Simple Life Together

Our friend and colleague Karen Meade of Let’s Get Organizing will be hosting her annual Organize and Energize workshop. It’s on Saturday, January 19th, 2013 from 9:30 Am to 12:30 PM at TriPoint on North St Mary’s, in San Antonio, Texas. There’s a great lineup of speakers talking about organization, meal planning, health and fitness and Dan will be there talking about tech. For more information check out LetsGetOrganizing.com or Facebook.com/LetsGetOrganizing. Hope to see you there!

We’re kicking things up a notch right off the bat this year and really stretch our commitment to simplifying our lives. We’re challenging ourselves with what we call Edit & Forget It, 2013 Fewer Things in 2013. We’d love it if you’d consider joining us!

It’s good to have an accountability buddy when challenging yourself…and all of you that listen to the show will be our accountability buddies to keep us on track!

Some Background:

Edit & Forget It Guidelines: Note: We may have to come up with some additional guidelines for ourselves along the way based on any new discoveries or unanswered questions we run into. But we’re starting with these:

So again, if you’d like to join us, just click on the Edit & Forget It box on the left side of website or follow this direct link: Edit & Forget It Signup

That’s it…Edit & Forget it! 2013 Fewer Things in 2013!

Our “Edit and Forget It. Challenge” is a perfect lead in to the Power of Saying No…we’re essentially going to be saying “no” to allowing things and clutter to dominate our lives.

The Power of Saying No will be helpful with your New Year’s Resolutions. I talked last week about how to make your resolutions a success and I think this topic piggy-backs on that….it’s simply another tool to help you along the way in accomplishing your goals and sticking to your priorities.

So….why is it so hard to say NO? It seems as we get older, we somehow adopt this notion that we have to say YES to everything and everyone. Why is that? Maybe we fear being politically incorrect or being labeled a non-team player. Maybe we don’t like to disappoint. Maybe we feel guilty or obligated to help others. Maybe we seek constant approval from co-workers, friends, family and even strangers. Maybe we’re afraid of “perceived” outcomes….getting fired, losing friends, upsetting someone, or missing out on a great opportunity. Or perhaps we feel that in order to attain the status of SUPERMAN, SUPERHUMAN or SUPERMOM we have to say YES to everything and everyone.

Well, I challenge you to think a little differently about this. NO is a little, two-letter, one-syllable word that all by itself can be a complete sentence. It’s a pretty powerful word…and at times, even more powerful than the word YES.

Saying NO can have a profound impact on your life.

Here are some benefits of learning to say NO at the right times in your life:

Now, I know you can’t say NO to everything and everyone and I’m certainly not suggesting you be a jerk about it. There is the notion of “tact.” You still need to be tactful and respectful when saying no. I also suggest you start to change your mindset about saying NO and start to view it in a more positive light.

So, here are a few tips and ideas to think about to help make saying NO a little bit easier:

There. Not too difficult, huh? Ok, it’s a lot easier said than done but with a little practice you’ll feel a lot more comfortable with the idea of saying NO. Again, you don’t have to say NO to everything, but I’d highly consider saying it a little more often, especially if you’re feeling overextended and stressed out.

So, give it a try yourself and see just how empowering it can be. I bet you’ll start to feel a little less stressed and finally in control of your time…your priorities…and your life.

The “Thing” Segment:

Dan:  Begin with Changing Yourself

As I was reading through my daily blog feeds I came across this simple post from Dan Miller at 48Days.com. Dan’s post sparked my memory of my short time in the UK and also gave me some inspiration as I had the Edit & Forget It Challenge on my mind when I read his post. So, Dan wrote:

When we talk about change, here’s a good starting point: This is an inscription on the tomb of an Anglican Bishop that reads:

“When I was young and free and my imagination had no limits, I dreamed of changing the world.

As I grew older and wiser I discovered the world would not change –

So I shortened my sights somewhat and decided to change only my country, but it too seemed immovable.

As I grew into my twilight years, in one last desperate attempt, I settled for changing only my family, those closest to me,

But alas, they would have none of it.

And now I realize as I lie on my deathbed, if I had only changed myself first,

Then by example I might have changed my family,

From their inspiration and encouragement I would then have been able to better my country,

And who knows, I might have even changed the world.”

I think that can hit home with many of us. So, while we can talk about how we’re frustrated with the consumer-focused society we all live in, working on our simple life together and starting the change with ourselves is probably a lot more productive and impactful.

        Vanessa: I LOVE Google Calendars!

