When You Just Don't Wanna:: Tips On How To Start, or not.

Stop procrastinating (Hannah), your desk doesn't have to be clean first.

It doesn't have to be quiet. 

You don't need it to be perfect.  

There is something called a beginning.  There is something called good enough.

When you or I wrestle with beginning something, or continuing something, or just picking up the damn toys off the floor we meet one of our biggest teachers.  That teacher is RESISTANCE.  It says:  

I don't want to get up.

I don't want to make dinner.  

I don't want to do this job.  

I don't want to clean up my toys.

I don't want to pay my bills.

I don't wanna!  

We all say it, in one way or another (it doesn't have to be with words). Dads say it. Executives say it.  Even yogis say it.  My dog says it.  The weather says it.

Got a case of the "I don't wanna's" ?  Here is a quick guide to meeting that feeling and moving on:

• admit your resistance: Well, hello again resistance to making supper.  Fancy meeting you here at suppertime.
• weigh reality: Do I really have to make supper tonight, or is there another, better option?
• reframe it: Instead of  hating on the making, love on the action of nourishing your body.
• make it sweeter: While I do this, I'll listen to my new favorite song.
• reward yourself: When I am done, there will be chocolate.
• breathe: Inhale, exhale, repeat.

Every Fu*%$ing Day: On Routine

They say the greats have routines to declutter their brains.  This way their decisions are limited and ALL of the brain power goes to creative endeavors.  Read this about Proust, Faulkner, Tchaikovksy and more.

Who the fuck is that committed?  The same thing for breakfast EVERY DAMN DAY? Boring. The same clothes EVERY DAMN DAY (oops, I think my mom did this when she had a 9-5). 

What's your routine?  Do you have one?  Do you think about one?  

What's mine, you say? Touché.

Here goes:

I don't have one. (Right now)

I am serious.

I have likes and dislikes.  

I have days I am in Woonsocket and days I am in Providence.

I have things on my schedule and DAMN long to do lists.

My kids have schedules.  My husband has a schedule. 

Not I.  

I am just ROLLING WITH IT.  (Click To Tweet)

There are certain things that remain to ground me though.  Certain I-cannot-live-withouts. 

• A bra. Every damn day.  I don't feel dressed without one.  Yoga pants, on the other hand, totally count as clothes.
• Coffee.  I switched to decaf.  It is placebo and I know it and I don't give a shit. 
• Eggs.  I need to have them EVERY DAY.  Any time of day counts.  But eggs I must have.
• I will not eat leftover supper as breakfast.  In fact, though I will eat breakfast foods at any time and anywhere, I flatly refuse to eat a supper-resembling food until after 11AM.
• I can work ANYWHERE.  I don't need quiet or a certain pen.  
• I like my desk to be clean and clear.  Also my desktop.  It frees the mind.

What are your "must haves?"

You Bright-Eyed-Bushy-Tailed Business Fledgling

I have this new client (a start-up) and they are so tired that I am tired for them.  Just totally exhausted.

What do we do as self-employed types? Eat chocolates and curl up in bed? (No, but that's what my dog did today while I was out all day, sigh.) 

Here are just a few of those many hats:

• budgeting
• paying bills
• entering expenses
• communicating with clients
• creating estimates and invoices
• buying office supplies
• maintaining mailing lists
• creating newsletters
• researching
• facebook, twitter, instagram, linkedin
• maintaining equipment
• paying taxes

Oh, right, and then there is doing all the actual work people pay you for...

Are you scared yet?  

Is it a lot of work? Yes.  Yes, it is.

Are you bored yet? Does some of it suck?  

Yes.  Yes, it does.

That being said, I have so much respect for those people who are running businesses with no prior business experience.  

Talk about BAD ASS PEOPLE BITING OFF MORE THAN THEY CAN CHEW.

(CLICK TO TWEET)

The slope is steep. (I know!)

This is one of my most treasured parts of working with fledgling businesses.  

