At the dawn of the social media era, Belle Gibson became a pioneering wellness influencer - telling the world how she beat cancer with an alternative diet. Her bestselling cookbook and online app provided her success, respect, and a connection to the cancer-battling influencer she admired the most. But a curious journalist with a sick wife began asking questions that even those closest to Belle began to wonder. Was the online star faking her cancer and fooling the world? Kaitlyn Dever stars in the Netflix hit series Apple Cider Vinegar . Inspired by true events, the dramatized story follows Belle’s journey from self-styled wellness thought leader to disgraced con artist. It also explores themes of hope and acceptance - and how far we’ll go to maintain it. In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, host Rebecca Lavoie interviews executive producer Samantha Strauss. SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched Apple Cider Vinegar yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before listening on. Listen to more from Netflix Podcasts .…
Designing the life you were meant to live is not only possible, it’s is something you can take control of yourself and MAKE it happen. A great place to start is by making the commitment to simplify your life. As I said in the last episode, simplifying your life is one of the most impactful things you can do. As we bring Simple Life Together to a close, we wanted to offer a little update on where our simplicity journey has taken us over the last three years. This is Part 2 of that update. Do yourself a favor and listen to Episode 78 first This is what will most likely be our final update episode, so if this is your first time listening in, I’d suggest you go back to around Episode 65: Strategic Simple Living to make sure this episode and Episode 78: Still Simplifying After All These Years Part 1 make sense. Of course if you want in on ALL the goodness, just start at Episode 1 ! It’ll be worth it, guaranteed! Thank you all so much for listening in! It has been a great ride and I’m sure we’ve learned much more from you than you learned from us. Please…go out there enjoy your… Simple Life Together! Comprehensive list of past SLT Episodes The post SLT079: Part 2 of Still Simplifying After All These Years appeared first on Simple Life Together .…
Simplifying your life is one of the most impactful things you can do to ensure you’re living the lifestyle you’ve designed for yourself. The life you were meant to live. In this episode of Simple Life Together, we offer a little update on where our simplicity journey has taken us over the last three years. And…it has been amazing! This is an update episode, so if this is your first time listening in, I’d suggest you go back to around Episode 65: Strategic Simple Living to make sure this episode and Episode 79: Still Simplifying After All These Years Part 2 make sense. Of course if you want in on ALL the goodness, just start at Episode 1 ! It’ll be worth it, guaranteed! Comprehensive list of past SLT Episodes The post SLT078: Still Simplifying After All These Years Part 1 appeared first on Simple Life Together .…
It’s been a while since our last episode and many of you said you wanted an update. So, we posted on the Simple Life Together Facebook page and the Edit & Forget It Facebook Group and asked for your questions. Since we’re in the thick of the Holiday season, many of you had holiday simplicity related questions. Others were looking for lifestyle answers for their questions, and many just wanted to know what we’ve been up to. Well…we sat down for over an hour last night and just kinda “freestyled” it. Read More… Topic: Simple Answers to Listener Questions Update on Vanessa’s S.I.M.P.L.E. Organizing System Course Vanessa launched her S.I.M.P.L.E. Organizing System course to a small list of people and it went really well! That said, we’re not really happy with how the course is currently hosted on an external site. The content is proven and system works, but we’re just not happy with any platforms we’ve tried. They’re too expensive and seem clunky. So we’re considering just making the course an “in your Inbox” course, so people don’t have to log into an outside website, remember another log in, hope the site isn’t slow, etc. People are comfortable in their Inbox. They go there every day. And it would lower the cost of the course dramatically. So I’m working hard on that, to bring Vanessa’s amazing system to more people in a simpler way. If you want to be in the loop with Vanessa’s course, the S.I.M.P.L.E. Organizing System , you can sign up for updates at GetOrganizedSOS.com and you’ll be the first to know when things are ready to go! Listener Questions Simplifying The Holidays – Tips on storing your Christmas decorations