Find the Zen of Work
By Leo Babauta
One of the most common problems I hear from readers is the difficulty in finding calm and peace in the middle of a work day.
Work for many people is stressful, full of too many things to do, too many meetings and emails and incoming information and interruptions and irritations and distractions and decisions and confusion.
Putting “Zen” into the workplace — some calm, some mindfulness, some letting go of that which stresses you out — is not a simple thing for most people.
To help those who’d like to find a more peaceful way of working, I’ve teamed up with San Francisco...
Source: Zen Habits - May 2, 2013 Category: Life Coaches Authors: zenhabits Tags: Happiness Productivity & Organization Simplicity Source Type: blogs
The 7-Day Vegan Challenge
By Leo Babauta
Today is my 40th birthday (April 30), and I decided that this year, instead of sharing a list of the lessons I’ve learned (38 lessons, 39th lesson), I’d change the tradition of birthday gift giving. This year, I’m giving presents to people I love (just small gifts), out of appreciation for them making my life better.
That includes all of you. You’ve made my life demonstrably and profoundly better, and I’m truly grateful.
So my gift to you this year is the 7-Day Vegan Challenge, a free challenge I’ve created in collaboration with some amazing vegan writers, nutritionists...
Source: Zen Habits - April 30, 2013 Category: Life Coaches Authors: zenhabits Tags: Habits Health & Fitness Source Type: blogs
Why You Should Write Daily
By Leo Babauta
One of the most instrumental changes in my life has been writing every single day.
For many years I was a writer who didn’t write that regularly. It was always on the back of my mind to write, but I didn’t find the time.
Then I started this blog in January 2007, and have written pretty much every day since then.
It was life-changing.
I recommend daily writing for anyone, not just writers. Here’s what I’ve found from my daily habit:
Writing helps you reflect on your life and changes you’re making. This is incredibly valuable, as often we do things without realizing why, or...
Source: Zen Habits - April 26, 2013 Category: Life Coaches Authors: zenhabits Tags: Goals & Motivation Habits Source Type: blogs
Achieving Without Goals
By Leo Babauta
Have you ever had a long amazing conversation with a friend, that took all kinds of turns neither of you could possibly have expected when you started the conversation? Wasn’t it awesome, to riff off each other, to explore unforeseen territory, to be free to wander and enjoy the time together?
What if, instead, you had a definite goal for how the conversation should go when you start out? A definite path and outcome of how you want the conversation to turn out? Let’s say you have an agenda, and every time one of you wandered off the agenda, you forced yourself to get back on it.
Would the conv...
Source: Zen Habits - April 24, 2013 Category: Life Coaches Authors: zenhabits Tags: Goals & Motivation Productivity & Organization Source Type: blogs
Flowing with the Stresses of Kids (or anyone else)
By Leo Babauta
Parenting can be stressful. That’s probably one of my bigger understatements, but as the father of 6 kids, I’ve learned a little about handling these stresses so that it’s not such a big deal anymore.
Kids throw tantrums, demand to have their way, don’t see anything but their own point of view, break things, always need something, get hurt, fight with each other, start to rebel and become disrespectful as teen-agers, and so on.
But there are good bits too.
The truth is, dealing with the stresses of kids is the same as dealing with the stresses of anyone else. The stress is just ma...
Source: Zen Habits - April 22, 2013 Category: Life Coaches Authors: zenhabits Tags: Finance & Family Happiness Source Type: blogs
Habit Mastery: Creating the New Normal
By Leo Babauta
Changing habits, at its core, is simply a process of changing what’s normal for you.
This is something I’ve done myself a gajillion times over the last 7-8 years:
not smoking became my new normal (lots of pain for a month or so)
running became normal
eating vegetarian became normal
later eating vegan became normal
writing every day became normal
not having sugar in my coffee became normal
eating whole foods (instead of junk foods) became normal
meditating every morning became normal
having less stuff and a simpler home became my new normal
reducing and eventually (mostly) eliminating sugar be...
Source: Zen Habits - April 19, 2013 Category: Life Coaches Authors: zenhabits Tags: Habits Source Type: blogs
Defeat Distraction: Refocusing with Purpose
By Leo Babauta
Here’s a scenario: you jump into email or [insert preferred social network here] and start doing a few tasks, reading a few things, taking care of business … but soon get lost in the swarm of distractions of little things, and two hours have gone by without getting anything important or meaningful done.
Ever happened to you?
Sometimes a big task will sit there on your todo list or email inbox, but you keep putting it off because you’re in the quick-task mode. It’s hard to do slower, more thoughtful tasks when you’re in quick-task mode.
This happens to me all the time. I will...
Source: Zen Habits - April 17, 2013 Category: Life Coaches Authors: zenhabits Tags: Productivity & Organization Source Type: blogs
Expanding the Envelope: A Method for Beating Anger
By Leo Babauta
Here’s what I’ve been learning about anger in the last few years: it’s purely because of selfishness.
Almost every time we get angry, it’s because something isn’t going our way.
