I was able to make peace with the suicide of my brother partly by writing a letter to him that included all my pent-up feelings about our relationship and his death. Surrounded by the love and support of our group, I read the letter aloud and felt a remarkable wave of release and pure joy. I was finally able to disassociate from the pain of his suicide, and be thankful once more for his life.5. Suspend disbeliefIt helped me greatly to imagine that I would stay spiritually connected to those who "lift off," as my son Jonathan described his impending death. I noticed not long after my father died that when I was feeling dejected and missing him, a cardinal would fly over or pause on a branch above me. It happened so frequently I came to see cardinals as messengers from my father.Jonathan knew about this and promised that, once he was gone, he would send a blue jay as his messenger of love and encouragement. (There are two blue jays playing in my birdbath this morning as I write this.)6. Find fun againDuring my grieving, I spent several months being a morose couch potato. That could have continued indefinitely, because people assumed I might not be ready. And they were often right. But I needed to get out, and I really appreciated the ones who let me invite myself to join in whatever they were doing. For example, I put myself “up for adoption” for the first Christmas after my husband died, and I had a lovely time in Birmingham, Alabama, with a best friend’s extended family.7. Embrace lifeC.S. Lewis wrote, "To grieve is to know you have loved and loved well." That is true, and grief is, as theGrief Recovery Handbookdefines, "the normal reaction to loss." But living happy is, I would add, the normal reaction tolife...one that is possible to achieve even during times of grief. One graduate of the grief group said it perfectly, when we were all sharing our main takeaway from the program: "I learned that I didn't die—he did, and I want toliveagain!" I claimed his theory for my own, and life is good.

Self-Care

Quiz: Are You Sabotaging Your Self-Esteem?

When we think about “talking to yourself,” we might imagine a strange person rambling out loud in a public place.That voice in your headBut we all have an inner monologue, and for some of us, we wish it weren’t quite so chatty! These voices are as normal and natural as can be. This phenomenon is called self-talk, and it can dramatically impact our feelings, thoughts, mood and behaviors in both positive and negative ways.Cognitive behavioral therapyImproving your self-talk is such an important topic that there is an entire field of study in psychology dedicated to it: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). It was designed to help us retrain our thinking and improve our ability to speak to ourselves in a positive way. Because it seems to have a clear and quick effect, CBT has become one of the most popular kinds of talk therapy in the country.Those whose self-talk is mostly positive (“hey, good job!”) tend to be happier, more productive and have higher self-esteem. Those who are flooded with negative ruminations tend to be more depressed and angry, less productive, and have lower self-esteem.This quiz will help you assess whether you are skewing positive or negative; find your results at the end.Take the quiz:A.1. If a friend cancels lunch with me at the last minute, I assume that person is angry with me even if he or she never said so.OR2. If a friend cancels lunch with me at the last minute, I imagine he or she is sorry because I am confident that friends enjoy my company.B.1. I tend to be hard on myself. I might be self-critical or overly judgmental about my appearance, behaviors or feelings.OR2. I tend to cut myself slack in difficult situations, and I try to accept my shortcomings and view them as opportunities for growth rather than flaws.C.1. If a friend is angry with me about something, I might think of even more things he or she might be angry about.OR2. When I have a conflict with someone, I think calming thoughts and remind myself that I am a good person and that things will be OK no matter what happens.D.1. I know my weaknesses and think about them often.OR2. I know my weaknesses, but try to focus on my strengths.E.1. I have been known to overthink things to the point of upsetting myself unnecessarily.OR2. I tend not to overthink things because I feel comfortable and/or confident in my initial decisions.F.1. When I am challenged by adversity, I tend to feel hopeless and/or powerless.OR2. When I am challenged by adversity, I tend to feel strong and able to tackle the challenge.G.1. I don’t typically compliment myself, even privately or in my own mind.OR2. I am able to compliment myself and receive compliments.H.1. When I feel angry, sad or afraid, I panic because it’s hard to help myself feel better.OR2. When I feel angry, sad or afraid, I am OK with it because I know the tools to manage those feelings.I.1. If people could play a tape of my mind, they would be surprised that my thoughts are as negative as they are.OR2.If people could play a tape of my mind, they would view me as a positive person.J.1. I am kinder to others than I am to myself.OR2. I am as kind or kinder to myself than I am to others.Next, add up the numbers from your answers:1–10:Your mind tends to be filled with an excessive amount of negative self-talk, which can be emotionally burdening. Try to work toward being nicer to yourself and making your thoughts more positive. Perhaps try to take extra time out to look for the good in yourself and in situations. Make an extra effort to listen to your self-talk so that you can identify what is causing the moments of dread or fear and attempt to shift your perspective and see things from a more objective point of view.10-20: In general, you have good skills when it comes to positive thinking. You tend to be great at encouraging yourself and speaking to yourself in an affirmative and healthy way. When you hear yourself becoming negative, stop yourself and see if you can look at the situation (or judgment) from a different, more positive perspective.Stacy Kaiser, the author ofHow to Be a Grown Up: The Ten Secret Skills Everyone Needs to Know, is asuccessful licensed psychotherapist, relationship expert and media personality.For more on Stacy, go toStacyKaiser.com.