and paraphernalia…for next year – Giving experiences instead of things – How to keep the holidays simple – How to be present…NOT perfect…for the holidays – Tips on simplifying cleanup after the meal – Creative non-material gift giving ideas – Favorite holiday traditions – What to tell people when they ask what gifts you’d like – Favorite podcasts, audio books, blogs, simple living role models you find inspiring, iPhone apps as gifts New Year’s Goals, Resolutions – Setting goals and resolutions for the New Year or any time – How to stop procrastinating – Simplicity when no one is watching or listening What We’ve Been Up To – Expectations vs. Reality as we transition – Updates on our move, status of the house build, etc – How Sunshine, our son, and his mom are dealing with our move – Our teardrop camper, favorite trips this year, planned trips for next year – New business ventures/challenges for moving Vanessa’s organizing business – When we’re getting our nationally syndicated talk show on HGTV and/or Oprah (we loved this question!) – Changes/updates to our exercising routines or smoothie making/juicing Question: So, we answered your questions… how about you answer one for us? What are your plans for the New Year? How do you plan on incorporating more simplicity into your life? We’d love to know! Announcements: Feedback: We’ve had lots of great comments on iTunes…thank you so much! The show went a little longer than we expected, so we’ll be sure to read the comments on the next episode. Shownotes: You can download a PDF of our show prep, too. Resources and Links: You can help support SimpleLifeTogether.com by using our Amazon Affiliate Link for any purchases you must make. Thanks! The Pursuit of Perfect by Tal Ben-Shahar Comprehensive list of past SLT Episodes Photo Credit The post SLT077: Simple Answers to Listener Questions appeared first on Simple Life Together .…
Or To Just Get A Fresh Start! There are so many reasons to simplify. But one very lucrative reason to simplify is to increase the sale price of your home and set the stage for a quick sale. So, let’s talk a little about simplifying to sell your home. To do that, we’re going to share some of our experiences with doing exactly that over the last couple of months, so if you’re selling your home…or know someone else who is…or if you’re simply looking for a fresh start in your current home, maybe we can shed some light on things that worked for us. Read More… Topic: 4 Key Points To Keep In Mind When Simplifying To Sell Your Home Topic We recently had a fantastic sales experience when selling our home in preparation to move to East Aurora, NY . Our home went up for sale the evening of the 15th of May…and before our realtor was even able to put a sign up in the yard, it sold on the morning of 16May! The first 3 couples that looked at the home all put in solid offers. The first 2 for $10k over asking price! We accepted both and had a back-up offer throughout the entire closing period (yeah)! In the end, it sold for about $35K more than we had originally even hoped for! Background So as we mentioned in the last episode , we’re moving from the suburbs of San Antonio, Texas to the little village of East Aurora, NY, home of America’s simplicity movement back in the late 1890s and early 1900s. Well, back in December of 2014, I was doing some backwards planning and realized that in order to build our new home on schedule, the right thing to do was sell our house in San Antonio in the Spring of 2015. So, we planned on listing at the start of the real estate season…1 May. But in the mean time, all through Jan, Feb, March and April, I had been working out all the curriculum, scripts, testing the right platform, etc, for Vanessa’s soon to be released training product, Get Organized SOS, which is an intensive online course that teaches her proven system to organize any space. All this while prepping our house for sale. Vanessa and I planned to work on things in the background during this busy time, and launch a beta or test program in the late summer. But while meeting with my marketing coach in April, he challenged me to launch the beta NOW. I insisted that now wasn’t the time … Vanessa was actually in the middle of attending her week long annual professional organizers conference… Plus we were prepping a house, listing a house, selling a house, packing to move and moving into a new place over the course of the next 6 weeks. And, while Vanessa and I had all the material ready, we had exactly NO videos done! Plus, some of the video conferencing platforms were new to us. We needed more prep time! No…now was not the time to launch! But as any good coach does, he gently nudged me (actually, it felt more like my old paratrooper days as he kicked my butt out the jump door of the plane)! I