I like to coax all of those threads of confusion into beautiful tapestry.  

• Make things simpler.
• Follow a plan, yet be flexible.
• Create something EFFECTIVE.
• Work within your capacity.

I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT.  TRUST ME.  I BELIEVE IN YOU.

Overwhelmed by the Internet

Sometimes the Internet is like that. Omnipresent.  Addictive.

Pesky addictions.  

Recently, coming down off being busy as hell, I cannot jet down.  Everything is rushed.  Nothing feels really, really, really, really good.  I mean, don't get me wrong.  My family is healthy, I found a great new home for one of my dogs, and what looms on the horizon is glimmering and golden.  

But the Internet is like an overly crowed subway car and I just cannot stop staring at the see-through white pants and black thong in front of me.

Fuck me I am tired and stuck online.  

From blog posts to cool tools to home renovations to laundry sorting bins research to articles.

There is just TOO much information.

How can there be so much I want to read?   EVERY.SINGLE.DAY 

Frozen bubbles?  How to clean my cookies sheets? Vaccine controversy?

Seriously, shouldn't it get boring?  Shouldn't there be no more new ideas?  Shouldn't I be doing something MORE IMPORTANT?  

And here I am, contributing to all of that.  Another drop in the bucket.  Another voice in the choir.  Blog, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Google Plus, Tumblr.  Platform after platform.  SO MUCH CONTENT. 

Today I choose: Will I shout loudly or will I whisper?

(CLICK TO TWEET)

Bitchy Little Critic:: Your Inner Voice

I just told a client a few weeks ago: Your inner voice narrates all that you do.

Your inner voice is: 

• Not always right.
• Just a moment in a long story that we tell ourselves about ourselves. 
• Created by all that comes at you in life.
• Beautiful, no matter what it says.

What does yours say?

Recently my inner voice has been a bitchy little critic.  (CLICK TO TWEET)

I keep telling her to STFU.  But she doesn't listen.  

I speak to myself SO DIFFERENTLY than I speak to anyone else.

I talk to my kids with (mostly) sweetness.  My husband. . .well, I try.

With my clients I am firm, yet kind.  My friends and family come to me to be talked though things.  To be LISTENED TO.

My intention is to work on the conversations I have with myself in my head.  Conversations about feelings and thoughts and worthwhileness and overwhelm and incapacity. The funny thing is when these things come aloud, I don't even believe them.  

I know I am not what the voice says I am.  But now, to sweeten the voice.  To add fullness and honey.  

Learning to take care of myself.  Learning to care for myself with how I talk to myself.

I am 32 and I Just Used Body Wash for the First Time

It was just my birthday.  It is a new year.  I had a party.  I got some gifts.  

I used to hate getting presents.

I don't anymore.  Rarely, rarely, rarely do I get something I don't want.  

I love how well people know me and how graciously they think of me.

So, I got body wash.  I know they SELL body wash, like, in stores.  But I have never bought any.  I never really considered it either.  Maybe because my mother barely uses soap.  Maybe because my husband only uses tea tree castille soap, which makes my skin fall off. Maybe because too many things on the shower rack piss me off (whoops, then I had children and that went out the window).  Maybe it is because i believe too much in natural oils.  I put my belief systems aside and me and my dry-ass winter-skin took a shower tonight and tried body wash.  HOLY SHIT. They make stuff that cleans you without feeling like your skin just died.  I am. in. HEAVEN. 

SO, what will I do?  I'll write a THANK YOU NOTE.  Yes, people still do this.  And if you don't, you suck. Seriously,

stop sending thank you emails, people.  It doesn't fucking count.

(Click HERE to Tweet)

That person worked, made money, then they thought of you and then they went out (or online) and actually PURCHASED something.  FOR YOU.  And maybe they wrapped it or mailed it or dropped it off.  Either way, you should think about this for at least the time it takes to sit your as down in a chair and handwrite something thoughtful.