Self-Care

Creative Thinking Helped Me Find a New Path

I have a confession to make: Despite a deep academic interest in play, I’m not the most playful person. I’m too results-focused, too enamored with rules and often too serious to just spontaneously play. Yet playing creatively—with ideas in my head, by looking at things in new ways—helped change my future.Several years ago, I was completely stuck. Stuck in a career that had run out of growth opportunities. Stuck in an organization where I struggled to find meaning. Stuck with financial responsibilities that shackled me to my job.Finding a new pathWhen it came to my career all I could see ahead of me were years and years of gray.My options—or lack of options—seemed pretty straightforward. I could try to find another big, high-paying corporate job—but it was unlikely to satisfy my craving for more purpose. I could quit my job and start my dream business, but I needed a consistent stream of income. Or I could try to stick it out, find joy in other parts of my life, and accept that this was what it meant to be a grown-up.But, I thought to myself at the time, surely there has to be more to life. That’s when I decided to start playing.The benefits of playNot just part of childhood fun, play is in fact a profound biological process that has evolved to promote our survival. It shapes our brain, improves our flexibility and lies at the core of creativity.When it comes to our work, far from being a distraction, Dr. Stuart Brown, author of Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soulbelievesplay and work are mutually supportive. Why? Because both rely on creativity.“Respecting our biologically programmed need for play can transform work,” writes Dr. Brown in his book. “It can bring back excitement and novelty to the job. Play helps us deal with difficulties, provides a sense of expansiveness, promotes mastery of our craft, and is an essential part of the creative process. In the long run, work does not work without play.”Creative thinking opens up new possibilitiesOften play takes place in an imaginative world, but is also firmly grounded in reality. To activate the functionally diverse regions of the brain and create new opportunities, I decided to just play—to imagine, explore and have fun—with the possibilities of what might happen next in my career. I let go of the need for serious outcomes and unleashed my creativity.Each day for one week I played with completing this sentence: “To make my work more purposeful, joyful and rewarding I could…”For 15 minutes I’d let my mind run free; there were no right or wrong answers. At the end of the week, I read everything I had written and found five genuine possibilities for what I might do next in my career—things that I had never previously imagined. One in particular filled me with excitement.Play breaks down perceived barriersWhen Monday arrived, I went to my boss and proposed an unorthodox win-win solution. I’d give six months’ notice, during which I would work part-time while I began building my own business. To avoid losing my skills (on which he relied), at the end of this period he would become my first client. The ink was dry on my paperwork before the end of the week.It was only when I allowed myself to “play” and to be creative in my thinking that I was able to move beyond my self-imposed limitations. It gave me the freedom to find new patterns, and it sparked the “aha” moment that I needed in order to envision a different future.Work and play are not mutually exclusiveNo wonder, as Brown says, a growing number of corporations are identifying play as their most precious commodity.So when it comes to your work—be it your own career, a project you’re struggling with or a colleague who’s driving you mad—ask yourself if you are playing enough, thinking creatively about future possibilities. Your future happiness may rely on it.For more on creativity, see the special section in the October issue of Live Happy magazine.Michelle McQuaid is a best-selling author, workplace well-being teacher and change activator.To learn more about Michelle visitwww.michellemcquaid.com.