called Vanessa and she said “Let’s go for it!!” No guts, no glory, right? So we launched the beta, shot the videos, and…it was awesome! But, man, it was hectic!!! The beta lasted all of May, and all the while we were prepping our home and the World Shedquarters for sale. Our home went up for sale, sold…done! Trouble was, now we had to find a place to live. So Here’s How It All Went Down… There were 4 key simplicity points that led to that great sale experience, our ability to to juggle a “crazy busy” schedule and still stay sane. And candidly, you could glean something from each one of these points even if you’re not simplifying to sell your home, but just looking for a fresh start or some positive change in your life. So here goes! Key Point #1: Make sure your desires are in line with your life plan, your goals are in line with your desires, and your actions are in line with your goals. Way back in Episode 32 , we talked about how the choices we make impact everything in our lives. If you’ve been listening to the show for a while, you’ve heard about the start of our journey and you were with us through the sale of our land out in the Texas Hill Country, scrapping the idea of the big house in the middle of nowhere, etc. If you’re a new listener you can check out our About Us video and you’ll hear all about our decision to pursue a path toward more simplicity in our lives. So since then, we’ve taken consistent action. To a large extent, we shaped our own little world and how we live our lives in it. The world loves a self-made man or woman, but I love the saying from Earl Nightingale that “We are all self-made, but only the successful will admit it.” You know we’ve been on this journey for a couple years now, and we’ve been taking all the steps necessary to shape our world. And you can shape yours, too! You may have a lifestyle you want to live someday and by staying true to that you can achieve it. Make sure you’re living your Now in a way that supports your tomorrow. So again, key point #1…make sure your actions are in line with your goals. Stay focused. You can do this…but you have to be consistent. It’s the little things we do every day that keep us consistent and on path toward our goals. Alright…if you’re simplifying to sell your home, take heed. Key Point #2 is: Planning is a must! We followed our own advice from Episode 42 , The Upside of Downsizing. We also took steps to make the 1800sf home we had, live like it was much larger. Long before we planned to move, we made improvements to the house using what we call organization-based design. It’s our perspective of how we design simplicity and organization into our spaces. Our remodeling projects in the kitchen and bathrooms had a great return. And the World Shedquarters was apparently a hit, too! Improvements like cubbies, built in storage, the Elfa shelving system in the pantry, the new kitchen cabinets with slide outs, etc, all tied in to our organization-based design concept. And trust me…people know organized and simple when they see. They’re drawn to it. Nobody “wants” to live a cluttered life. So, show people a little calm and they’re drawn right in. On the tech side, we used Trello as a planning tool to manage, share, and track our To Dos. Trello is a collaboration tool that organizes your projects into boards. In one glance, Trello tells you what’s being worked on, who’s working on what, and where something is in a process. We had a “Get House Ready for Sale” board that had lists for Inside, Outside, and Done. As we finished tasks, we’d move the from the Inside or Outside board, over to the Done board. I like it because it’s very visual, as opposed to standard “list” based. I’ve been using it since. You can find out more at Trello.com . Steve Dotto has some great videos on Trello over at DottoTech.com . I’ll put a link in the shownotes. So again, Key Point #2 is to make your plan . This will go a long way in helping to ensure you stay on track with Key Point 1, too, making sure your actions are in line with your goals. OK… Key Point #3 is: Understand the value of margin. Remember our definition of margin is “Uncommitted time and space in your life.” In this case, I’m referring to the ‘unused space’ portion of our definition. In the real estate world, nothing (meaning empty space and square footage) is worth a whole lot more than your “stuff” that takes up that space! There were so many things we could have kept “just in case” but as we were going through this I kept reminding myself that “just in case” things do nothing but get in the way. When you really need something, you can find, rent, or borrow it. As a worst case scenario, yes…you may have to buy it again. So forget about the just in case stuff. It’s just getting in your way. If you need something, you’re