The last few weeks have been all about new beginnings for me. I tend to like my plate full (both figuratively and literally), and boy have I filled it to the brim! In fact – some items of food may be falling off the edge. Naturally, I shall pick up the fallen pieces (while no one is looking). I’m applying the 3 second rule. 10 seconds if need be. Let’s just brush that right off and put it back on the plate…keep walking…nobody saw…be cool…

 

I started a sweet new job with Breville, a very cool, Australian, kitchen appliance company that has been infiltrating my kitchen slowly but surely over the last few years:

 

Juicers. Stand mixers. Blenders. Oh my. And there are even espresso machines with cool names like the Oracle that can do everything except floss your teeth for you (I’m sure that model will be coming out soon. Those Breville Food Thinkers are kind of the bees knees. Incidentally, bees don’t have knees, but that’s a discussion for another day).

 

In addition to my culinary adventures with Breville, I was asked to be the editor of the fitness and health section for The Good Men Project with my husband, Ted. This is an incredibly exciting venture, and I was humbled by the offer. I’m eager to see what things are to come in the world of men’s health as a result of this undertaking! Look out, boys. I see kale and green things in your future. And trips to the grocery store with countless calls to your better half asking where all the grocery items on your list may be found. Don’t worry – I’m sure Ted will reel me in if I go too far. Or at least, he’ll try. He’ll likely lose. But the battle is half the fun, no?

 

As good things tend to come in 3’s, the third project on my plate is a vegan and gluten free cooking show that I’ve been contracted to shoot for curious.com, a company that offers online courses in all areas of study. The courses are open to everyone, and while many of them are free, some of them require a small fee. My course will be ready by mid August for your viewing (and learning) pleasure!

 

With the addition of these new ingredients to my own personal recipe for life, staying sane is my main intention, though the human need for sleep is proving to be a serious inconvenience. Dang it, why do I like it so much? The cozy bed, the warm blankets, and the pillow, oh the pillow. Would that there could be another way for the body to replenish itself. A girl can certainly dream, but until I find a way to work some Hogwartz magic to create less sleeping time without adverse effects, I’m working on a strategy to keep all the balls in the air whilst I maintain everything else in my life. You know, the usual: feeding myself, feeding my husband, recipe testing, continuing with my other work, studying to be a health coach, cleaning the house, working out, and trying really hard to fit a shower in so the rest of the world doesn’t have to smell the evidence of my pushups and squats.

 

(Full disclosure: sometimes I skip the shower when I’m working from home. My husband is quick to point it out. I don’t blame him. It’s not pleasant. Ah, marriage. Apparently it means you can skip showers and still love each other. At least, I hope it does. I’ll keep you posted on how that plays out.)

 

I have to say, with all that I’ve got going on, I’m faring pretty well, likely because I like to be busy. In fact, I thrive on it. I’m useless if I don’t have enough going on. Being busy makes me feel more creative and productive, and it makes me feel like I’ve earned my rest. I could probably work on some balance, and of course, every now and again I will be overcome with how much I have to do. In those moments, I will declare that I need a tequila cocktail pronto. The sane part of me will then kick in, decide against it, force me to smile and breathe instead, and maybe play a tune or 2 on the ivories to get my mind right, back to work, and back to generally trying to be awesome.

 

Working for Breville specifically has reintroduced hours of driving time into my life. Rather than whine about it, I utilize that time by listening to French radio to keep up my French speaking skills, listening to NPR to make myself feel smarter, and most recently, listening to articles on an app called Umano. It’s genius. It’s a collection of audio news articles. My friend Scott told me about it. Scott knows everything about everything. That includes cookies, socks, and Italian shoes. And anything really, really intelligent. We call him the Oracle, like the Breville espresso machine. But Scott came first, so he wins. I’ll have to teach him how to froth milk to make it a fair competition, though. He also helps kids – orphans and vulnerable children, to be exact – around the world. That’s his job. I have cool friends.

 

Anyway, in an effort to stay productive, get more done in less time, and keep my life in balance, I’ve been listening to a ton of articles about successful, happy, and productive people. Their habits, their comings and goings, their schedules, and what time they get up to tinkle in the middle of the night (ok, maybe not that last one).

