Do you work too much?

Do you sort of hide out in work because when you don’t it feels like everyone is “ahead” of you?

Do you feel like no matter how hard you work you never get enough done?

Bob makes it very clear when it is time for me to walk away from my computer and take him to the park.  He is my pace-setter.  He keeps things real for me.  But even he takes long naps during the day and I have found myself getting engrossed in a sea of emails and research and writing until I feel fatigued for no good reason.  In fact, if I OD on computer time at one sitting, I feel fried for the day.

Its a very self-defeating thing, working too hard at one stretch.  Have you done it?  Are you doing it now?

The feng shui & new science of the day will help you to actually accomplish much more today… and it will leave you with more time to have a full life!  

What are you working on right now?  Are you working at a job and then pursuing personal projects like many of my friends?  Are you a part of multiple projects? Do you work for yourself? Are you starting something new?

Soooo inspired by Rachel Resnick, my friend Richard Farrell and other greats like David Eggers and David Sedaris, I am finally putting pen to paper and writing a book.   A book book.  Not a feng shui book.  Not a design book.

And this atop the rest of my day made me realize that there was a need for change in my days to make this work come to life.

Creative Work Means You Need To Live A Creative Life

Go ahead and sit in an office flooded with flourescent light barely seeing the light of day except for a short lunch break and see how long you can keep that up and still feel inspired to do creative work.

It’s like running a marathon while starving.

Creative blocks don’t “just happen.”  They typically arise from a period of burn out, depletion of inspiration and self-denial of pleasure.

Take a few minutes this morning and try this little exercise from Julia Cameron’s breakthrough creativity book, The Artist’s Way.

Now you have an idea of where you can allow yourself to indulge more.  Adventure? Romance? Play?  Yes, these all will help you to work much more brilliantly.  Trust it.  Allow it. This is innovation.

Eat More Often, And More Colorfully! 

There is no one right way to eat for everyone, but I am telling you, there is a vast difference between a starved body and a well-fed body… genetically.  If you want to be firing with your best brain power, don’t skip meals or use “coffee” as breakfast on its own!

I learned from Dr. Terry Wahls the diet to maximize genetic expression.  It’s essentially:

3 cups of darkly colored fruits (berries, apricots, dark color straight through the fruit)

3 cups of leafy greens (kale, collards, etc, etc)

3 cups of sulfur vegetables (mushrooms, onions, toss in some garlic, etc) every day.

That’s a whole lot of food, I know.  But… it is miraculous in my experience.  It is very hard to eat junk when you are eating so many berries and greens and good stuff all day.   She includes much more in her complete protocol for genetic well-being through eating well, but this is a very good place to start!

Take Breaks Every Hour!

I had a great conversation with friends at a vibrant start-up this past weekend.  Apparently, the tech start up world- the world that used to be the place to go when you wanted a more balanced life- has become the new culture of extreme overwork.  With competition and higer stakes for every project, each employee now is expected to do much more than their peers to distinguish themselves.  This translates into more hours at work… but that doesn’t mean more performance.  In fact: it typically means less really good work gets done.

Fast Company published the results of a study by the Draguiem Group that concluded that 17 minute breaks every 52 minutes was the the ideal to maximize productivity.  You actually work when you are working and you really take breaks when you take breaks, according to this research, and the results are fantastic!  Here’s what they suggest:

” Follow these tips to ensure you’re getting enough breaks in your day:

• Schedule breaks into your daily calendar. Ideally every 52 minutes.

• Set a timer to remind you when to take your break and when to return to work.

• Make realistic to-do lists. “We often bog down our to-do lists and make them not feasible for us to accomplish [plus] we underestimate how long it’s going to take us to do something,” says Sexton.

• Prioritize tasks. Choose three major tasks to focus on for the day and add other tasks as they pop up throughout the day to a separate list, readjusting your priorities throughout the day if required. It’s a lot easier to look at a list of three tasks than 30.

• Once you knock off the first three items, choose your next three priorities from your lengthier list.”  (article HERE) 

Make some fun plans. Take more breaks. Eat in a glowing way. This is not my personal philosophy of wanting to live a life of leisure (though I do want that! and I plan on it!), this is lots of science.

Work less… live more… See what happens… and let me know! I always love to hear your feedback and personal innovations!!!

xoxo Dana

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And, if you want to dive in to your own personalized feng shui in a modern, practical way, Say hello to Feng Shui 101.  Its the guide I made for you to create your own personalized feng shui at home, in the office, wherever you may be… in 8 weeks.  It’s not filled with strict rules or what you “must” do.  Its filled with information, questions, exercises and even videos and classes to help you confidently create amazing spaces with killer feng shui and live with more flow.   Learn more about the 8-week feng shui adventure & grab your copy to get started right HERE…   And, as always, please let me know what happens!