Just yesterday I was on the phone with a colleague of mine…we do a lot of work projects together from managing big residential moves to small business organizing. Anyhoos…she’s in Portland on vacation, I’m here in San Antonio and we’re working with a client that’s moving from Kansas City to San Antonio…and we’ll be responsible for unpacking and getting the client’s family set up in an 11,000sq ft home!

Well, I love my google calendar because as I was talking to my colleague I was able to look at the calendar she and I share as well as my husbands calendar, my kids’ calendars, and my personal calendar to make sure there weren’t any conflicts. It was beautiful! I love having multiple calendars that I can share and that automatically sync to my iPhone and iPad. Yay!

We received a very nice comment on the website from Farnoosh Brock from ProlificLiving.com. Farnoosh wrote: You guys, I am just blown away by what you are doing here. The content is TOP NOTCH, bar none! I love it. I have just started listening to your podcast and love the both of you and how you interact. Keep it up and I’ll be sure to review it on iTunes. Wishing you both a very happy new year.

Well thanks Farnoosh and Happy New Year to you too! Folks, you should check out Farnoosh’s site over at ProlificLiving.com…she has tons of great info and her Daily Interaction Podcast is fantastic, too. You’ll be glad you did!

Once again, Happy 2013 and we hope this year is a great year for simplifying your life. If you haven’t started yet or have just been thinking about it, now is a great time to start. We’re blessed to be able to share some ideas and some of our experiences as we journey toward a simpler life in the modern world and we’d like to hear some of your experiences, too.

It sure would help if you you took just 2 minutes to review the show in iTunes. The more positive reviews we get, the higher the show is in the listings and that’s how people find us.

If you like the show, please subscribe and consider giving us a good review in iTunes. It takes less than 2 minutes to review the show in iTunes and that’s the best way for people to find us.

If you know someone else who might enjoy the journey too, send them a link to SimpleLifeTogether.com

Connect with us on Twitter, I’m @DanielHayes and Vanessa is @GetSimplifized. You can find links to our Twitter and Google Plus profiles on the left side of the home page.

Be sure to leave comments below, send us a voicemail from the little microphone icon on the right side of the page, or you can go “old school” and email us!  Comments, questions, thoughts, ideas, suggestions…they’re all welcome and we’d love to hear from you!

Karen Meade of LetsGetOrganizing

Dan Miller’s Post

Farnoosh Brock at Prolific Living

Brooks Duncan at DocumentSnap

GetSimplifized Links:

The Power of Saying No

Google Calendars

Other Google Programs

Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you!

I’m not a big “New Year’s Resolutions” guy, so in keeping with the Exupery quotation I’ve discussed in previous shows and use to guide me on our simplicity journey, I thought I’d give resolutions a little twist. If you recall, Exupery said, “Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing left to add, but nothing left to take away.” So let’s resolve to remove some things that add no positive value in our lives. Only you know what applies to you and what’s right for you, but here are some suggestions for consideration…

Stop wasting opportunities:

 Stop letting what you already have go unused:

Stop “holding on”…some stuff is just not necessary any more:

Stop Letting Others Dictate How You Use Your Time:

Stop Living in the Past

The next one is: Stop Undervaluing Yourself

And Finally…Stop Letting Drama Have a Stage in Your Life

Well, with the New Year quickly approaching, many of you (including me) are probably thinking about things that you would like to improve on…habits you’d like to quit…or good habits you’d like to start! So…of course I thought it would be fitting to share some tips on how to make your resolutions a success. Keep in mind you can use them any time of the year and for practically any type of goal or project you are working on.

Pick only 1 – 2 resolutions.

If you’re like me, you’ve probably got a few things you’d like to improve upon, but don’t tackle everything all at once! Pick the things that are nagging or affecting your life the most.

Be realistic about your resolution or goal.

For example…having more money may be a goal of yours.  Winning the lottery vs. saving a little money each month are two very different ways to have more money.  The later idea is probably a little bit more realistic.  Or take your fitness goals…running a marathon and  tackling a 5 or 10K are distinctly different goals.  If you’ve been running for years then a marathon may be reasonable and attainable.  But if you’re new to running or haven’t run in years…then a marathon is probably not a good idea…and maybe a little bit dangerous.  Or you want to lose 40 lbs in a month…probably not realistic…nor is it a good idea. So try to be realistic.

Be specific about your goal.  

Choose “I want to lose 20 lbs in 6 months”  vs. “I want to lose weight” or…“I want to organize one room per month” vs. “I want to organize my entire house”.  The more specific you are the better chance you have at accomplishing your goal.

Tackle your goals in small chunks.  

