2009-2010

It's been a crazy and hectic year! it's done, it's over and time to move on to a brighter year!

I am excite, my health is getting better, my overall life is getting better and everything is good.

Motto: Work hard and play hard.

Cheers,

Honey

The Three-Part Framework for Powepoint Presentations

Preview, View, Review

Preview (10-15 % of time)

Hook: Opening statement to grab attention
Positioning Statement: Benefits statement selling advantages of listening
Overview: Key points that support positioning statement

View (80-85% of time)

Point 1: Evidence/Illustration
Point 2: Evidence/Illustration
Point 3: Evidence/Illustration

Review (5% of time)

Recap: Summary of positioning statement and key points
Memorable Conclusion: Wrap up story or statement
Call to Action: Request for order/commitment

7 Steps for Powerpoint Presentations

Step 1: Define your purpose. The first question every presenter has to determine is, Why am I presenting? Is it to inform, entertain or persuade?

Step 2: Profile your audience. You should always analyze your audience’s need and motivations.

Step 3: Map your structure. Presenting is essentially story telling. And all good stories need structure.

Step 4: Add drama and impact. Even the most boring factual presentations needs livening up with anecdotes, stories or captivating visuals.

Step 5: Rehearse until perfect. The more you rehearse, the better you get.

Step 6: Deliver with style. The way you deliver is as, if not more important than your content.

Step 7: Review and Revise. The best presenter learn from their mistakes by continually evaluating their performance.

Thus, the journey begins.

After a long time, my stomach pain has decreased a little bit. Before, I would get sharp and strong pain attacks and now its more of a burning pain. My body is responding better to it than the sharp pain. I usually have a fever and my body is a bit weird in a manner that sometimes I am unable to breath and I feel suffocated. My doctor says that if my ulcers get better than all the other stomach related issues (infection, bleeding, etc.) will decrease, thus my overall body will get better. The foundation of all my health problems is the ulcers, so I have to cure that in order in indirectly cure all the other problems.

So Mr. Ulcers, here I come, I am going to tackle you down. My whole body (specially my mind) is stronger than you. I keep telling myself that my body is my own enemy, but I don’t take any action against it, which I think it’s time to do. I need to make my body my friend (my best friend) and be at peace physically and mentally.

I am past the phase of loosing it and not doing anything about my pain and health. I took off work and just didn’t do anything but sit and cry about my pain. That went for a while, and that definitely didn’t help. I cut off connection and started slacking on my work and school and that also doesn’t help. One quality that has always been part of me is that no matter what condition I am in mentally and physically, I have got myself up, have had a strong head and kept moving.

I still recall, I was doing a dance performance and my knees were really hurt and I was in tears a minute before the dancer performance, but a minute later, I got on stage, I put a smile on my face and it must have been one of my best dance performances. It was at the festival of trees in Boise, ID. I didn’t let my commitment to dance team down (meridian dance art academy) and I didn’t let my dance team down.

I need to revisit that and bring my mental strength back of dealing properly with pain, but not loosing what I have, or my aspirations and dreams.

Plus, if I distract my mind and do things for myself that are good than maybe with my mind, my health will also get better. For a while I had lost all my ambition, motivation, inspirations, and goals and I was not doing anything to make any part of my life improve. Instead of digging myself a deeper a hole, I am going to get out of this hole.

I do need to bear in my mind that my health is yet utmost important and needs more of my attention than anything else. I have developed a eating schedule, a rest schedule, and meditation schedule. Also, I will continue having my special brown bag which has fruit, nuts and other healthy food that is always on me, so in any instance, I can eat no matter where I am.

I have lost of a bit of strength in my body, so I need to gain that back up. I have developed a set of exercises, stretches, and yoga poses that are good for overall body and stomach that will improve my strength.

No one else and nothing else except me can improve my health, and I need to do it well and soon, so things don’t get worse even later in life.

I need peace and sanity and I am going to provide that to myself.

And, people who have made my health worse or have anything to say against me or my health specially when I have helped you in any way shape or form; I curse you and I hope that you go through 50% of what I have been through. Only 50% because that will be enough to teach them a lesson and I don't think they can deal with half of what I have dealt with, let alone whole.

My goal of simplifying my life is close to accomplished, everything I don’t need or use has been trashed, the important things are neatly organized and placed.

I am back on my feet and strong brain and need to get work done, projects done and catch up to the speed of everything.