smart and can find it when you need it. Trust yourself and your resourcefulness. Tying in with that…our Edit & Forget It Challenge in 2013 and 2014 was key! It set the stage for truly decluttering our home and our day to day lifestyle. That said, we still got rid of well over 3000 more things in 2015 as we were simplifying to sell your home just before the move! We intend to live even more “light and lean” in our year in the apartment and in our new home in East Aurora. We’ve just really embraced the idea of incorporating margin in our home and appreciating the openness and empty spaces in it. As we’ve decluttered our home over the past couple of years or so, we’ve really come to love the increased peacefulness that having less stuff has given us. So again… Key Point #3 is to understand the value of margin. Free space. Both the Census Bureau and the National Assoc’n of Home builders list the number one reason for moving, as the pursuit of a better home. And one thing that consistently ranks at the top of desires for home attributes, is space. Living space and storage space. Show them the margin, they’ll show you the money. Or, give yourself some margin and gain a little more peace. And finally… Key Point #4 for us was: Get past the mentality that you’re selling YOUR house. It’s far more about the buyers buying THEIR future home! They need to see themselves there…the possibilities, the opportunities, and the wonderful memories they’ll make there. It’s not about you. If they walk into a messy, poorly maintained, or cluttered home, it becomes about you and how you live, and not about them. It needs to be about them! So again… key point #4 is you’re not selling your house, they’re buying their home. It’s kind of like gift giving… If I’m looking to give you a gift, I look for a gift that you’ll want and appreciate, not necessarily one that I want to give. Same goes for selling your house. Wrap Up: So if you’re simplifying to sell your home, here’s a quick recap: Key Point 1: Make sure your actions are in line with your goals Key Point 2: Planning is a must! Key Point 3: Understand the value of margin. Free space. Key Point 4: You’re not selling your house, they’re buying their home. So…there is no way we could have gotten more than our asking price, had such a great sale experience, and wrapped things up so quickly if we hadn’t simplified our lives and our home. Vanessa was able to keep an influx of clients happy, and we were able to prep, list, and sell the house, move, and develop and launch a 3-week, multimedia and coaching product all over the course of 6 weeks! (More on Vanessa’s product in later shows). And boy…were we ready for our road trip!!! Question: So, are you planning on simplifying to sell your home or do you want to make a positive change in your life? Do you think some of the key points we mentioned could help? If so, we’d love to hear about it and what tools or strategies you’re using that are helping you. Leave us a comment below! Announcements: Feedback: Special thanks to Jodialgara, Suea626 , Whitephone, and Ja-Ro-El-Sha for your reviews on iTunes! Shownotes: You can download a PDF of our show prep, too. Resources and Links: You can help support SimpleLifeTogether.com by using our Amazon Affiliate Link for any purchases you must make. Thanks! The Pursuit of Perfect by Tal Ben-Shahar Our Realtor Kim McCullough Supermom vs Super Mom Website Guide Comprehensive list of past SLT Episodes Photo Credit MarkMoz12 The post SLT076: Simplifying to Sell Your Home appeared first on Simple Life Together .…
Back in Episode 65 , we talked about Strategic Simple Living and shared a few great tools you can use to plan your simple living strategy. Specifically, we used the 4 Direction Ideation Tool of Looking Outward/Inward/Backward/Forward as lenses for developing your strategy. We shared how we used this tool when downsizing for trying to find the perfect area for us to live. But when we came to a decision point, we used a different framework for evaluating our final choice…and actually choosing where we’re moving to. So, armed with all we learned from the 4 Direction Ideation Tool process, we did our final analysis through the lenses of the 4 major areas of our life: Home, Work, Community, and Self. And yep, we’re moving! We don’t have a hard and fast timeline yet, but we actually put our money where our collective mouth is and bought a lot to build on! Read More… Topic: 4 Critical Areas You Need to Consider When Downsizing Background So there are 4 critical areas you need to consider when downsizing, moving, simplifying, or making any other major change in life if you want to achieve and maintain some kind of congruence. They are Home , Work , Community , and Self . I borrowed and tweaked some definitions for these