Break your goals down into small, manageable chunks.  Lets say for example you want to save enough money for a family vacation.  Maybe that’ll cost $2000.  Well, maybe you could divide that amount by the time you have before you go on the trip (lets say…9 months).  Which comes out to $222/month.  From there you can figure out ways to cut spending month by month rather than all in one shot.  

Tell folks about your goals.  

There is something to be said about positive peer pressure. Tell those you trust and who you know will help you stay on track.  I’m amazed at how much that will motivate me.  I’ve posted things on Facebook about training for a marathon or starting a juice fast…and I’ve been amazed at how some people will track or ask me about my progress.  They’re actually interested in my success….or maybe they’re interested in my success so that they feel motivated to do the same thing?  Whatever the case, positive peer pressure can be a motivator.

Get a fitness buddy, organizing partner, or quitting buddy to help you with your goals.  It’s a lot easier to turn off your 4 am alarm to go to the gym when it’s just you.  But if you know you’re supposed to meet your workout buddy…it’s a little bit harder to not show up…you don’t want to face the disappointment. Funny thing is, the journey to achieving your goal is usually a lot more fun when you’re working on it together!

Use your calendar to help you stay accountable.  I recommend this to my clients all the time.  If you want to work on a project or to develop a new habit first break it down into steps and then put it on your calendar.  For example:

Write down your goals and keep a log.  

Monitor your fitness, organizing, quitting, or financial goals by simply writing them down and then tracking them.  I do this for my fitness.  I have a separate workout calendar on my google calendar that lists my workouts for each week.  Then I have a separate calendar that I keep where I track what I actually did.  Sometimes I finished it….sometimes I didn’t.  But is was great to see the record of what I’ve done.  I’ve also done this with my marathon training.  I printed out my training schedule and then I would write down the mileage I completed for each day I ran and then I would add up the mileage for the week.  We also have Withings wifi scale that keeps track of our weight, body fat and BMI numbers.  Now I keep track of my fitness by using a couple of apps.  More on that in a second….

Expect setbacks…but don’t get discouraged.  Jump back on the wagon!!!

Use apps to help maintain your goals.  I pulled these from Mashable.com:

Reward yourself.

I’ve got a client who’s goal is to organize her office.  Once it’s organized she’s going to get herself a new iMac.  She already has the money set aside, but she made a promise not to spend it until she’s organized that office! Now that’s a great way to reward yourself for accomplishing a goal!

Dan:  Clipboard managers that remember your history for cutting and pasting as you work

        Vanessa: Using “Canned Statements” in Gmail

Thanks to you, Simple Life Together has listeners in 47 countries and is now in the iTunes New and Notable listings in all three of our categories in iTunes: Society and Culture, Personal Journals, and even in the Technology category. But it sure would help if you you took just 2 minutes to review the show in iTunes. The more positive reviews we get, the higher the show is in the listings and that’s how people find us.

If you like the show, please subscribe and consider giving us a good review in iTunes. It takes less than 2 minutes to review the show in iTunes and that’s the best way for people to find us.

If you know someone else who might enjoy the journey too, send them a link to SimpleLifeTogether.com

There are links to our Twitter and Google Plus profiles and other contact info on the left side of the website. We’d love to hear from you !

Be sure to leave comments below, send us a voicemail from the little microphone icon on the right side of the page, or you can go “old school” and email us!  Comments, questions, thoughts, ideas, suggestions…they’re all welcome and we’d love to hear from you!

For some great online classes check out:

Other Links:

Vanessa realized the lessons that we have been teaching our daughter since she was a toddler are also great lessons that adults can apply to their lives when it comes to getting and staying organized.  Here are the lessons/tips that were discussed:

Too many projects gets overwhelming and cause you to loose focus.  Multi-tasking isn’t all that great.  Having few toys or projects also makes for easier cleanup.

Make cleanup part of your project.  Whether you’re baking in the kitchen or working on a craft project, part of the project should include cleaning up after yourself.  Don’t let it all pile up to point where cleaning up your home is an all day affair!

Try using the same concept that preschool or kindergarten classrooms use…create zones and homes for everything. By creating zones in your home and having “a place for everything and everything in its place,” cleanup and finding things will be a heck of a lot easier!

Using open containers to store things is a key ingredient to having kids clean up after themselves. Same thing applies to adults. It’s much easier to toss an item into a basket or bin than having to lift a lid.  Bins are great inside drawers, on shelves and in cabinets. Hooks are another great tool to use to hang up coats, backpacks, scarves, belts and purses.