School

1. I have two weeks to do 4 projects of the semester. The whole class has done 4 projects in 4-5 months, and I need to do those projects in 2 weeks, in fact by the end of this week to be able to do the 5^th project of the semester.

a. Project 1: Sketch, Refine and Finalize design for the german poster with placement, scale, color and in style of piet zwart, max huber and theo van doesburg. Final 6 posters (11x14)

b. Project 2: Text, graphic element and photo choices for Vision, put it together and apply in 4 environments. Final 4 posters (billboard size)

c. Refine book sale sign 6-10 times and create a system branding from book design. Final 6 designs (book bag, gift card, book mark, calendar)

d. Time and measurement design with dance. Final 4 cd cased of dance timeline

2. Crossing borders journal. Just for few hours before 11/30/09 I need to sit at create a collage for 15 different words to form a book of collage of 15 terminologies. This shouldn’t be that difficult, just grab images related to term and paste it on page (text is fine too)

3. Type forms branding to recreate stationary of Post-It Notes Company. (Logo, letter head, business card, envelop and notepad)

4. Final portfolio for type forms

5. Final portfolio for visual literacy

Work

1. 50-100 web channel research to benchmark (50 completed)

2. 50-100 events/tradeshows/conferences to research and benchmark for 2010

3. Competitive analysis projects (completed, but need to be updated)

4. Analyzer vendor list?

5. APAC business development- country focus India (benchmark 10-15 from a list of 50)

6. EMEA business development- country focus Russia (done!)

7. 3 Presentation creations from concept to execution (Reseller, End User, Analyzer)

a. Outline done, basis and concept done; work on creation and execution

I need to finish all this work before I go to Boise, ID. Forgot to mention that I have booked a ticket to go to Boise because I really miss my mom and I am going to surprise her by showing up at home. My goal is to get all this done before I go, otherwise I won’t go. 2^nd week of December!

After that, I will have an entire month of school and nothing for school to worry about! I want to thank my professors, lian, teddy and Michael for giving me a lot of flexibility this semester. Lian has done it for two semesters now. Thank you guys for understanding and reiterating to me that health is more important and I should worry about that more than school.

Those are all my short term goals.

To keep in mind my long term goals.

Education

B.S Communication and Psychology (completed)

M.F.A. in Graphic Design (in progress)

M.B.A. in International Marketing/Business (future) I have selected a school, Golden Gate University, and will apply there in about a 1.5 years. I have my mind set to the curriculum, and the requirements for application and slowly I will start working on that once a lot of other stress in my life is decreased.

I am still working on the book I want to publish, it’s getting harder and harder. When I thought things were coming along, they are actually diminishing a bit, but it’s ok, I can put that aside to focus on more important things (health) for now and come back to it at a better time.

I need to get CCNA to go higher in my industry (IT) and I just emailed a community college that offers CCNA training courses for 2-3 months that apparently guarantees passing the CCNA exam, which my company pays for. If all works well, that can get rolling when I am off school for a while.

I have always been a steady and committed volunteer for an organization in each city I have lived in. Ever since I came to bay area, I haven’t done any volunteer work. My only reason for doing volunteer work is that it makes me happy. I need to research an organization here where I can be a committed volunteer. I have made a decision to volunteer in what makes me happy and is less stressful. No more marketing related volunteering, etc, I am going to do mentor volunteering of helping kids and people with life and career skills and just spending time with them. Instead of lending my skills to people who back stab me, I should lend it to people who would appreciate it and will truly play a piece in making this world a better place. Life coaching would also be something part of this, but it might be a bit stressful.

I still want to paint, draw, have my paint brushes, canvases, and other materials.

I have always wanted to be an educator and have always seen myself as a part time professor. Teaching is not something I want to do as a full time career, but something on side because I love it so much. I have come up with a strategy of tutoring as a starting point. If time and health allows, I would like to do that. In my spare time, I did come up with a resume for it, but didn’t do anything else. Let’s see how I am in a couple months and then I can think more about this.

Last, but not least, DANCE! I love dancing and I always have. I want to be dancer, do performances, have a team, and spend few hours in a week to dance. But my body doesn’t allow me to complete dance. I can do a little bit, but not much, not completely dance. I have not come up with any strategy to be able to fully dance. There has always been a problem in this, whether my knee, my stomach or my whole body. I think once I spend some time taking care of health fully, then I can come back to this and re-think it.

J I have so much going for myself and my life with all these goals, motivations and dreams and most importantly my ambition! Instead of focusing on all this, I was paying attention to and wasting energy dealing with useless things. This just reminds me once again that I need to work hard, and achieve these things. They are worth dealing with stomach pain and fighting to make my health better to do these things. Thus, the journey begins.

Natural Cure for Ulcers

Natural Cures for Ulcers

It is important to treat the symptoms of an ulcer when they first arise. Untreated ulcers have the potential to grow larger, creating a host of additional medical issues. Ignoring an ulcer can lead to bleeding in the digestive system or the formation of holes in the wall of the stomach or duodenum. Before seeking a prescription medication to solve the problem, you might want to try a natural approach, such as:

a) Licorice:

Licorice root acts as an anti-inflammatory and produces a substance that aids in the protection of the stomach wall. When incorporating licorice as part of a natural cure, the production of acid is also reduced. Some individuals make a decoction, while others simply suck the juice from licorice sticks. Tinctures also make effective remedies. If you have high blood pressure, you may want to refrain from this type of natural treatment.

b) Manuka:

Studies conducted in New Zealand reveal that the bark, pollen, flowers, and leaves of manuka honey destroy the bacterium associated with ulcer development [4]. One may take 1 to 2 teaspoons of manuka honey twice per day or use the flowers and leaves to create infusions. The bark is also used to form decoctions. To add an anti-bacterial component to a manuka infusion, consider using thyme or echinecea.

c) Banana:

Peptic ulcers react quite well when using bananas to neutralize the extra acidity found in gastric juices. The banana also lessens the irritation associated with an ulcer by coating the stomach lining. Some individuals with an advanced peptic ulcer have found great results by following a strict diet of two bananas with a glass of milk (3 to 4 times per day).

d) Lime:

The citric acid of limes works with mineral salts to aid digestion.

e) Cabbage:

It is believed that the juice extracted from raw cabbage is a helpful remedy for a peptic ulcer. Add 250 grams of cabbage to 500 ml of water and bring to a boil until the quantity is reduced to half of its original amount. After cooling the water, the natural cure can be taken twice daily. Usually, the juice is too strong and some people have lessened its potency with carrot juice. Additional raw vegetable juices that aid in remedying ulcers include spinach, beets, and cucumber.

f) Milk:

A natural approach towards curing an ulcer includes almond milk and goat’s milk. Almond milk is created when adding blanched almonds to a blender. The remedy is known to bind excess acid in the stomach. Goat’s milk has been known to heal peptic ulcers and receives a better response from the body when taken in its raw form. Goat’s milk should be taken three times per day.

Herbal Remedies & Natural Cures

If you have already been diagnosed with H. pylori then you may want to try these options. Sometimes big claims and promises are made. A word of advice - always ask for clinical tests and a money back guarantee BEFORE you decide to part with your money!

• Herbs - Without doubt, the best natural treatment we have found for stomach ulcers and H. pylori is one now being used by Doctors and other Health Care professionals around the world. Clinically tested and proven to be the best herbal treatment for stomach ulcers, it is proven to eradicate all strains H. pylori completely, and without any negative side effects. This 100% natural treatment is an easy treatment to take, as opposed to the difficult treatment regime of Triple Therapy with it's nasty side effects.Click here to get a FREE eReport on H. pylori and find out how you can overcome this bacteria naturally.
• Ayurvedic medicine - widely practiced Holistic treatment in modern India and now steadily gaining popularity in the West. Ayurvedic medicine works on your diet, detoxification and purification techniques, herbal remedies, breathing exercises, yoga, meditation, and massage therapy.
• Acupuncture - tests on patients who have undergone acupuncture treatment for stomach ulcers show that acupuncture procedures can normalize certain processes of the gastro intestinal tract. There is not much evidence available to show exactly how effective acupuncture is as a treatment for stomach ulcers. Acupuncture is a painless treatment and involves the placing very thin metal needles into the skin at specific acupuncture points. The needles are usually left inserted for 15 - 30 minutes. Treatment normally involves multiple sessions over a period of weeks or months.
• Vitamins and Minerals - Zinc, vitamin A and beta-carotene will boost your stomach lining's ability to repair and regenerate itself. See more about vitamins in my recommended ulcer diet.
• Homeopathy - for a homeopath, the symptoms of the disease are much more important than the ulcer itself. A homeopath not only tries to heal the ulcer but also tries to remove the cause of the ulcer as well as the tendency for a relapse. Examples of homeopathic medicines used for stomach ulcers are argentum-nit, arsenic-alb, hydrastis, kali-bichrom, phosphorus, uranium-nit, terebintha, atropine, geranium, natrum-phos, medorrhinum, merc-cor, ornithogalum, lycopodium, pulsatilla and graphites.

· ---Fresh cabbage juice is an excellent ulcer treatment. It produces an amino acid that increases blood flow to the lining of the stomach and helps to strengthen it. For those who prefer eating cabbage, only raw cabbage should be used to be effective.

· ---Active Manuka honey is another effective treatment for ulcers. This raw honey may be purchased in health food stores. Honey has been used for hundreds of years as a topical preparation to promote the healing of wounds. Ingested, it heals and strengthens the stomach lining

· and kills harmful bacteria.

· ---Unripe plantains promote strong stomach linings by producing a mucoid substance that coats the stomach lining, giving it protection against acids. Bananas offer protection in the same manner.

· ---Eating a diet that is fiber-rich is an added ulcer protection. Fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains produce substance which help to protect the stomach lining.

2 Stories- Misfortune/Bleesing and Dreams

It's weird how things happen-

I am fighting my body and health and trying to live a happy life.

In last update post I introduced my idea of dreams.

All my life, I have always thought about others and what I should do to benefit them, even selecting a major like psychology, was about how I can serve people to make them happy.

Few experiences-

1. I went to madir and I was sitting there upset and my health, and it was at a odd time, so the pandit was just mingling around. At this sunnyvale mandir, it's a big hall with different gods in different areas. I usually sit my Hanuman and recite Hanuman Chalisa- I was just sitting there, upset, red eyes, in pain and just looking weak. This pandit comes to talk to me, and I tell him what is going on with my health a few relationship issues, and he tells me, "This is for your own good, god has seen you neglecting yourself over others and so the only way he can teach you to forget about everyone and focus on yourself and take care of yourself if to put you in this position where you have no choice, but to take care of yourself, otherwise you will loose your life." Basically, this is a lesson for me to stop worrying about others and take care of myself.