 

What I learned has been helpful, and so naturally, I wanted to spread the love and share some of it with you.

 

Here are 6 articles to make you a more happy, productive, & successful person:

 

1. From Eric Barker at Barking Up The Wrong Tree:

6 Things The Most Productive People Do Everyday:

1. Manage your mood (helpful hint: happy people are more productive. So get happy. Now!).

2. Don’t check e-mail in the morning.

3. Before you try to do it fast, ask whether it should be done at all.

4. Focus is nothing more than eliminating distractions.

5. Have a personal system.

6. Define your goals the night before.

For the full article, visit the site or listen to it at Umano.

 

2. From Eric Barker at Barking Up The Wrong Tree:

Here’s The Schedule Very Successful People Follow Every Day

1. The morning ritual (helpful hint: they get up early before the busyness of the day has a chance to get them).

2. Important work first thing with no distractions (helpful hint: your brain is sharpest 2 ½ – 4 hours after waking, so do the more involved “thinking” work during that time, and leave the busy work for later).

3. Regroup when you slow down (helpful hint: when afternoon fog sets in, gather yourself and look over your day’s list of objectives to get yourself back on track).

4. Meetings, calls and people stuff in the afternoon (helpful hint: when the afternoon hits, you aren’t nearly as sharp and focused, so leave the afternoon for busy work like meetings and calls).

5. A relaxing evening (helpful hint: almost all successful people take the evening off and get enough sleep).

For the full article, visit the site or listen to it on Umano.

 

3. From Brent Gleeson at Inc. Magazine:

5 Reasons Why Success Has Almost Nothing to do With Skill

1. Skill doesn’t guarantee outcome.

2. Skill doesn’t create opportunities (helpful hint: you create opportunities).

3. Skill doesn’t limit failure.

4. Skill doesn’t remove obstacles.

5. Skill doesn’t create intuition.

For the full article, visit the site or listen to it on Umano.

 

4. From Henrik Edberg at The Positivity Blog:

How to Build Self Confidence: 6 Essential and Timeless Tips:

1. Take action. Get it done.

2. Face your fear.

3. Understand in what order things need to happen.

4. Prepare.

5. Realized that failure or being wrong will not kill you.

6. Get to know who you are and what you want out of life.

For the full article, visit the site or listen to it on Umano.

 

5. From Joshua Becker at Becoming Minimalist:

10 Positive Psychology Studies to Change Your View of Happiness:

1. From wealth to well being (helpful hint: being wealthy doesn’t necessarily make you happy).

2. Buying experiences, not possessions, leads to greater happiness.

3. The science of gratitude (helpful hint: gratitude makes you happy).

4. Trust, morality and oxytocin (helpful hint: your level of oxytocin increases as your levels of trust, morality, and empathy increase).

5. For a better day, smile (helpful hint: put on a happy face).

6. The dynamic spread of happiness (helpful hint: being around happy people will make you happier).

7. Kindness counts (helpful hint: people who are kind to others are generally more well liked).

8. People who exercise on work days are happier (helpful hint: workout. No excuses. Just do it.).

9. Is Volunteering a Public Health intervention? (helpful hint: volunteering benefits mental health).

10. Spending money on others promotes happiness (helpful hint: Sweet!).

For the full article, visit the site or listen to it on Umano.

 

6. From Taylor Kuhota for Men’s Journal, published on The Huffington Post:

9 Ways to get the most out of your brain:

1. Keep learning.

2. Do a crossword.

3. Ignore negativity.

4. Use all of your senses.

5. Socialize.

6. Don’t multitask.

7. Spaced interval repetition.

8. Exercise.

9. Eat right.

For the full article, visit the site.

 

Hopefully some (or all) of these articles will be of use to you. Because I know your lives are busy. And I know you want to squeeze the most out of every minute so you don’t miss a thing, just like I do.

 

So read on, enjoy, get stuff done, be happy, be loving, and enjoy that precious life of yours! Because the world is better for having you in it, and you are better when you’re at your happiest, most productive, and most successful you.

 

Love, love, love,

Lauren
xxx