We’ve previously dedicated  1/2 a podcast to this very topic. Creating rules and routines helps establish expectations so that you and other family members know who, what, when and why certain tasks need to be done and how.  Knowing what is expected prevents you from wasting time, duplicating effort and trying to figure out who does what…which cuts down on bickering as well!

It’s pretty simple…the less stuff you have the less you have to clean and maintain. You can control the amount of things in your home by practicing the “one in, one out rule,” editing your possessions regularly, controlling impulsive buying habits and thinking long and hard about how making a purchase might affect the harmony in your home.

If our daughter wants a snack or to go outside and play, we make a deal with her.  She’ll get the treat if she cleans up first. Her motivation to clean up is all based off of that reward.  You can reward yourself too. Tackle your most important tasks…then treat yourself to a little reward like a movie, reading time or extra time running (yes…Vanessa loves to run).

Flashback to Episode 5

Life Lessons Learned on the Playground.  For each, ask yourself two things:

Lessons:

Key take-aways:

Final thoughts:

Life is a playground.  And the playground isn’t nearly as much fun when you’re by yourself. What makes it the most fun is enjoying the playground with others you care about and that care about you.  Sometimes it’s ok to have a little alone time out there…but for the most part, Life’s Playground is best when it’s shared. Just like your Simple Life Together.

Vanessa: The One-In, One-Out Rule To Control Clutter

Dan:  How much he enjoys his Big Green Egg!

If you like the show, please subscribe and consider giving us a good review in iTunes. It takes less than 2 minutes to review the show in iTunes and that’s the best way for people to find us.

If you know someone else who might enjoy the journey too, send them a link to SimpleLifeTogether.com

There are links to our Twitter and Google Plus profiles and other contact info on the left side of the website. We’d love to hear from you !

Be sure to leave comments below, send us a voicemail from the little microphone icon on the right side of the page, or you can go “old school” and email us!  Comments, questions, thoughts, ideas, suggestions…they’re all welcome and we’d love to hear from you!

Laws of Simplicity and the Pareto Principle in Episode 005

Dan Mentioned his Big Green Egg (BGE). He buys BGE accessories here.

Our listener feedback talked about juicing…here are a couple of links to Dan’s posts: Juicing journey,  Juicing Day Six: A Personal Tragedy and if you’re interested in a juicing clinic that Dan participated in check out Your Chance to Learn About Juicing, Juicers, and the Benefits of Juice Fasting

Get Simplifized! Links:

Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you!

We had a fantastic interview with Brooks.  There’s no doubt he’s way out front as a lead expert in the field of going paperless.  Here is a list of questions we asked Brooks (you definitely should listen to the podcast because he gave some great answers and advice!):

So, Brooks…who are you and how do you make people’s lives simpler?

Is it really possible to go paperless? What about…

How do you recommend people get started with going paperless?

What does the workflow look like, or are there lots of different workflows?

Your article “We Are Our Own Worst Enemy When Going Paperless” is fantastic! Can you describe some of the challenges people face when going paperless?

What equipment do you recommend and why?

Your Paperless Document Organization Guide and it’s an amazing value…do you have other courses?

How can people sign up for your newsletter?

What is the best way for people to reach you?

Website: documentsnap.com

Intro to Cece Reinhardt + Brenda Daugherty from the blog “On the Green Road”

Guest Post on On The Green Road from Katie White from the blog DIY Mother: “DIY Tricks to Make the Most of a Small Living Space” (Note: We added some tips, too! Our additions to this are Italicized)

She also pointed out some of the advantages of living in a Small home. They are :

Kitchen Keypoints:

Living Room Lessons: The easiest way to open up your living room is to get things off the floor.

Bedroom Basics: The simplest visual trick to open up your bedroom is to make your baseboards visible.

Bottom Line in the Bathroom: Plumbing makes bathroom renovation a tricky proposition, but you can swap out a bulky vanity for a pedestal sink without too much damage to the delicate habitat of your sink fixtures.

Storage Suggestions: The key to using your storage space efficiently is to think in three dimensions

Thanks again to Cece + Brenda of On the Green Road for their inspiration…and to Katie White for her guest post at there, as well. Katie is a writer and handywoman from DIY Mother @ diymother.wordpress.com where she blogs with 4 other gals about DIY projects around the home.  I checked it out and it’s a great resource!  Each post is laid out in steps to follow…”easy…breezy, lemon squeezy,” as our little girl Jordan would say!

Vanessa: discussed a section from Enough, by Will Davis. Basically…we have waaaaay more than enough!  Need to appreciate what we have.