I am learning slowly.

2. After this, one day I am reading a book by my favorite author, Paulo Cohelo, Warrior of Light and I come across a wonderful story about blessings and misfortune.

The lost horse

Many years ago in a poor Chinese village, there lived a peasant with his

son. His only material possession, apart from some land and a small

straw hut, was a horse he had inherited from his father.

One day, the horse ran off, leaving the man with no animal with which

to till the land. His neighbors - who respected him greatly for his honesty

and diligence - came to his house to say how much they regretted what

had happened. He thanked them for their visit, but asked:

- How can you know that what has happened has been a misfortune in

my life?

Someone mumbled to a friend: “he can’t accept reality; let him think

what he wants, as long as he isn’t saddened by what happened.”

And the neighbors went off, pretending to agree with what they had

heard.

A week later, the horse returned to the stable, but it was not alone; it

brought with it a fine mare for company. Upon hearing this, the villagers

- who were flustered since they now understood the answer the man had

given them - returned to the peasant’s house, in order to congratulate

him on his good fortune.

- Before you had only one horse, and now you have two. Congratulations!

- they said.

- Many thanks for your visit and for all your concern - answered the

peasant. - But how can you know that what has happened has been a

blessing in my life?

Disconcerted, and thinking he must be going mad, the neighbors went

off, and on the way commented: “does he really not understand that

God has sent him a gift?”

A month later, the peasant’s son decided to tame the mare. But the animal

unexpectedly reared up and the boy fell and broke his leg.

The neighbors returned to the peasant’s house - bringing gifts for the

wounded boy. The mayor of the village offered his condolences to the

father, saying that all were very sad at what had happened.

The man thanked them for their visit and their concern, but asked:

- How can you know that what has happened has been a misfortune in

my life?

They were all astonished to hear this, since no one could be in any

doubt that the accident of a son was a real tragedy. As they left the peasant’s

house, some said to others: “he really has gone mad; his only son

might limp forever, and he is still in doubt about whether what

happened is a misfortune.”

Some months passed, and Japan declared war on China. The Emperor’s

envoys traveled throughout the land in search for healthy young

men to be sent to the battle front. Upon arrival in the village, they recruited

all the young men except the peasant’s son, whose leg was

broken.

None of the young men returned alive. The son recovered, the two animals

bred and their offspring were sold at a good price. The peasant

began visiting his neighbors to console and help them, - since they had at

all times been so caring. Whenever one of them complained, the peasant

said: “how do you know it is a misfortune?” If anyone becomes overjoyed,

he asked: “how do you know it is a blessing?” And the men in

that village understood that beyond appearances, life has other

meanings.

Moral lesson: No matter what happens, I should always ask myself, How can you know that what has happened has been a misfortune or a blessing in my life?

3. Today, after being home all day and studying all day I decided to go to starbucks and drink something cold to make my stomach feel better, get out and just relax a little bit. I always have my favorite book on my: Chicken Soup for Unsinkable Soul. I just randomly open stories to read them when I get few minutes. I open up a page with a poem on it and I read:

You Can Beat the Odds and Be a Winner, Too

Bury him in the snows of Valley Forge, and you have a George Washington.

Raise him in abject poverty and you have an Abraham Lincoln.

Subject him to bitter religious prejudice, and you have a Disraeli.

Label him, "too stupid to learn" and you have a Thomas Edison.

Tell her she's too old to start painting at eighty, and you have a Grandma Moses.

Have him or her born black in society filled with racial discrimination, and you have Booker T. Washington, Harriet Tubman, Marian Anderson, George Washington Carver or Martin Luther King Jr.

Make him the first child to survive in a poor Italian family of eighteen children, and you have a Enrico Caruso.

Afflict him with period of depression so severe that he cut off his ow ear, and you have a Vincent van Gogh.

Tell her in the late 1800s and early 1900s that only men can be scientists, and you have a Madame Curie, who eventually won two Nobel Prizes- one for physics and another for chemistry.

Tell a young boy who loved to sketch and draw that he has no talent, and you have Walt Disney.

Take a cripple child whose only home he ever knew was an orphanage, and you have James E. West, who became the first chief executive of the Boy Scouts of America.

Make him a second fiddle in an obscure South American Orchestra and you have a Toscanini

- Abigail Van Buren

I was so inspired reading this poem and it's under the Courage and Determination section!

I have been rejuvenated for the week, now I can be stronger, work harder and be happy...

Update

Time flies-

Have been really sick and busy with life.

Taking care of health, eating good food, resting and not worrying about anyone or anything!

Had a crazy stomach infection when my stomach was loosing waste- I couldn't take medicine for it and so for a week I took a halt at everything and just rested and took care of health.

