Organise Me: How to Create a Happy Work Space
I’ve just returned to Melbourne after 12 weeks travelling around the USA and Canada and it’s time for me to create a happy, creative space for me to get my big ideas in order and get to work on them. I thought I’d share with you the things I found essential in creating a happy work space.
- Get a bookshelf for all those books that you use for inspiration and take the time to set it up in a way that makes you happy when you look at it and makes it easy for you to find the things you’re always looking for. Shelves make it easier to spot what you’re looking for than boxes
- Invest in pretty stationery. It’s much more fun to write your notes on a pretty notepad in brightly coloured pens, than it is to scribble everything down on the back of used envelopes and napkins. Allow yourself to get a notebook for each of your big ideas if you prefer to handwrite. It keeps everything together in one place and you can add it to your bookshelf.
- Add some artwork to your space. Having pretty cards or prints in your creative space makes it a much nicer place to be when you’re on a deadline or you’re itching to get outside.
- Have a calendar or diary (that works for you) and make it as colourful as you wish. I find it’s easier to plan a timeline on paper, so I like to have a calendar on my desk with colours signifying different things. It makes it easier for me to see how things fit together. Even if you’re more an online calendar person, most will allow colour coding for you to see how your plans and projects come together.
- Have a place for everything. If you can get creatively messy like me, you’ll know how great it is to have somewhere to put everything when the working day is over. There’s nothing like walking into an organised work space in the morning and knowing where everything is. It’s much better than one where you walk in and feel instantly overwhelmed. Having somewhere for your projects to live whilst your working on them can make your space happy and welcoming for you.
I found that these helped me to feel more at home in my new, much smaller, work space and feel less overwhelmed with getting back into a working frame of mind after 12 weeks exploring North America. Even if you are already settled in your work space these could help you to check that your space is working the best it can for you.
Dannielle is a blogger, serial organiser and passionate traveller. She has a secret love of 90s teen movies and can often be found on Twitter. In 2013, Dannielle packed up her life in Melbourne into one suitcase and moved to Canada to make her crazy dream of a more adventurous life happen. But she quickly found the inspiration she was searching for was in Melbourne and has recently returned home. You can find out more on her blog.
Stress & Wellness: Art as Therapy
By Emily Harrison As we round out the end of this year’s column exploring all things wellness and creativity, it seems fitting to look at an area which encompasses both of these – art as therapy (or perhaps more accurately – exploring personal growth and empowerment through creativity).
“All children are born artists, the problem is to remain an artist as we grow up.” ~ Pablo Picasso
For me, the ability to paint and draw peaked early…at around aged five…and that’s about where it stayed. Creativity instead has come to me through words and other forms…but I do wonder what would happen if I picked up a paint brush. This seed thought led me to investigate further the area of Art Therapy, and I was intrigued to discover it goes far beyond the paint brush. I interviewed Melbourne-based Creative Arts Therapist and Artist, Jennifer Berlingieri, to find out more about this modality and how she balances her own artistic pursuits while working in a creative field…
Hi Jennifer, tell us a little about Creative Arts Therapy? In Creative Arts Therapy sessions, we use creative therapy and counselling to support and encourage self-exploration and personal development. It is appropriate for anyone who is interested in deeper self-awareness and personal growth, and no previous arts experience is necessary.
What’s the difference between Art Therapy and Creative Arts Therapy? The main difference is that Art Therapy only uses visual art, like drawing, painting and clay, for creative expression and personal growth. In Creative Arts Therapy we use Art Therapy, as well as other creative modalities, like Dance-Movement Therapy, writing, symbols, mindfulness, sand tray, music and more as therapeutic tools to assist and empower people in their personal exploration.
How did you become interested in this as a modality? My interest in Art Therapy evolved from a combination of factors. Years ago, I left my first career in New York in Fashion to go off travelling. I ended up travelling for a number of years, settled in Australia and was in transition between careers. I was living out bush in NSW and dedicated a lot of my time to finally exploring art making. I gave myself permission to buy art materials for the first time and had a go at drawing, painting, collage, 3D sculpture, whatever I could, and not only did I absolutely love it, but I realised that the art making was helping me process whatever emotional experiences I was going through at the time. In combination with my old favourites of journalling and dancing, art making was a new kind of personal language that really helped me express myself to myself, feel validated and figure some things out. It was a very powerful experience.