from a course I took through Wharton taught by Stew Friedman. But the true key is that you need to define these areas for yourself . What works for you might be completely different from what works for us and that’s fine. Again, the goal is to achieve some congruity between these areas and create what Dr Friedman calls “4 Way Wins.” A 4 Way Win is an activity that has a positive impact on each of the four major areas of your life. Again, those are Home, Work, Community, and Self. Example Continuing on with our example of looking for the ideal place for us to live, you can listen in to the episode and hear how we looked at those 4 critical life areas and how they impacted our downsizing efforts and our simplicity journey. So the big announcement for us is that we’re moving to East Aurora, New York . Yeah…we know…we’re the family that is actually moving TO the Buffalo, NY area! But we know exactly what we’re getting into! I’m from Buffalo and it’ll be great to get back there after 31 years away, and living all over the world. And the little village of East Aurora embodies so much of what we’re looking for in a small town community. If you listen back to Episode 65 you’ll be amazed at what we said we were looking for, and what East Aurora has to offer. All except “mild winters,” that is! “Anyhoos” (as Vanessa would say), here’s a quick video of some of the history of East Aurora and it’s influence on simplicity. You’ll see right off why we’re attracted to it! If you can’t see this video in your RSS reader or email, then click here . Four Areas So we’ve mentioned these four major life areas. Let’s address these one at a time. If you listen in to the show, you’ll see how we used each of these to evaluate where we’re going to call home. The first area is Home . The home, or family, can include the people (or animals) you live with, your family of origin (parents, siblings, and others), or your family of creation (spouse, partner, significant other, children, and others). We include our physical home too. For us, we want that to be an outgrowth of our relationship with those close to us, and serve as a setting for interaction with them. The second area is Work . Now, this could be different for everyone. For most people, this is your job… what you do for a living or, if you’re between jobs, what you’re aiming to do next. If you’re in school, then consider school as part of your work domain. You can include here the wide array of things you do as part of your career. Then we have Community . Community can mean friends, neighbors, social groups, religious institutions, charitable activities, political committees, membership in nonprofit organizations, or anything that bears on your impact on the world beyond your work and your family. Finally, we have Self . Self includes your physical and emotional health, intellectual and personal growth, leisure, and spirituality. Wrap Up So that’s it! The four life areas we considered and analyzed as we downsize our life. Starting off with a strategic focus using the 4 Direction Ideation Tool was a great start, but honing in using the major life areas of Home, Work, Community, and Self really helped us to decide where we want to live. Again, whether you’re downsizing or not, take some time to examine your life using Home, Work, Community, and Self as lenses. You might just be surprised how many “4 way wins” you’re able to achieve and help bring some real congruence to your life! Question: So, what decisions could you make to achieve more 4 Way Wins? Are you considering downsizing or a big move in your future? If so, we’d love to hear about it and what tools you’re using to make your decisions. Leave us a comment below! Announcements: Feedback: Special thanks to Jodialgara, Klund08, SimplyClearly-Laura Spawn and SherryLCarver.com for you reviews on iTunes, and to Henriikka in France and Katie in Okinawa for your comments on SimpleLifeTogether.com! Shownotes: You can download a PDF of our show prep, too. Resources and Links: You can help support SimpleLifeTogether.com by using our Amazon Affiliate Link for any purchases you must make. Thanks! Supermom vs Super Mom Website Guide Comprehensive list of past SLT Episodes Photo Credit Timothy Valentine The post SLT075: 4 Critical Areas You Need to Consider When Downsizing appeared first on Simple Life Together .…