Dan:  Discussed his “Facebook Fast” and the new Google+ Communities

If you like the show, please subscribe and consider giving us a good review in iTunes

If you know someone else who might enjoy the journey too, send them a link to SimpleLifeTogether.com

There are links to our Twitter and Google Plus profiles and other contact info on the left side of the website. We’d love to hear from you !

Be sure to leave comments below, send us a voicemail from the little microphone icon on the right side of the page, or you can go “old school” and email us!  Comments, questions, thoughts, ideas, suggestions…they’re all welcome and we’d love to hear from you!

Brooks Duncan from DocumentSnap

IRS Bulletins from Brooks; Guidelines for Businesses and Guidelines for Individuals

Cece Reinhardt + Brenda Daugherty from On The Green Road

Katie White from DIY Mother Blog (BTW…love your tag line, “Not afraid to use power tools in a dress”)

Free Tips From Augusto Pinaud

Organizing  book by Peter Walsh “It’s All Too Much”

Get Simplifized! Links:

Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you!

Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you!

 “I’m often asked what my secret is to being organized and how I get my clients to become more organized.”

The single most important component to becoming organized is commitment.

1. It’s not a priority….at least not yet.

2. Change is hard…even when you know it’s good for you.

3. It takes a lot of work…and that can be daunting and discouraging.

4. Unfortunately, often times people have to reach some sort of “breaking point.”

1. Change your mindset…it’s a lifestyle change not a quick fix. Just like my progress with weight loss and fitness.

2. Change doesn’t happen overnight.

3. Realize that you may get discouraged at the task ahead.  But don’t sell yourself short.  You can do it! Again, think of it as a process and break it down into bite-sized chunks. (organize one space at a time…pay off one bill at a time…try one eating lifestyle or fitness plan at a time)

4. Realize that you may “fall of the wagon” and that maintaining your lifestyle may be difficult.  Pick yourself back up, and hop back on the wagon!

5. Once you get in the groove, you’re probably going to get addicted! Ask Dan…I can be a real grouch if I’ve missed a few workouts and if my house gets too cluttered.  That’s because I’ve gotten addicted to the results and love how they make me feel.  Feeling comfortable in my clothing and in my home are incredibly elating.  You’ll feel the same once you get in the groove. These are healthy addictions in my opinion.

6. You’ll start to build confidence!  And reduce stress.  You won’t have those negative thoughts lingering around in your mind.  Instead you’ll be thinking about taking the next step…decreasing your debt further….trying a new fitness routine…shedding some more clutter…etc.

7. You’ll love the results! And the freedom you’ll experience. Creating goals and setting out to achieve them is one thing…accomplishing them is nothing short of AWESOME!

REDUCE – The simplest way to achieve simplicity is through thoughtful reduction

ORGANIZE – Organization makes a system of many appear fewer.

TIME – Savings in time feel like simplicity.

LEARN – Knowledge makes everything simpler.

DIFFERENCES – Simplicity and complexity need each other.

You can only appreciate “highs” if you’ve experienced “lows.”

CONTEXT – What lies in the periphery of simplicity is definitely not peripheral.

 Think of this like “margin” … room in your schedule to breathe, margins on a sheet of paper that highlight what’s within the margin, etc… Simplicity is highlighted by margin.

FAILURE – Some things can never be made simple.

Yep! Unfortunately, this one is true and we just have to accept it.

THE ONE – Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful.

Much like Dan’s quotation in Episode 001 from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: “Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”

Vanessa: Vanessa’s “THING”:  Vanessa discussed a client’s successes since implementing some strategies that Vanessa suggested during an organizing session. The client relayed how much more effective and easy organizing had become, how the Action File Vanessa recommended had drastically reduced their paper clutter, and how Evernote (after some “getting used to it” time) has become part of her workflow.

Dan:  Being a “tech guy,” Dan talked about how much he loves RSS feeds. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and “pushes” out updates on blogs and podcasts so you don’t have to go searching for new episodes and “pull” them into your reader or audio device.

Dan’s RSS uses:

If you like the show, please subscribe and consider giving us a good review in iTunes

If you know someone else who might enjoy the journey too, send them a link to SimpleLifeTogether.com

There are links to our Twitter and Google Plus profiles and other contact info on the left side of the website. We’d love to hear from you !

Be sure to leave comments below, send us a voicemail from the little microphone icon on the right side of the page, or you can go “old school” and email us!  Comments, questions, thoughts, ideas, suggestions…they’re all welcome and we’d love to hear from you!