Eventually I questioned, “Are other people doing this?” So after some research I discovered Creative Arts Therapy was a formal therapeutic modality, not just some odd thing that I was doing!
Can and do artists or people in creative fields need/use art therapy? Absolutely, artists can and do benefit from Creative Arts Therapy! I often find that people who are artistically inclined might have to move away a bit from their expectation that their creative work has to be of a certain aesthetic, or that it needs to be “good”. That’s a lot of pressure! Using creativity as a therapeutic modality is a completely different context to using it as fine art or for commercial means. The emphasis is not on the finished product, but on the meaning one finds in their work and what one can learn about one self from the process. So what matters is that the work is authentic, honest, and heartfelt. What it looks like doesn’t matter at all!
The feedback I get from people in creative fields is that Creative Arts Therapy helps them move away from their expectations, loosen up, experiment and return to the sense of play that’s often lost when creativity is taken “too seriously”. This can be a very powerful way of moving through creative blocks. On a deeper level however, it helps them to therapeutically explore the personal issues and questions that are important in their lives, and this can lead to long-term life changes and benefits.
The clients and groups you work with must be incredibly diverse – is it necessary for people to come with a reason, purpose or outcome in mind? The people I work with are extremely diverse. It’s not at all necessary for people to come with a reason or purpose in mind. Participants only need to be open to the process and whatever evolves out of that. Like any therapy, what arises is unpredictable. Very often I’ll have someone attend a private session or workshop with one specific issue in mind, and ultimately they’ll get to a whole deeper level, which often surprises them. For example, someone might originally attend in order to explore a career change or a relationship issue, but eventually they might go deeper to find they are looking into their core values or their overall behaviour patterns in relationships.
The benefits I see in people are also diverse, and often surprising. It’s a privilege to work with people who are willing to be open and experimental, and who value their own personal development and self-knowing. To see people change or have a little epiphany before my eyes is amazing, and to see them feel empowered because they got to an important realisation in their own way is the most rewarding thing I think.
How do you make sure you create time and space for your own artistic/creative pursuits? This is an ongoing challenge for me, as it is for many people who want to have a creative life as well as a professional one. One thing that works for me is having a group of like-minded peers that I get together with every month or so, to do debriefing and artwork. It helps enormously to have the structure and support of the group to make sure that I don’t neglect my own creative expression altogether.
Another thing I do to stay connected to my creativity is to keep a visual journal, and make just a quick drawing or write a short journal entry early in the morning before I start my day. I don’t do this every day, but even just once a week or once a month is better than nothing. These quick dips into my journal keep me connected to myself and to my own creative expression. Having said that, I’ve just had a baby a few months ago, so all that is out the window at the moment!
For those interested in the training or experience to become a Creative Arts Therapist? To become a Creative Arts Therapist, you have to do Post Graduate study, either a Graduate Diploma, Master’s or Doctorate. The course work is experiential, so you’re learning CAT techniques by doing them, rather than hearing about them. Therefore, the study involves the willingness to do in depth personal development of your own. The professional experiences of a CAT are endless, as creative therapy techniques can be used to work with very diverse people.
Many thanks to Jennifer Berlingieri from Creative Arts Therapy for sharing her experience and expertise.
Emily Harrison is a writer and yoga teacher with a passion for understanding our unlimited potential. This is her last post for the CWC and she’s enjoyed writing and sharing on all things wellness for the CWC audience this year. In 2013 she will be delving more into her own writing and creative pursuits. Do keep intouch over at iamem.com, @emyogawrite. Wishing you the best of health and boundless creativity.
Stress & Wellness: Surviving the Silly Season
By Emily Harrison This is the sort of post I thought I’d be writing for December in the run up to the peak of festivities…but it seems like everything is creeping forward and next month is already “too busy.” Not to mention there’s a little spring racing fever sweeping through race tracks, wardrobes and champagne bottles at the moment.
So if like me you may be feeling a little stretched (and not in the good way) then let’s talk tips for maintaining one’s sanity and beaming serenity as we stride towards 2013.
Make a date… with yourself. Schedule it, sync it and make it non-negotiable with your self. Do not apologise for it. Whether it’s an hour in the park at lunch or an afternoon to get your hair done or an evening to watch trashy re-runs. Give yourself space to collect, recharge and take time-out amidst the push and pull of the everyday.