My ulcers is permanent- I got rid of waste through so much pain and suffering, and then was impacted by infection- throat, stomach were killing me and my body was so tired and weak. Slowly after resting a lot and eating only kichadi, that got better.

My body is own enemy- when one thing gets solved another happens and everything is built on top of my nasty ulcers.

I am proud of myself though, I went through days and days of being in bed sick, and the whole time I thought, I can't get through this, I can't get through this, but I got through that phase and am walking, talking again...

7-8 times throughout the day I have to stop what I am doing and relax for 20 mins (not think, worry) because I would be living my normal life and I would get random pain attacks.

I have noticed changes in me, I have stopped caring about people so much, I am paying a lot more attention to my life and my needs, desires. I have simplified my life so much- got rid of all unnecessary things and stuff and re did my hair, got new bag, wallet, clothes, and cleaned and organized everything- I renovated everything in my life- gifted myself a brand new leather black bag and leather red wallet.

I am able to focus on myself, my work, my studies a lot more now that I have stopped caring about others.

I have to take care of myself and follow my dreams (yes, I have dreams for myself, which I think about every night before I sleep and in daytime I write down strategic plans and deliverables to achieve my dreams, and if my health allows, I work hard for my dreams)

Also, my friend gifted me a iTouch Ipod, really like it- it has built in wifi and all cool features.

Life is what I make it-

Update

It’s been a while since I have updated my blog. My life has been crazy!

I was doing a dance performance for diwali- short, sweet and simple (jai ho, twist and daga laga remixed) and so I spent an entire week in downtown San Francisco, work from 8-5, school and assignments/taking care of health from 6-10 an dance practice from 10-12. It was crazy, but the event turned out well, dance, dinner and just socializing. Saturday, we had a party at the house I live, I wore a saree, and again dinner, diwali pooja, fireworks and just relaxed. I have a had a lot more time to myself in last week because I wasn’t attending class, took almost 2 days of work and had finished most of hw, but my health is not better. This week I have been in so much pain, all week has been crazy, I went to hospital few times and just like before, no cure for my pain. Now my stomach and shoulders are also hurting like hell. I can’t sit- I wish all this pain would just go away. My life is much away from stressful people and environment, why am I still getting this pain and mental loss of hope.

I sleep a lot, but my body still feels tired, and I don’t have an appetite for food, and if I eat I either get full really fast or keep getting the urge to throw up.

I just want my health to get better. I am getting rid of everything related to stressful past, changing my life style, health habits, and everything so much and constructing new goals and opportunities for better future. I wish my body would just support me. I give it so much rest, food and sleep and still it doesn’t allow me to just sit comfortably and work. Before my stomach was my sole enemy, now shoulders and back have also become my enemy.

Let me revisit my goals, life and plans-

1. Book proposal- I want to publish a book, almost all my content is ready, I need to figure out copyright laws for photograph and find a list of publishers for sending in manuscript.

a. Date: December 31, 2009

b. Deliverable: organize, list of publishers and manuscript

2. Certificate CCNA-

a. Date: December 31, 2009

b. Deliverables: 1 chapter each week will get me through all chapters by mid December

3. Dance

a. Commitment to world dance and ballet (Monday and Wednesday)

b. Fusion team?

4. Work and School

a. Commitment to school and work

b. Tutor

5. Overall

a. Simplify/minimize everything (delete and get rid of unnecessary things)

b. Organize

c. Eat and sleep well

d. Work hard, play hard

e. Beauty and health

Once again Honey, you are living in the city you always desired to live in, you have an outstanding job with many opportunities and you are doing a Master’s in Graphic Design (what you always wanted to do)- enjoy it all. Better your health and succeed with these opportunities you have. Make best out of it and move on to better future. You have forgotten most of your past, forget about recent Boise past too, stop caring about immature, selfish, useless and careless people and move on with your life and live for yourself. Keep up with your work hard, play hard motto and forget about the rest of the world.

Reflection

"A son and his father were walking on the mountains.
Suddenly, his son falls, hurts himself and screams: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
To his surprise, he hears the voice repeating, somewhere in the mountain: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
Curious, he yells: "Who are you?"
He receives the answer: "Who are you?"
And then he screams to the mountain: "I admire you!"
The voice answers: "I admire you!"
Angered at the response, he screams: "Coward!"
He receives the answer: "Coward!"
He looks to his father and asks: "What's going on?"
The father smiles and says: "My son, pay attention."
Again the man screams: "You are a champion!"
The voice answers: "You are a champion!"
The boy is surprised, but does not understand.
Then the father explains: "People call this ECHO, but really this is LIFE.
It gives you back everything you say or do.
Our life is simply a reflection of our actions.
If you want more love in the world, create more love in your heart.
If you want more competence in your team, improve your competence.
This relationship applies to everything, in all aspects of life;
Life will give you back everything you have given to it."