John Bukenas’ Let’s Reverse Obesity Blog and Podcast

Marshal Ponzi’s Inbound in Focus Blog and Podcast

Get Simplifized.com: Vanessa’s article, How to Create and Use an Action File.

Vanessa’s article The One Secret To Achieving Anything

Joshua Becker’s Becoming Minimalist BlogJohn Maeda’s Blog: lawsofsimplicity.com

John Maeda’s TED Talk:  John Maeda on The Simple Life

Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you!

Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you!

In Episode 4, we discuss Benefits of Organizing & Having Less, and Some Weird Sounding Simplicity Tools That Might Just Help You Out.

You’ll save money, have less debt and be better able to handle tough financial times.

You’ll have more usable space.

You’ll help avoid “analysis paralysis.”

There’s less to clean and maintain!

You can invite guests over without hesitation.

You’ll be more productive.

You’ll  have better concentration.

You’ll save time.

You’ll have a sense of control.  Control = Confidence = Nicer You!

You’ll have less guilt

You’ll have more Joy and be more content.

You’ll have more time and better relationships.

You’ll have a feeling of calm and peace of mind.

Occam’s Razor: “Of two equivalent theories or explanations, all other things being equal, the simpler one is to be preferred.”

Next up is Parkinson’s Law which states: Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.

Pareto Principle: Often called the 80/20 Rule. 80% of the results likely comes from 20% of the effort.

Use these tools individually and together to your advantage to simplify your life.

Vanessa: Michael Hyatt Blog Post:  The Gift of Today-Lessons from a Monk.  This post featured a beautiful video that Michael Hyatt forwarded and wrote about .  It’s an absolutely beautiful video that’s narrated by a monk where he encourages us to be grateful.  Here’s one of his excerpts:

“You think this is just another day in your life.  It’s not just another day  It’s the one day that is given to you today…It’s the only gift that you have right now.  And the only appropriate response is gratefulness.”

Dan: The Decline of Fascination and the Rise in Ennui (on-wee). A blog post by Seth Godin…a fellow Buffalonian and some consider him a modern day philosopher.  Here’s a quick excerpt from his post:

“The real opportunity, I think, is in trying to build longer arcs. Now that the cycle of new is eating itself in a race to ever-faster, there’s a bigger chance to make long term change by consistently focusing on what works (and what’s important), not what’s new and merely shiny. What’s important, what’s always important, is useful change.”

If you like the show, please subscribe and consider giving us a good review in iTunes

If you know someone else who might enjoy the journey too, send them a link to SimpleLifeTogether.com

There are links to our Twitter and Google Plus profiles and other contact info on the left side of the website. We’d love to hear from you !

Be sure to leave comments below, send us a voicemail from the little microphone icon on the right side of the page, or you can go “old school” and email us!  Comments, questions, thoughts, ideas, suggestions…they’re all welcome and we’d love to hear from you!

Get Simplifized.com: Vanessa’s article on Benefits to Organizing and Having Less.

Very good article on Occam’s Razor over at You’re Making Me

More about Pareto’s 80/20 Rule at SimpleLifeTogether.com/Pareto

Michael Hyatt Blog Post:  The Gift of Today-Lessons from a Monk.You can find more of Seth Godin’s work at http://sethgodin.typepad.com

Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you!

Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you!

In Episode 3 we discuss reasons why some people can’t seem to let go of clutter and some tips that may help you decide what to keep and what to let go.  We also talk about some lessons learned from a catastrophic hard drive crash which sparked the “Your Backup Strategy’ strategy segment, and we wanted to sing a few praises for Dropbox. Dropbox is one way to save documents to the cloud and sync them across all your devices simply.

Vanessa: ANALYSIS PARALYSIS: Too many choices can be overwhelming and frustrating…life is much easier and simpler when choices are few.  This strategy works great with kids too!

Dan:  EVERNOTE!  We both use and LOVE Evernote!  It is what they say, an external brain.  If you’re into David Allen’s Getting Things Done system, or any other productivity system for that matter, then you know how every system touts “ubiquitous capture,” aka “getting everything out of your head or your environment and getting it recorded somewhere (notebook, 3″ x 5” cards…or Evernote). We plan on doing a future podcast(s) dedicated to how we use Evernote, but in the meantime, check out Evernote.com and see if it might just rock your world like it has ours.

If you like the show, please subscribe and consider giving us a good review in iTunes

If you know someone else who might enjoy the journey too, send them a link to SimpleLifeTogether.com

There are links to our Twitter and Google Plus profiles and other contact info on the left side of the website. We’d love to hear from you !