Positive Psychology

Happiness 101

You probably learned a number of useful things in school: reading, writing, arithmetic. But no matter how fantastic your teacher, it’s doubtful that “How to be happy” was included in the lesson plan.Luckily, it’s never too late. September marks the inaugural run of The Science of Happiness, a free online class for happiness seekers worldwide.Teaching happinessThis “massive open online course” (MOOC) is the first of its kind devoted exclusively to positive psychology. Instructors Dacher Keltner, Ph.D., and Emiliana Simon-Thomas, Ph.D., will teach students science-based skills for greater happiness and wellbeing.“We’re going to dig into what we think are the most direct paths to happiness and health,” says Dacher, who is also the founding faculty director of University of California at Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center.Connections, compassion, kindnessDacher says the 10-week course will zero in on scientifically proven methods for greater happiness, from building strong social connections with friends and family to the power of compassion and kindness.Students can also expect to learn a bit about their own brain, as well as practical applications for happiness. “We’re taking great care to have reflective practices that our students can engage in, like writing a gratitude diary, learning different techniques to be mindful, how to read people’s emotions more effectively—the tested practices that people can start to integrate,” Dacher says.Visiting scholarsJoining in the discussions will be noted experts from the field of positive psychology, including neuropsychologist Rick Hanson, Ph.D.; The Myths of Happinessbest-selling author Sonja Lyubomirsky, Ph.D.; and mindful meditation teacher Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D.So, can students really boost their happiness in just two months? Absolutely, Dacher says. “Even more important, [students will] have a sense of what they can work on to get happier. I think it’ll give them a little purpose—a little extra meaning in life.”“The Science of Happiness” launches Sept. 9. Register at either GreaterGood.Berkeley.edu or EdX.org, or opt in at any time to audit the course.

Self-Care

30 Days of Creativity

Pick and choose your favorite ideas from our list of things to do, watch, read, contemplate…and share! 1. “There is a fountain of youth: It is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.” —Sophia Loren 2. Attend an art party. 3. Listen to “Giant Steps” by John Coltrane. 4. Read Where the Wild Things Areby Maurice Sendak. 5. Watch The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross. 6. “Every child is an artist; the problem is staying an artist when you grow up.” —Pablo Picasso 7. Write a haiku. 8. Listen to Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon album. 9. Read Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creativeby Austin Kleon. 10. Watch Fantasia. 11. “Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try.” —Dr. Seuss 12. Start a new hobby—something that is totally different for you. 13. Listen to Tori Amos’ Unrepentant Geraldines album. 14. Read Creativity: The Psychology of Discovery and Inventionby Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. 15. Watch Big Fish. 16. “The idea is not to live forever; it is to create something that will.” —Andy Warhol 17. Build a treehouse with your family. 18. Listen to the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album. 19. Read The Accidental Creative: How to Be Brilliant at a Moment's Noticeby Todd Henry. 20. Watch The LEGO Movie. 21. “Passion is one great force that unleashes creativity, because if you're passionate about something, then you're more willing to take risks.” —Yo-Yo Ma 22. Write a family song. 23. Make a family cookbook. 24. Read The Everyday Work of Art: Awakening the Extraordinary in Your Daily Lifeby Eric Booth. 25. Watch Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. 26. “This world is but a canvas to our imagination.” —Henry David Thoreau. 27. Have a campout in your living room. 28. Read Imagine: How Creativity Worksby Jonah Lehrer. 29. Watch Creative Galaxy. 30. Paint a self-portrait. What sparks your creativity? Let us know, below, or on our Facebook page.

Self-Care

Dr. Clarence Lee, Jr.

Dr. Lee is an author, speaker, physician, and entrepreneur. Originally from Kansas City, MO, Dr. Lee studied medicine (M.D.) at Drexel University College of Medicine and completed his internship in General Surgery at Brooke Army Medical Center. His most recent studies have been in business (M.B.A.) in Entrepreneurship from Drexel University Lebow College of Business.Dr. Lee founded CMLEEJR Co., a personal empowerment company that focuses on helping others overcome barriers through professional speaking services, mentoring and workshops. Dr. Lee recently published his first book, Well, My Mom Says: Stories of Persistence, Faith, and Actionin May, 2014. He has been featured in the Sacramento Business Journal, The Word Alumni Magazine, The News Messenger, and Democratic Appeal.To learn more about Dr. Lee, visit www.cmleejr.com.