YOUR LIFE IS NOT A COINCIDENCE. IT'S A REFLECTION OF YOU!"
-- Unknown Author

Simplify

For a long time I have bought books on simplifying life and done many things to simplify life, but there has always been this feeling of clutter in my mind and body that I need to take care of in order to move on and improve my life. My life is much more simplified then it was before, but now I am going to go under construction and really clean out the clutter. My post before this one is a little reference guide I am using to rinse things out. Its going to be few weeks worth of journey/process, but little steps at a time will get me there.

4-5 most important things in life (these are not in a ranked order)

1. Overall (Maslow): healthy, body, cleaning, organizing, food, sleep, exercise, sanity

2. Career: work [vss]

3. Education: school [aau mfa]

4. Family and friends

5. Goals and Hobbies [short term and long term: CCNA certificate, book publishing, dance commitment, painting)

Few to do’s

1. Clean out wardrobe

2. Clean out jewlry/make up etc.

3. Clean out papers/electronis etc.

4. Clean out, delete and organize computer files, emails, etc.

These are the first to do’s to get rid of clutter, then will focus. These things alone will simplify and clear my life so much!

Simplicity

A simple life has a different meaning and a different value for every person. For me, it means eliminating all but the essential, eschewing chaos for peace, and spending your time doing what’s important to you.

It means getting rid of many of the things you do so you can spend time with people you love and do the things you love. It means getting rid of the clutter so you are left with only that which gives you value.

However, getting to simplicity isn’t always a simple process. It’s a journey, not a destination, and it can often be a journey of two steps forward, and one backward.

The Short List
For the cynics who say that the list below is too long, there are really only two steps to simplifying:

1. Identify what’s most important to you.

2. Eliminate everything else.

The Long List

One important note: this list will be criticized for being too complicated, especially as it provides a bunch of links. Don’t stress out about all of that. Just choose one at a time, and focus on that. When you’re done with that, focus on the next thing.

1. Make a list of your top 4-5 important things. What’s most important to you? What do you value most? What 4-5 things do you most want to do in your life? Simplifying starts with these priorities, as you are trying to make room in your life so you have more time for these things.

2. Evaluate your commitments. Look at everything you’ve got going on in your life. Everything, from work to home to civic to kids’ activities to hobbies to side businesses to other projects. Think about which of these really gives you value, which ones you love doing. Which of these are in line with the 4-5 most important things you listed above? Drop those that aren’t in line with those things ­­­

3. Evaluate your time. How do you spend your day? What things do you do, from the time you wake up to the time you go to sleep? Make a list, and evaluate whether they’re in line with your priorities. If not, eliminate the things that aren’t, and focus on what’s important. Redesign your day.

4. Simplify work tasks. Our work day is made up of an endless list of work tasks. If you simply try to knock off all the tasks on your to-do list, you’ll never get everything done, and worse yet, you’ll never get the important stuff done. Focus on the essential tasks and eliminate the rest.

5. Simplify home tasks. In that vein, think about all the stuff you do at home. Sometimes our home task list is just as long as our work list. And we’ll never get that done either. So focus on the most important, and try to find ways to eliminate the other tasks (automate, eliminate, delegate, or hire help).

6. Learn to say no. This is actually one of the key habits for those trying to simplify their lives. If you can’t say no, you will take on too much.

7. Limit your communications. Our lives these days are filled with a vast flow of communications: email, IM, cell phones, paper mail, Skype, Twitter, forums, and more. It can take up your whole day if you let it. Instead, put a limit on your communications: only do email at certain times of the day, for a certain number of minutes (I recommend twice a day, but do what works for you). Only do IM once a day, for a limited amount of time. Limit phone calls to certain times too. Same with any other communications. Set a schedule and stick to it.

8. Limit your media consumption. This tip won’t be for everyone, so if media consumption is important to you, please skip it (as with any of the other tips). However, I believe that the media in our lives — TV, radio, Internet, magazines, etc. — can come to dominate our lives. Don’t let it. Simplify your life and your information consumption by limiting it

9. Purge your stuff. If you can devote a weekend to purging the stuff you don’t want, it feels seriously terrific. Get boxes and trash bags for the stuff you want to donate or toss. Here’s my guide on decluttering. Here’s a post on starting small. More on purging below.

10. Get rid of the big items. There’s tons of little clutter in our lives, but if you start with the big items, you’ll simplify your life quickly and in a big way.

11. Edit your rooms. One room at a time, go around the room and eliminate the unnecessary. Act as a newspaper editor, trying to leave only the minimum, and deleting everything else.

12. Edit closets and drawers. Once you’ve gone through the main parts of your rooms, tackle the closets and drawers, one drawer or shelf at a time.

13. Simplify your wardrobe. Is your closet bursting full? Are your drawers so stuffed they can’t close (I’m talking about dresser drawers here, not underwear). Simplify your wardrobe by getting rid of anything you don’t actually wear. Try creating a minimal wardrobe by focusing on simple styles and a few solid colors that all match each other.

14. Simplify your computing life. If you have trouble with too many files and too much disorganization, consider online computing. It can simplify things greatly.