Be sure to leave comments below, send us a voicemail from the little microphone icon on the right side of the page, or you can go “old school” and email us!  Comments, questions, thoughts, ideas, suggestions…they’re all welcome and we’d love to hear from you!

Get Simplifized.com: Vanessa’s article on Letting Go of Your Clutter

Dropbox: You can learn more and download Dropbox at SimpleLifeTogether.com/Dropbox

Evernote: Your “external brain”

Well, we got past our first episode and in Episode 2 we discuss how using routines can help simplify your life, and some simple ways to get the most out of search and research.

Routines help make things predictable, let you better plan you time, and make things more efficient. So, we’ll be sharing some tips on how to tap into that power so routines can simplify your life, too! When something is new to you or you need more information, most people turn to Google to find answers. But are you using Google as effectively as you could? We’ll share some of our tricks to help you become a wizard at search and research! Read more…

Two Common Reasons People are Disorganized:

Key Components of Creating Routines w/Family, Co-Workers or Employees: 

Morning /Nightly Routines:

Paper and Mail Routines:

For a more detailed list of routines and links to helpful tips, check out the notes Vanessa created for a special presentation she gave to a group of moms: http://getsimplifized.com/routines-briefing

We all use the web to Search and do research, but many many of us were never really taught good search skills.

 Many other top links are what’s called Affiliate Links.

Crowd sourced reviews…like reviews on Amazon. 

For restaurants and service locally, check out Google Local and Yelp

A technique I use for lots of things, including searching and researching: Think in the obverse (or opposite)

Some simple tips for using your Google Search Bar:

Exact Phrase:  If you want to search for an exact phrase, use quotes. [“simple life together”] will only find that exact phrase. However, if you type “simple life” together, you’ll find pages that contain the exact phrase “simple life” and also togther.

Either/or: Google normally searches for pages that contain all the words you type in the search box, but if you want pages that have one term or another (or both), use the OR operator

Not: If you don’t want a term or phrase, use the minus “-” symbol. Using the sample example as before, if I search for “simple life” in quotations, I’m swamped with results for the TV shoe “The SimpleLife” with Paris Hilton.  So, I could also choose to use “simple life” in quotations and then “minus symbol” Paris -Paris

Give music a test drive: Looking for the latest tunes or a song from your high school days?  just type the artist or song title in the search bar and you’ll probably get a few YouTube Options!

 Speaking of YouTube:  You know it’s the world’s #2 search engine, behind it’s daddy, Google (who owns YouTube).  Need to know how to do something? Install a car stereo, make an Everything Bagel Mix, Delete a Facebook post from your iPhone…YouTube is the place for you!

Current Weather Conditions: Type “weather” followed by the city and state, US zip code, or city and country.

Conversions:

Google Converts Units of Measure: Google’s conversion tool can convert between many different units of measurement of height, weight, volume and many others. Simply enter your desired conversion into the search box and we’ll do the rest.  This tool is perfect in the kitchen when you need to convert for recipes.  So, to convert from cups to tablespoons I simply type in: X cups in tablespoons.

But don’t stop there…you can use this tool to convert all sorts of things from currency, and distance, to measurements in time (although I have to admit I could easily convert years to days but still have no idea what 4 score and seven years equals…so sorry Abe).

Simple Math: Yep, the Google search bar also has a built-in calculator function, simply enter the calculation you’d like done into the search box.  To add use the “+” sign, to subtract use the (you guessed it) “-“ sign, use “*” to multiply, and “/” to divide.

Google Is a Dictionary: No more smelly old books if you wanted a definition, correct spelling, or a synonym!   To check your spelling, simply make a good guess, and Google’s spell checking software will automatically check whether your query uses the most common spelling of a given word. If it thinks you’re likely to generate better results with an alternative spelling, it will ask “Did you mean: (more common spelling)?”

Definitions: To see a definition for a word or phrase, simply type the word “define” colon, then the word(s) you want defined. To see a list of different definitions from various online sources, you can type “define:” followed by a word or phrase.

Movie Info: Just type in “movies” and your “area code” (e.g. movies 90210)

Area Codes: Just type the three-digit US area code, hit the Enter key or click the Google Search button and Google gives you the area code service area.

Track Flight Status and Airport Conditions (awesome):  For arriving and departing U.S. flights, type in the name of the airline and the flight number into the search box. Check delays at a specific airport by typing in the name of the city or three-letter airport code followed by the word “airport”.

Track Packages (way awesome!): Type in the tracking number for your UPS, Fedex or USPS package directly into the search box. Google returns results that include quick links to easily track the status of your shipment.