Well-Being

Do You Carry Emotional Baggage?

As a grown-up, it is your jobto take responsibility for your emotional wellbeing. You have complete, total control andpower over one person—yourself—soyou are responsible for every area of your life, including feelings you carrywith you on a daily basis that could be affecting more than you realize."You're gonna have to carry that weight ..."We all travel through life with baggage, whichevolves from painful, harmful or negativeexperiences and from interactions thatcaused a significant emotional reactionwithin you. These feelings continue toshape who you are, how you think, thechoices you make and the actions youtake now.Can it fit in the overhead compartment?There are two main types ofbaggage: what you see and are well aware of (excess), and what you don’tsee and aren’t aware of (hidden). Thebaggage you see but choose not toacknowledge or unload can become a problem. Your choice to ignore itmeans that for some reason you areallowing it to interfere with your life,your relationships and your future.The interesting thing about excess baggageis that it becomes almost comfortable tocarry. It’s as if you become so used tocarrying this extra weight that youdon’t realize how much more you couldsee and do if you were carrying alighter load.Hidden baggageHidden baggage, or the type youmay not even be aware of, is equallydangerous because it can sneak up onyou and ambush you out of nowhere.This kind of baggage can trick you intotolerating a job that works you countlesshours for low pay and no appreciation.It might lead you to stay close to aself-centered friend who talks your earoff because you’ve “always beenquiet anyway.”Emotional baggage is driven by negativefeelings such as anger, fear andsadness. You may be thinking,“How did I end up like this?” “It’s notmy fault," “My life isn’t fair," or "Things like this always happen to me."These underlyingfeelings can lead to a desire to act outor remain passive.The power to get rid of the baggagecomes from knowing where itstems from and askingyourself these important questions:“Assuming I can choose to behave anyway I want, do I like the way I ambehaving?”; “Should I or others have tosuffer because of my past?”; and “CanI manage painful or uncomfortableemotions by committing tobehaving differently?”Take a reality checkA good start toward addressing yourbaggage is to have a present-day realitycheck. When your immediate reactionto an experience is anger, fear orsadness, stop. Analyze the feeling. Areyou upset (or fearful, humiliated orshocked) by what just happened orwhat someone said because of its effecton your life now? Or have those wordsor actions triggered something fromyour past that will cause you to feel orreact out of proportion to what actuallyoccurred today?Get rid of that old baggageNow, I want you to turn your innerbaggage into outer baggage. To do this,make a list of the critical ways yourbaggage has impacted you. Write downthings like: “I was neglected as a child,so I have relationships where I amneglected”; “My parents escaped frompain by overindulging in food/alcohol/drugs, and I do the same”; or “I havealways feared failing, so I don’t put mybest foot forward with my family,friends or job.”Take this list and put itin your purse, backpack or briefcase.Carry it wherever you go—I mean, youdo anyway—only this time, carry it onpaper to remind you of where it allcame from.Once you do this, only then will youreally understand how the baggage you’vebeen carrying day in and day out has beenholding you back from maximizing yourpotential.Literally, let it goAfter 30 days of literally carrying your baggage around in your bag, it's time to make a symbolic gesture to let it all go. Take the list out of your purse, say out loud "I'm letting this emotional baggage go." Then you can either burn it in the fireplace or tear it into little pieces and throw it in the trash—thus symbolically gesturing that you are releasing the emotional baggage and moving forward, less weighted down by the past.

Clear Your Desk, and Your Mind Will Follow

Note to Self

10 Happy Tips to Boost Your Wellbeing Today

Embrace Life

Quiz: Are You Sabotaging Your Self-Esteem?

Creative Thinking Helped Me Find a New Path

Happiness 101

30 Days of Creativity

Dr. Clarence Lee, Jr.

Do You Carry Emotional Baggage?

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