Start the day well, even if you know it’ll end wild. So you have a week of office/client/friends/family festivities? Then take control of what you do have control of….plan healthy breakfasts, lunches, snacks and plenty of good quality H20.
Hydrate and drink responsibly. We all know it but sometimes the synapses forget to connect between those effervescent bubbles and the karaoke machine. Take care on hot days and remember to love your liver. A squeeze of lemon in warm water to start the day can do wonders (great for jetlag if travelling too).
Play smart in the sun. It’s nice to be enjoying warmer weather - take care to love the skin you are in and play safe in the sun. The free SunSmart app can help to know where the UV levels are at.
Exercise! It does not start as a new year’s resolution! Maintain your routine (or build one in) to keep you feeling good well before 1 January.
Smiling eyes, open heart (a.k.a 'Trying Not to Lose Your Marbles'). We all know holiday seasons are not always like the card they come with (Love, Peace and White Doves anyone?) they can feel like testing times; they can bring up emotions, they can challenge our patience, rile our inner peace and you haven’t even carved the turkey yet. So if you find yourself propelling towards mental or emotional mayhem, consider the breathing thing we started the year with, or a few moments quiet time…even if it’s in the loo.
Reflect and acknowledge. So often we are just hanging out for the start of a New Year, as if the slate clears come 12:01 AM. I know because I think that too at times, and I know that this year has been incredibly challenging for many people, myself included. What I have found is that from tough times come little gems of insight and understanding that can help you to shine again – possibly in completely different ways. Consider a few minutes for reflecting and acknowledging the positives the year as brought you – from new acquaintances, to new opportunities to new awareness’s. (and because we’ll all be like rhuuhlyyy busy in December why not make your list over the coming weeks?)
May you go gently, with a loving kindness to self over the coming months.
Emily Harrison is a yoga teacher and freelance writer. She still likes to leave out something for the reindeers and elves. You can read more at iamem.com
Stress & Wellness: Tips for a well workspace
By Emily Harrison With spring time comes the phrase ‘spring clean’ …where we turf out wardrobes, dust off exercise equipment and create space for all the exciting projects and ideas ahead.
Well in an ideal world that is what would happen.
I myself was lucky to find the keyboard to write this column under what I would like to defend as a “system of organised chaos” …but really is just a cluttered workspace.
And so with some spring-time vigour I took a look at what aides a healthy workspace. To help me I had a chat with a lady who knows more about feng shui than I and with her French accent and full hand gestures, Christiane taught me a lot more than just tips for workspace wellness.
“You know Emilleee, clutter on ze desk means clutter in ze mind” (hmm clearly she wasn’t aware of my extraordinary touch typing abilities under forests of paper…but she could be on to something).
“To be able to create, you have to be organised in life,” she continued. Lucky the CWC have a columnist dedicated to ‘Organise Me’.
So what practical steps could one take to help bring a sense of harmony and balance to a workspace?
- Step 1 is to de-clutter. Clutter is stale energy so start moving it, literally. Clutter or mess adds a heavy weight to your environment so when you de-clutter you create space for positive energy to flow in. Place everything into its own spot (and if it doesn’t have one then do you need it?).
- Create time to clear…regularly. We know what it’s like to become absorbed in a piece or find “the zone” … but we can forget to create time to clear and find we’ve become covered in piles of thread, material cut-offs, or in my case…a forest of paper. Give yourself 30mins to refocus and create space to allow the creative genius to flourish.
- Let’s talk lighting. Aim for natural lighting where possible and consider supporting lights and/or using a magnifying glass for fine tasks such as needlework.
- Cleanliness – it goes without saying. We’ve all heard the revealing reports on keyboard hygiene. Pick up the tea-bags, clear off the crumbs. Stat.
- Work in nature - while I was tempted to move my office to the park, Christiane was referring to incorporating natural elements in to your office or home– or in her words “humans cannot be at peace unless nature is present” (think earth, water, stone, wood, metal elements etc). Which is why plants or flowers in a vase of water are great to have around. Plants, while also looking good, help to absorb negative energy. They also seem more manageable than goldfish for me.
- Work in inspiration – someone once said to surround yourself only with things that are useful, beautiful or that uplift. Wise words whether you apply it to the home or the office.
So with that in mind, I am armed with helpful tips (and no more excuses) for tweaking my workspace to let the energy and creativity flow to its best potential.
I’d love to hear your tips or ideas?