I’ve been practicing a method for beating this selfish anger, and I call it Expanding the Envelope of Compassion. That’s a pretty amazing title, I’m sure you would agree.
Before we talk about the method, let’s look at why anger is so selfish. Here’s what happens:
We want something a certain way.
Other people (or occasionally, the Universe!) don’t give us that som...
Source: Zen Habits - April 15, 2013 Category: Life Coaches Authors: zenhabits Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
A Guide to Practical Contentment
By Leo Babauta
A lot of people search for ways to find happiness, but I’ve found the idea of contentment to be more important than happiness.
Why contentment over happiness? A couple of important reasons:
Happiness can go up or down each day (or moment), but contentment is something more stable.
We tend to seek to increase happiness by adding things (food, excitement, a warm bath, time with a loved one) but contentment is a skill that allows you to subtract things and still be content.
Contentment can actually be a good place to start as you make changes (changes and contentment might seem paradoxical to some, bu...
Source: Zen Habits - April 12, 2013 Category: Life Coaches Authors: zenhabits Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
The Practice of Work Mind & Vacation Mind, Simultaneously
By Leo Babauta
Imagine being on vacation: you can laze around, sipping on margaritas, not worrying about what you have to do today, not worrying about the time, just being without all the anxiety.
Now imagine being busy at work: you are doing one task while worrying about others, worrying that you’re not doing the right task, thinking about all the other things on your schedule and task list, interrupted by others, filled with anxiety.
Vacation mind, work mind.
They are two different things, and yet, what if we could have the vacation mind while working? We’d have to toss out the lazing around and the marga...
Source: Zen Habits - April 10, 2013 Category: Life Coaches Authors: zenhabits Tags: Productivity & Organization Source Type: blogs
How to Eat Real Food Without Spending Hours in the Kitchen
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Jules Clancy of Stonesoup.
Are you eating real, whole food as much as you’d like?
If you’ve been following Zen Habits for any length of time, you’ve probably been inspired by Leo’s story. My favorite part is how he went from being an overweight junk food eater to a lean, plant-food-loving machine.
Like Leo, I’m a big believer that for optimum health it’s best to eat real, whole food as much as possible. Preferably prepared at home.
The good news is, it doesn’t need to take as much time as you’d think.
When I was writing my b...
Source: Zen Habits - April 5, 2013 Category: Life Coaches Authors: zenhabits Tags: Health & Fitness Source Type: blogs
Quitting Your Habits
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Tynan of Tynan.com.
Posts about habits are both my favorite posts to write, and my favorite posts to read on sites like Zen Habits. I believe managing your habits is the practical equivalent of molding who you are and who you will become. Today, though, I’m going to write about the destruction of habits.
Throughout my life I’ve implemented thousands of habits. Some are simple habits that could very well last my entire life, like meditating for five minutes before I check my email in the morning. Others, like my three month experiment with polyphasic sleep, are al...
Source: Zen Habits - April 2, 2013 Category: Life Coaches Authors: zenhabits Tags: Habits Source Type: blogs
The 38 Best Methods of Successful Exercisers
By Leo Babauta
How do you form the exercise habit — really make it stick?
Take the first step.
Then take another. Make each step so important that you can’t miss it. And enjoy each step.
That’s my method, honed from eight years of forming the exercise habit. It works, for me.
But everyone has a different method, and it’s inspiring and massively useful to learn from others who’ve successfully created the habit themselves.
Today, we’ll look at a great list of those methods, submitted by folks on Twitter who have overcome the odds and successfully formed the exercise habit.
First, th...
Source: Zen Habits - March 29, 2013 Category: Life Coaches Authors: zenhabits Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
How To Make It Impossible To Fail
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Maneesh Sethi of Hack the System.
It’s funny how long two minutes can be.
Just a few weeks ago, a package arrived: a Sonicare EasyClean Toothbrush. The toothbrush has an automatic timer which dings every thirty seconds until two minutes have passed.
It’s a strange thing, the mental passage of time. The first thirty seconds feel like a millennium—when the heck is this brush going to ding? By the second ding, I’ve begun walking, or pacing, or thinking, but it still feels like an eternity.
The third ding? I barely even notice it. And the fourth feels like barely a...
Source: Zen Habits - March 26, 2013 Category: Life Coaches Authors: zenhabits Tags: Goals & Motivation Source Type: blogs
The Not Knowing Path of Being an Entrepreneur
By Leo Babauta
Lots of people who start businesses try to control outcomes:
A vision for your business’s success.
Goals to get you to the successful vision.
Try to get the most productive day (out of yourself, or employees).
Try to produce certain amounts, or hit certain metrics (pageviews, followers, revenue, sales).
Unfortunately, the ability to control outcomes is an illusion. This is one of the fundamental lessons I’ve learned in my six years of being in business for myself.
You don’t really know how things will turn out.
And this is OK.
In fact, it’s pretty awesome.
Yes, not knowing ho...
Source: Zen Habits - March 22, 2013 Category: Life Coaches Authors: zenhabits Tags: Goals & Motivation Productivity & Organization Source Type: blogs
