3 Tips For Getting More Done Happily

If you're a doer, an enthusiastic let's-grab-life-by-the­-throat person like me, you focus on Getting It Done. But whizzing by the Opening and Closing parts of life is a mistake. Let's be real, we even embody Opening and Closing with each heartbeat. 

If you slow down to Open and Close properly you will be more calm, mindful, and grounded. Three helpful practices: 

Mise En Place: You "open" cooking by prepping all your ingredients first. You are not worried about burning the onions because it took you too long to chop the mushrooms. In between steps, good cooks clean up or "close" as they go. You are Paying Attention In The Moment. 

Prewrite/write/edit: The mindset needed for each step is different. I fail to "open" by not thinking or researching enough before starting. I fail to "close" properly by editing before finishing. The mental process for each step is so different, that mixing them becomes a toxic cocktail of writer's block. 

A place for every thing and everything in its place: I take the time to retrieve or produce what I'll need for a task ahead of time. When I then sit down to do it, I waste no time or energy with logistics. There's no sand in the gears. And when I'm done, by tying up all the loose ends, I am truly free. The project doesn't resurface as virtual or tangible clutter, which will cloud the next project. 

Open and Close with intention, and you will find more ease in your life.

Photo credit: “la mise en place” by Rosmarie Voegtli is licensed under CC BY 2.0