With thanks to landscape architect and feng shui expert Christiane Seletto for sharing her wisdom.
Emily Harrison is a writer and yoga teacher with an interest in what makes us healthy, thriving creative beings. She also finds herself stuck under piles of paper at times. You can read more at iamem.com
Stress & Wellbeing: Putting a Spring in your step
By Emily Harrison As the daffodils start to bloom and snippets of sunshine begin to peak through there’s a chirp in the air that can only mean springtime is around the corner.
While winter is traditionally the time to conserve energy (think hibernation), springtime symbolises new beginnings, renewal and rejuvenation.
But what if we don’t feel like busting forward out of the cocoon? Maybe we’d rather pull the doona up some more…or sometimes we can feel downright stuck – in the middle of a motivational muddle that is in danger becoming a puddle.
We all know the feeling of a slump, feeling stuck, overwhelmed or we start a project with such gusto but then hope if we close our eyes it might just go away…
So to help put a spring in your step and harness the energies of the season, I had a chat with CWC member Alex Kingsmill from Upstairs Coaching to look at ways to keep us all winning gold and maintain the momentum long in to the next round of Olympics.
Hello Alex, tell me a little about yourself… you run Upstairs Coaching – what’s that all about? Upstairs is a little business I established a few years ago, to help women design and build lives that are rich and fulfilling and that make them happy.
I originally trained as a lawyer and then I worked in a whole heap of policy jobs in the city that made me miserable. Slowly, slowly I worked out that I was better suited to people than computers and I started to re-design my own life: I went back to uni; I quit those soul-destroying jobs; and I established my own business.
Tell us about the work you do? I work with women who are ridiculously lovely and inspiring and thoughtful. Curiously, most of the women I work with are in a creative field or are trying to introduce more creativity into their lives.
The coaching I do is informed by Positive Psychology so it’s strengths-based and goal-oriented.
This means that instead of focusing on what’s wrong and trying to fix it, we focus on what you do have and try to build more of it. I love this way of working because it is hopeful and motivating and sustainable.
Most of the people I work with have great lives but there is something that’s not quite right, something they want to change to improve their day-to-day and longer-term experience. The questions they bring to coaching vary but they often involve issues relating to balance, motivation, fear, courage, connection and happiness.
People often talk about a ‘drive to succeed’… but what is motivation exactly? Clients often say to me that they feel like there is something wrong with them because they can’t get motivated. I take a completely different approach! In my view, a lack of motivation is much more likely to be about the goal than it is to be about the person pursuing it.
I find that the easiest way to understand motivation is as an equation:
Motivation = Interest in the Goal x Faith in Your Ability to Achieve
This means that motivation requires a focus on two important factors:
- The Goal must be important to you. The goal you’re working towards needs to mean something to you; it needs to connect with your values. There is no way you’re going to be able to sustain motivation over something you think you should be doing but aren’t really that committed to.
- You must believe that you can achieve it. That doesn’t mean the goal can’t be challenging, it should be. But if you think you can’t get there, your motivation will diminish.
We all know about the motivation slump …why is it that this happens? A motivation slump is often related to that tricky question of self belief.
We often start to slump in the middle of a project because we lose confidence in our own ability to finish. It is especially likely to happen when we’ve been working on something for ages and we’ve started to feel like we’re not making that much progress.
Can you share some ways to get the momentum started, or back on track? A great way to reignite motivation is to make a few small gains that will re-fire your confidence and recover your faith in success. Chunk down your goal and accomplish one small thing in relation to it: contact three galleries that might feature your work, for example.
The gains don’t even need to be related to the project you’re stuck on: you might choose to commit to swimming 20 laps non-stop at the pool. Any sort of achievement will help to reignite your self-belief, which will in turn help to refuel your motivation.
And how do you stay motivated yourself? I try to make sure that the things I’m working on are things that I really love doing (although that’s not always possible, especially around tax time..)
When I find myself feeling unmotivated I look at what I’m doing and more often than not the activity I’m stuck on is something I think I should be doing rather than something that really connects. If that’s the case, I either drop the goal or tweak it, to make it more intrinsically motivating.
A great example is Twitter. I found myself dreading it; I was feeling so unmotivated to Tweet. I realised that I was doing it because other business do and so I thought I should. I was also comparing myself to others and thinking that I should tweet the way they do. What a mess! When I reconnected with what I liked about Twitter (hearing from interesting thinkers and doers, sharing great ideas) and when I found my own voice, I was much more motivated.