Okay, folks. We had intended this episode to be more of a “finality”. It was supposed to be more of a “farewell” episode and post. But the truth is, we’re having trouble with this because Simple Life Together is such a big part of our life. If it sounds like we’re waffling a bit, that’s because…well, we are! So I guess you could say that we’re simplifying Simple Life Together. We should just jump right into the dirty work and break it all down for you… Read More… Note: Get a copy of Supermom vs Super Mom for yourself or gift it to a Mom who needs a little “less” in her life. It’s less than $5 and will save you countless hours and effort! Buy Supermom vs Supermom Topic: Simplifying Simple Life Together It Hasn’t Been an Easy Decision to Simplify Simple Life Together! On the last episode and up until we went to SimpleREV in Minneapolis we intended for this episode to be our last for quite a while. Here’s why: What started off as us documenting our journey to simplify our lives, turned into something more…something better than we expected! We unexpectedly built an amazing community of supporters and like-minded people in 154 countries. We’ve gotten and continue to receive such heart felt support from that community…especially when we shared some of our toughest challenges. We’ve also made some amazing friends along the way. We were blessed with opportunities to speak about our life and our podcast at different conferences and on different podcasts. We’ve been blessed with the opportunity to meet many of the people who inspired us both personally and professionally on our journey. Folks like Leo Babauta , Joshua Becker , Patrick Rohne , Mohammed Tohami , The Minimalists , Joel Zaslofsky , Dan Miller …just to name a few. Some of them have become good friends. Even better…we’ve gotten to meet some of our loyal listeners and supporters …how cool is that? And, we’ve helped others in the community who are just starting out and making a real impact; folks like Dave & Sheryl Balthrop , Chris & Sarah Wehkamp , JF and Cheryl Moreau , Lara Blair , and others. We were blown away by the amount of positive feedback about the show and how we influenced others to simplify their lives too. Feedback that brought us to tears. We never thought we could impact people the way that we did…and be impacted by them, as well. The podcast helped us to really focus on what was important to us…and solidified our passion for simplicity and to live more deliberate and meaningful lives But Producing the Show Isn’t All Sunshine Although we love sharing and teaching others, over time, the success of our podcast led to the feeling of obligation of having to produce awesome content ALL the time. And let’s face it… our lives just aren’t THAT interesting that we have some type of major topic to talk about for 40 minutes each week. Still, we started realizing that the show was shifting from documenting our journey to “having” to produce good educational content each and every week, then every two weeks. Some of which took a lot of time to either research or compile coherent thoughts. And we started to feel the pressures of the podcast from: Coming up with content Arranging our week to fit in research, recording and editing Dealing with tension between the two of us.. .running out of content, waiting until the last minute to produce, the time obligation, defining roles and expectations, mistaken assumptions of who should do what, etc. We get along really well and, for the most part, what you hear on the show is what you get with us. But every once in a while, working together on the show stretched things a little bit. Not too often, but definitely more so when we started feeling like we HAD to do a show as opposed to the times when we just couldn’t wait to share something. Hopefully, those tougher times were transparent on your end and you weren’t any the wiser. They weren’t often, but hey, we’re human, you know? But that’s not all… we’ve also reached a part of journey where it made sense for us to pause the podcast a bit and shift from regularly scheduled content to “targets of opportunity-type” content…at least for now. We’re Coming Into a Time of Refocus The cool thing is that we’ve reached an important waypoint on this part of our journey, and now it’s time for us to refocus and work toward that end. But just like in any journey, when it comes to careers there are breaks along the way…if you’re lucky that is. Back in our military days…during patrolling, we would occasionally take breaks on our mission called “SLLS Halts” (pronounced ‘sils’) that’s an acronym for Stop, Look, Listen, and Smell . Those halts would let you take things in and sense what was going on at that point in the operation. A time to just focus. I think we need to do that with life, too, and I feel like this SLLS halt I’ve taken has really refocused me on what I love and what I excel at. And that’s being in a leadership position with a team. Wrap Up: So this is what we’ve decided: Keeping in mind our original goal of the podcast and in light of our new focus in life….it’s not the end the end of Simple Life Together! As we have things to share, we will. That’s what we started out to do and that’s what we want to continue to do. Just not