15. Declutter your digital packrattery. If you are a digital packrat, and cannot seem to control your digital clutter, there is still hope for you. Read this guide to curing yourself of this clutter.

16. Create a simplicity statement. What do you want your simple life to look like? Write it out.

17. Limit your buying habits. If you are a slave to materialism and consumerism, there are ways to escape it. I was there, and although I haven’t escaped these things entirely, I feel much freer of it all. If you can escape materialism, you can get into the habit of buying less. And that will mean less stuff, less spending, less freneticism.

18. Free up time. Find ways to free up time for the important stuff. That means eliminating the stuff you don’t like, cutting back on time wasters, and making room for what you want to do.

19. Do what you love. Once you’ve freed up some time, be sure to spend that extra time doing things you love. Go back to your list of 4-5 important things. Do those, and nothing else.

20. Spend time with people you love. Again, the list of 4-5 important things probably contains some of the people you love (if not, you may want to re-evaluate). Whether those people are a spouse, a partner, children, parents, other family, best friends, or whoever, find time to do things with them, talk to them, be intimate with them (not necessarily in sexual ways).

21. Spend time alone. See this list of ways to free up time for yourself — to spend in solitude. Alone time is good for you, although some people aren’t comfortable with it. It could take practice getting used to the quiet, and making room for your inner voice. It sounds new-agey, I know, but it’s extremely calming. And this quiet is necessary for finding out what’s important to you.

22. Eat slowly. If you cram your food down your throat, you are not only missing out on the great taste of the food, you are not eating healthy. Slow down to lose weight, improve digestion, and enjoy life more.

23. Drive slowly. Most people rush through traffic, honking and getting angry and frustrated and stressed out. And endangering themselves and others in the meantime. Driving slower is not only safer, but it is better on your fuel bill, and can be incredibly peaceful. Give it a try.

24. Be present. These two words can make a huge difference in simplifying your life. Living here and now, in the moment, keeps you aware of life, of what is going on around you and within you. It does wonders for your sanity.

25. Streamline your life. Many times we live with unplanned, complex systems in our lives because we haven’t given them much thought. Instead, focus on one system at a time (your laundry system, your errands system, your paperwork system, your email system, etc.) and try to make it simplified, efficient, and written. Then stick to it.

26. Create a simple mail & paperwork system. If you don’t have a system, this stuff will pile up. But a simple system will keep everything in order.

27. Create a simple system for house work. Another example of a simple system is clean-as-you-go with a burst.

28. Clear your desk. If you have a cluttered desk, it can be distracting and disorganized and stressful. A clear desk, however, is only a couple of simple habits away.

29. Establish routines. The key to keeping your life simple is to create simple routines.

30. Keep your email inbox empty. Is your email inbox overflowing with new and read messages? Do the messages just keep piling up? If so, you’re normal — but you could be more efficient and your email life could be simplified with a few simple steps.

31. Learn to live frugally. Living frugally means buying less, wanting less, and leaving less of a footprint on the earth. It’s directly related to simplicity.

32. Make your house minimalist. A minimalist house has what is necessary, and not much else. It’s also extremely peaceful (not to mention easy to clean).

33. Find other ways to be minimalist. There are tons. You can find ways to be minimalist in every area of your life.

34. Consider a smaller home. If you rid your home of stuff, you might find you don’t need so much space. I’m not saying you should live on a boat (although I know some people who happily do so), but if you can be comfortable in a smaller home, it will not only be less expensive, but easier to maintain, and greatly simplify your life.

35. Consider a smaller car. This is a big move, but if you have a large car or SUV, you may not really need something that big. It’s more expensive, uses more gas, harder to maintain, harder to park. Simplify your life with less car. You don’t need to go tiny, especially if you have a family, but try to find as small a car as can fit you or your family comfortably. Maybe not something you’re going to do today, but something to think about over the long term.

36. Learn what “enough” is. Our materialistic society today is about getting more and more, with no end in sight. Sure, you can get the latest gadget, and more clothes and shoes. More stuff. But when will you have enough? Most people don’t know, and thus they keep buying more. It’s a neverending cycle. Get off the cycle by figuring out how much is enough. And then stop when you get there.

37. Create a simple weekly dinner menu. If figuring out what’s for dinner is a nightly stressor for you or your family, consider creating a weekly menu. Decide on a week’s worth of simple dinners, set a specific dinner for each night of the week, go grocery shopping for the ingredients. Now you know what’s for dinner each night, and you have all the ingredients necessary. No need for difficult recipes — find ones that can be done in 10-15 minutes (or less).

38. Eat healthy. It might not be obvious how eating healthy relates to simplicity, but think about the opposite: if you eat fatty, greasy, salty, sugary, fried foods all the time, you are sure to have higher medical needs over the long term. We could be talking years from now, but imagine frequent doctor visits, hospitalization, going to the pharmacist, getting therapy, having surgery, taking insulin shots … you get the idea. Being unhealthy is complicated. Eating healthy simplifies all of that greatly, over the long term..