If you tell me that you are too busy to write a damn thank you note then get the fuck off my site. 

Okay, that's a little mean, maybe you need to stick around and listen to a thing or two that I have to say. Or maybe, you just need to start caring for yourself and for others and creating enough time and space to thank others and to thank yourself.

(ps. don't look a the list of gift givers as a list of thank you notes to do.  Rather, look at it as a list of loving people who took time out of their lives to make a difference in yours.)

And for goodness sakes, teach your damn kids to do the same. 

Oh, NOW you get it.

That's what I do.  

                What do I do?

I want you to follow your dreams the way I follow mine. Successfully.

I live my life in a very purposeful, flexible, accountable, and now public, way.

Yup. That's pretty much what I do. 

• I work with you to clarify how you want to live and then help you integrate those needs and wants into your daily experience.
• And my blog is just a place where I get to show what it looks like for me: Messy, yet perfect. 

Get my blog sent you you by signing up HERE.  It is free.  I don't do spam.  And I'll try my best to kick your ass, gently.

I'm a fucking coach. (That post is coming soon.)

My First Post of the New Year

2014.  

I wanted this post to be brave.  I wanted it to represent all that I am.  I wanted it to be witty and tearful and profound and shocking and wholeheartedly authentic.

I want to start out on the right foot.  (Which one is that?)

I want, I want, I want, I want.  Me. Me. Me. Me.

That's not the truth this year.

                ~~~The truth is that this year is about YOU~~~

• It's about what you think of when your eyes open in the morning. 
• It's about who you serve.  
• It's about how you help.
• It's about what good you do.
• It's about how you make this world kinder, more real and more worthy.

It's about YOU.  Be kind to yourself.  (Click to Tweet).

Hello, 2014.  Hello, you. Breathe.

I Am Your New Years Resolution

Once a month.  Check in. Where are you?  No.  Where are you really?

Stop spinning.  Ground yourself, make a plan, be honest.  Stick to it.

This is important work for you.  ACCOUNTABILITY.  It keeps your feet on the ground, solidly moving forward. ACCOUNTABILITY.  I've learned we all need it.  To be accountable, to be reliable, and to STAY flexible.  ACCOUNTABILITY.

This is growing up.  ACCOUNTABILITY.  This is realizing the wholeness of our perfect imperfection. (Click HERE to Tweet).  This is where you firmly need to be.  

Only in part a disaster.  In part glowing and beautiful.

You can get there.  It doesn't matter where there is.  You can do it.  But you need help. Admit it: I need help.  

                 There, I said it.  Can you say it?  

A monthly check in with me will hold you to it.

Do something for yourself in 2014.  

Make a promise to yourself.

Not a New Year's resolution. I hate those.

Make a celebration of grounded intention.  

• I promise it will help you.  
• I promise it will leave you feeling clear.  
• I promise it will make you a better you than you are today.

Sign up HERE for a monthly session.  

We will cut the fat.

 Literally.  

We will get to the meat. 

The favors will meld and simmer and you will

GLOW.

With awe and deep New Year breaths,

     Hannah

Sugar Overload (stuuupid cookies)

You might be done, but I am not.  

My birthday is next week (on January first if you are wondering).  So, I am in somewhat suspended holiday until then, when I can

resume "normal" life.

What the hell does that mean.  I just typed it, I know.  But "resume 'normal' life"?  WTF? Haven't I been around long enough (guess not) to know there is NO SUCH THING?

There is a lot of change, a lot of upheaval and I am so, so, so happy that this is winter, when I can transition in private. –Click to Tweet.  (Oh, except for this blog). 

What do you want/need for your post-holiday recovery?

I want to EAT VEGETABLES, DRINK WATER, SHOWER and HAVE A CLEAN SINK.

Why wait, there is squash soup and a tall glass of water waiting for my attention.  Tomorrow?  A brisk walk, fresh air in my lungs, and a hot new nau jacket.