on a regular scheduled basis. So we’re simplifying a bit. But the sharing will continue. And I think it will be a better quality because it’s not rushed, forced, or done out of a sense of obligation…but from a point of sharing and community. Many many thanks to you! We can’t thank the community enough for your constant support of SLT and hope you continue to support us when we do decide to pop in from time to time! We are blown away at the community on Edit & Forget It Facebook Page and plan on keeping it going and participating as long as the group is active. We’ll pop in from time to time, but the really cool thing is that it’s really at a point where it’s a bunch of great folks that have a ton of advice and support to offer. Question: So does simplifying the show sound okay to you? A little less of us…a little less predictability…but still here to share our journey? We’d love to know. Let us know what you think in the comments below. Announcements: SimpleREV! SimpleREV was amazing! We’ll have more about it soon, but I just have to say…it really exceeded expectations. So much so that I actually tweeted this out: Project 333 If you have questions or just want to learn more about Project 333 or Courtney Carver’s Dress With Less microcourse . You can learn more about that at SimpleLifeTogether.com/dress . Edit & Forget It Challenge Finally, sign up for the Edit & Forget It Challenge! If you’re already on our Edit & Forget It Challenge email list , that’s great. If not, you can sign up here . Shownotes: You can download a PDF of our show prep, too. Resources and Links: You can help support SimpleLifeTogether.com by using our Amazon Affiliate Link for any purchases you must make. Thanks! Supermom vs Super Mom Comprehensive list of past SLT Episodes Photo Credit: Modified Photo From Ken Conley The post SLT073: Simplifying Simple Life Together appeared first on Simple Life Together .…
Vanessa was getting ready to throw away a magazine (because of course, she practices the “ one in one out rule “) and the headline on the cover was: The Balanced Life! She told me that she paused for a moment and thought, “Do I have balance?” We hear so much about it, but how do we define work life balance? What does it really mean? Can we really achieve a balanced life? And so we got to talking about balance for a while, and thought we’d explore that a little more…. ( Read more… ) Note: Get a copy of Supermom vs Super Mom for yourself or gift it to a Mom who needs a little “less” in her life. It’s less than $5 and will save you countless hours and effort! Buy Supermom vs Supermom Topic: How Do You Define Work Life Balance? It seems like the whole “balance thing” has become a buzz word. We hear about balance all the time in magazines, on television, supposed experts, life coaches, etc. Terms like work life balance, balanced diet , and even balanced budget are pretty pervasive. But what does balance really mean in your life? We think “balanced” is different for everyone and there’s no one prescribed balanced lifestyle that works for everyone. Nor is there one way to define work life balance in a way that’s universal. So, we took a look at it from our own experience. For us, work life balance includes myriad topics we’ve discussed on previous shows, such as: The right size home The right amount of time spent on work Valuing experiences vs things Freedom from stuff…in exchange for more free time to do what we love Healthier living and relationships Working as part of a team, focused on a larger goal…at work and/or in the community Essentially, we define work life balance as living a fulfilling life…that will include ups and downs but overall full of happiness, joy, etc. As we talked about what this balance meant to us, there were some pretty specific things that were NOT included in our definition of work life balance, too. Here are some: We don’t think it means being on permanent vacation It’s not about striving to eliminate all challenges in our life…that’s part of life! Sure, balance is easier when you don’t have challenges, but that’s not real life! It’s not about eliminating everything…just all the “junk” So what gets in our way of achieving a good balance? For us, historically it’s been things like: Putting an overemphasis on work related tasks when it interferes in other areas of our lives Over obligating ourselves monetarily through too much spending Over obligating ourselves by accepting too many commitments that sap our time Consumerism always makes you feel like you’re missing something, and if you have this item, take this pill, look this way, then your life will be complete Overindulging in one way or another, such as with: Food Drink Technology Speaking of technology, that deserves a deeper look. What’s the problem with technology? It’s