39. Exercise. This goes along the same lines as eating healthy, as it simplifies your life in the long run, but it goes even further: exercise helps burn off stress and makes you feel better. It’s great.

40. Declutter before organizing. Many people make the mistake of taking a cluttered desk or filing cabinet or closet or drawer, and trying to organize it. Unfortunately, that’s not only hard to do, it keeps things complicated. Simplify the process by getting rid of as much of the junk as possible, and then organizing. If you declutter enough, you won’t need to organize at all.

41. Have a place for everything. Age-old advice, but it’s the best advice on keeping things organized. After you declutter. Find inner simplicity. I’m not much of a spiritual person, but I have found that spending a little time with my inner self creates a peaceful simplicity rather than a chaotic confusion. This could be time praying or communing with God, or time spent meditating or journaling or getting to know yourself, or time spent in nature. However you do it, working on your inner self is worth the time.

42. Learn to decompress from stress. Every life is filled with stress — no matter how much you simplify your life, you’ll still have stress (except in the case of the ultimate simplifier, death). So after you go through stress, find ways to decompress.

43. Try living without a car. OK, this isn’t something I’ve done, but many others have. It’s something I would do if I didn’t have kids. Walk, bike, or take public transportation. It reduces expenses and gives you time to think. A car is also very complicating, needing not only car payments, but insurance, registration, safety inspections, maintenance, repairs, gas and more.

44. Find a creative outlet for self-expression. Whether that’s writing, poetry, painting, drawing, creating movies, designing websites, dance, skateboarding, whatever. We have a need for self-expression, and finding a way to do that makes your life much more fulfilling. Allow this to replace much of the busy-work you’re eliminating from your life.

45. Simplify your goals. Instead of having half a dozen goals or more, simplify it to one goal. Not only will this make you less stressed, it will make you more successful. You’ll be able to focus on that One Goal, and give it all of your energy. That gives you much better chances for success.

46. Single-task. Multi-tasking is more complicated, more stressful, and generally less productive. Instead, do one task at a time.

47. Simplify your filing system. Stacking a bunch of papers just doesn’t work. But a filing system doesn’t have to be complicated to be useful.

48. Develop equanimity. If every little thing that happens to you sends you into anger or stress, your life might never be simple. Learn to detach yourself, and be more at peace.

49. Reduce your consumption of advertising. Advertising makes us want things. That’s what it’s designed to do, and it works. Find ways to reduce your exposure of advertising, whether that’s in print, online, broadcast, or elsewhere. You’ll want much less.

50. Live life more deliberately. Do every task slowly, with ease, paying full attention to what you’re doing

51. Make a Most Important Tasks (MITs) list each day. Set just 3 very important things you want to accomplish each day. Don’t start with a long list of things you probably won’t get done by the end of the day. A simple list of 3 things, ones that would make you feel like you accomplished something.

52. Create morning and evening routines. A great way to simplify your life is to create routines at the start and end of your day.

53. Create a morning writing ritual. If you enjoy writing, like I do, make it a peaceful, productive ritual.

54. Learn to do nothing. Doing nothing can be an art form, and it should be a part of every life.

55. Read Walden, by Thoreau. The quintessential text on simplifying.

56. Go for quality, not quantity. Try not to have a ton of stuff in your life … instead, have just a few possessions, but ones that you really love, and that will last for a long time.

57. Read Simplify Your Life, by Elaine St. James. One of my favorite all-time authors on simplicity.

58. Fill your day with simple pleasures. Make a list of your favorite simple pleasures, and sprinkle them throughout your day. Simplify your RSS feeds. If you’ve got dozens of feeds, or more than a hundred (as I once did), you probably have a lot of stress in trying to keep up with them all. Simplify your feed reading.

59. But subscribe to Unclutterer. Probably the best blog on simplifying your stuff and routines (along with Zen Habits, of course!).

60. Create an easy-to-maintain yard. If you spend too much time on your yard, here are some good tips.

61. Carry less stuff. Are your pockets bulging. Consider carrying only the essentials.

62. Simplify your online life. If you have too much going on online, here are a few ways to simplify it all.

63. Strive to automate your income. This isn’t the easiest task, but it can (and has) been done. I’ve been working towards it myself.

64. Simplify your budget. Many people skip budgeting (which is very important) because it’s too hard or too complicated.

65. Simplify your financial life. Article from a financial planning expert here.

66. Learn to pack light. Who wants to lug a bunch of luggage around on a trip? Here’s an article on using just one carry-on.

67. Use a minimalist productivity system. The minimal Zen To Done is all you need. Everything else is icing.

68. Leave space around things in your day. Whether they’re appointments, or things you need to do, don’t stack them back-to-back. Leave a little space between things you need to do, so you will have room for contingencies, and you’ll go through your day much more relaxed.

69. Live closer to work. This might mean getting a job closer to your home, or moving to a home closer to your work. Either will do much to simplify your life.

70. Always ask: Will this simplify my life? If the answer is no, reconsider.