 You can check out these and other Google Search Bar tips at: http://getsimplifized.com/search

Vanessa:  Change is a process…even though we are on this journey to create a simple life together, we can backslide and fall into the trap of “wanting”more sometimes.  Just acknowledge that changing your lifestyle is a process and get back on track.

Dan:  Dan gave thanks to Cliff Ravenscraft the PodcastAnswerman at PodcastAnswerman.com or GSPN.tv. This podcast wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for him. Cliff has been a huge inspiration and Dan’s “personal podcasting mentor.” He coaches some of the biggest names on the internet in podcasting, such as Dan Miller from 48 Days to the Work You Love, 2 time NY Times best selling author Michael Hyatt, and Pat Flynn of SmartPassiveIncome. I took his Podcasting A to Z course and it was worth every penny. If you think about doing a podcast someday yourself, check out PodcastingAtoZ.com.  If you decide to take the course feel free to the Discount Code Cliff gave me…just type “Hayes” in the discount code box at checkout and get $100 off the course.

If you like the show, please subscribe and consider giving us a good review in iTunes

If you know someone else who might enjoy the journey too, send them a link to SimpleLifeTogether.com

There are links to our Twitter and Google Plus profiles and other contact info on the left side of the website. We’d love to hear from you !

Be sure to leave comments below, send us a voicemail from the little microphone icon on the right side of the page, or you can go “old school” and email us!  Comments, questions, thoughts, ideas, suggestions…they’re all welcome and we’d love to hear from you!

DollyDrive.com: Dan chose them for our computer backup

PodcastAnswerman.com and GSPN.tv: Dan wanted to extent his gratitude to Cliff Ravenscraft, his “personal podcasting mentor”

Podcasting A to Z Course:  The premier course if you’re considering podcasting as a hobby or to expand your business. Use discount code “Hayes” for $100 off the price of the course.

Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you!

Photo Credit: Pleuntje

Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you!

Welcome!  We’ve waited a long time to get started on this and we’re so excited to finally “get it out there.”  So, in the show we give you an introduction to us, a little bit about our background, what “simple” means to us, and then we talk about our format for the show.

– Faith

– Family

– Friends

– Finances

– Future

Every episode, we’ll each pick topics for discussion. Vanessa’s will likely focus on organizing, the household or her business and Dan’s will likely be centered around technology, business or DIY projects. Together, we’ll also focus on family issues/kids, our relationships, future plans, designing our lifestyle, etc.  These are just some areas, but we haven’t set any boundaries because life has endless topics.

We’ll also have a segment where we each pick one thing per episode that we want to highlight…something that’s had a positive impact on us since the last show.  It could be an app, an experience we had, a conversation, a product, whatever. We tried to come up with a name for this thing, whatever it is, and in the end we just decided to call it ”The Thing.”

– Nearly complete candor…but some things you know you can’t just put “out there”

– Little sugar coating because life isn’t always sweet and besides, we’re low carb eaters

– Imperfection…because nobody’s perfect. Perfect is the enemy of really good.  Our goal is to produce a really good (but simple) show.

– Open to feedback and new topics!  We want you to be part of the show because that’s how we all learn

– Not too much structure…because we’ve both had jobs that pegged-out the “structure meter” and now we like our lives to be a little more “freeform.”

– We both have our own businesses, which really helps with designing our simply life together

– Dan is retired from his first career and now does  Business Development Consulting helping niche business with their branding, media presence, and strategic planning.

– Vanessa is a Professional Organizer and helps clients simplify and organize their lives, at home and at work so they have more time to focus on what’s truly important to them, too.

So that’s what we do for a living and I’m sure we’ll share more about ourselves as we go along.

– Actually having time to enjoy life with those we love

– Living within our means

– Not being slaves to our possessions

– Embracing the concept of “less is more”

– Living more deliberately

– Focusing on our endstate and how we want our lives to be in the long run

– Less  distress (negative stress), more eustress (positive stress)

Vanessa:  Not compare herself to others

Dan:  Quote from Antoine de Saint Exupéry “Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”

We hope you join us on the journey

If you like the show, please subscribe and consider giving us a good review in iTunes

If you know someone else who might enjoy the journey too, send them a link to SimpleLifeTogether.com

There are links to our Twitter and Google Plus profiles and other contact info on the left side of the website. We’d love to hear from you !

Be sure to leave comments below or send us a voicemail.  Comments, questions, thoughts, ideas, suggestions…they’re all welcome!

Tim Ferriss 4HWW Deferred Retirement Plan

Michael Hyatt’s Life Plan

 Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you!