invading every realm of our personal space, that’s what! It’s even encroaching on the most intimate of spaces and events: The bathroom The shower The bedroom Family meals When we overindulge in technology, it distracts our attention and focus, and affects our ability to communicate and deal. For the younger generation of teens, it’s even impacted the way they communicate. Many rely on electronic communication versus face to face communication. In some, this has hindered their ability to deal with confrontation. Technology, when abused, hinders our ability to be present…to pause, and be in the moment; to be alone in our thoughts to contemplate. Ironically most people say they want to “give it up”, but never do. How We Strive To Create Balance So here are some ways we try to maintain to ensure we stay true to how we define work life balance. We: Review our goals Reward ourselves when we achieve our goals or reach milestones Avoid triggers and bad situations (negative relationships, inappropriate foods, shopping malls, etc) Establish “no-tech” days or digital fasts. I deleted the Facebook app from my iPhone about 2 weeks ago (Yay!) Schedule in family/fun time Take time for ourselves Focus on the present and don’t dwell on the past Keep moving Check things off your to-do lists….even if it means removing a to-do item all together Learn to value experiences over things Wrap Up: So…in the end, like most things, we define work-life balance on our own. It’s not 50/50…it’s not 80/20. It’s up to You to determine the balance that is right for you, You make a plan to achieve that balance, and hopefully, building on the habits we talked about last week, You develop the keystone habits routines, and rituals that bring about the balance that’s right for you. Question: So what does a balanced life look like to you? How do you find or work towards that balance in your life? We’d love to know. Share your successes and struggles in the comments below. Announcements: Our LAST Regular Episode: The next episode of Simple Life Together will be our last regularly scheduled episode of the show. Of course, we’ll talk a lot more about that on that episode, but we wanted to give you not only a “heads up”, but also a chance to write in via email ( Dan , Vanessa ), the Facebook page , and the Edit & Forget It group on Facebook and ask us any questions you think should be answered on that final show, and we’ll do our best to answer them candidly. SimpleREV Tickets Be sure to check out the podcast Dan does with Joel Zaslofsky called All Things Simple Rev ! In the latest episode we talked about the changes quite a bit and we’re stoked! So is our friend and keynote speaker for the event, Joshua Becker from BecomingMinimalist.com, and all the other speakers as well. Of course you can listen to the latest episode at SimpleREV.com/008 . There have been some BIG changes to SimpleREV! As of now, the number of tickets is capped at 60, and EVERY TICKET is now essentially a VIP ticket! So make sure you lock yours in today. Currently, there are only a handful of tickets left, so hurry! SimpleRev is being held on Oct 3-4, 2014, in beautiful downtown Minneapolis on the University of St Thomas campus. To get your tickets at the lowest price that will ever be offered, just go to SimpleRev.com/tickets . And be sure to check out the SimpleREV podcast in iTunes, as well. Or just search iTunes for SimpleREV, all one word. Project 333 If you have questions or just want to learn more about Project 333 or Courtney Carver’s Dress With Less microcourse . You can learn more about that at SimpleLifeTogether.com/dress . Edit & Forget It Challenge Finally, sign up for the Edit & Forget It Challenge! If you’re already on our Edit & Forget It Challenge email list , that’s great. If not, you can sign up here . iTunes Reviews: Thanks to all of you for thinking of us and taking the time to leave a review: Annareview123 (Sweden) Molly DeMond (United States of America) PhilipHMA (United States of America) cwp102c (United States of America) Shownotes: You can download a PDF of our show prep, too. Resources and Links: You can help support SimpleLifeTogether.com by using our Amazon Affiliate Link for any purchases you must make. Thanks! Supermom vs Super Mom Photo Credit Quinn Dombrowski The post SLT072: How Do You Define Work Life Balance? appeared first on Simple Life Together .…
प्लेयर एफएम में आपका स्वागत है!
प्लेयर एफएम वेब को स्कैन कर रहा है उच्च गुणवत्ता वाले पॉडकास्ट आप के आनंद लेंने के लिए अभी। यह सबसे अच्छा पॉडकास्ट एप्प है और यह Android, iPhone और वेब पर काम करता है। उपकरणों में सदस्यता को सिंक करने के लिए साइनअप करें।
अपने पसंदीदा शो को ऑनलाइन प्रबंधित करने के लिए दुनिया के सर्वश्रेष्ठ पॉडकास्ट एप्प से जुड़ें और उन्हें हमारे Android और iOS एप्प पर ऑफ़लाइन चलाएं। यह मुफ़्त और आसान है!