And if all that theory fails...I take a break and restore my energy, because a lack of motivation can simply be a symptom of tiredness. I go for a walk or drink coffee!
Thank you for your time Alex, it’s been a motivating interview! You can find out more about Alex and Upstairs Coaching at upstairs.net.au or connect on twitter or facebook.
Emily Harrison is a writer and yoga teacher with an interest in what makes us healthy, thriving creative beings. She also knows that one's motivation can flow (or topple) like an olympic hurdler. Emily is excited about stepping in to spring. You can read more at iamem.com
Stress & Wellness: Creativity through Meditation (Part 2)
By Emily Harrison Mary Caia is an intuitive painter who has been allowing the internal expression and creativity shown to her through meditation, relaxation and dreams to transfer externally to the canvas.
She describes the process of her collection ‘Where did you go?’ as a dance created over five years.
“It was about trusting to put the images I see on to canvas, as well as trusting to go to the next image if that came along before the previous was finished. It’s allowed the direction to come from within, from the heart rather than the mind and the result is a deep inner joy that you can feel,” explains Mary.
“It can be scary , but at the same time fun and deeply rewarding,” she says.
"Emerging" 76cm x 90cm Oil on Canvas
As we looked at in last month’s post, meditation helps to quieten the mind. And from a creativity perspective it’s during such moments of stillness that insight and inspiration can occur.
Mary describes these moments as part of an integral to her artistic process: “meditation is about stilling the mind and centering through the breath, and sometimes in that space, which could just be half a second, the image appears – simple and clear,” she says.
But like all goals worth working towards, it does require self-discipline and regular practice. For example Mary has an ongoing morning practice of no more than 20 minutes.
“It’s about becoming the observer and watching the thoughts. Observing the thoughts can take you in a quiet space and with regular practice you may find you can easily go into a nice deep state,” she says.
"Choices" 122cm x 76cm Oil on Canvas
Another interesting concept Mary touches on is that through her artwork and painting she has learned non-attachment. That is to say, while there may be a physical end product of the artwork, the process is about allowing the true creative expression to flow through you.
“This will then go to the person that needs it, who will be inspired by it,” she says.
Importantly, Mary reminds us gently that we ‘cannot force the flow.’ She has learned to juggle working on a few pieces at a time and also learned to be ok with periods of not painting.
“Once you force, it becomes about the final product and who it is going to please rather than painting for the pleasure of painting,” she says.
“I learnt through the experience of meditation and allowed creativeness to walk a path of my choice and by connecting internally every morning before entering and tackling the objective world. Life is at it’s most rewarding when you can make the changes at whatever age or circumstances with confidence and with a deeper knowledge of the soul’s purpose and guidance.”
You can see more of Mary Caia’s work at her website marycaia.com
Emily Harrison is a yoga teacher and writer who often has a mind that runs like an excitable puppy. She finds taking time for yoga, meditation and relaxation is important to keep the puppy under control (along with a sense of humour). You can read more at iamem.com
Stress & Wellness: Creativity through Meditation (Part 1)
By Emily Harrison Call it meditation, mindfulness, being still, present or quiet time – this ancient method of bringing balance and connection is making a modern day resurgence.
From school kids - to Olympic athletes - to healing miracles – Mastery of the Mind is a powerful tool. Even science and medicine are now lining up to prove its benefits.
The list of benefits is extensive. And on the back of this growing awareness an industry is emerging with techniques, books, audio guides, retreats and so on to learn ‘what is’ and ‘how to’ meditate – but let’s look at the ‘why.’
Why meditate?
If you think about it we give the outer body a good wash, sometimes several times a day. But how often do we clean out the mind?
We also feed the body several times a day. But how do we nourish our mind?
Meditation does just that. It helps regain control of the mind; it helps to catch the excitable puppy that is running around in circles trying to catch its tail.
Yet what so many people find, then quickly give up in despair, is once they stop and be still in the physical body, they suddenly become aware that the mind chatter is a buzz – racing in circles and just as out of control as the puppy!
It's something the sages of old have known since the beginning of time. As this saying goes:
‘you should sit in meditation for twenty minutes every day…unless you are too busy; then you should sit for an hour.’
If I remember back to my first introduction to a meditation course – during the first morning of homework practice I had to stop (distracted by hunger) to have a snack…the second morning I discovered there was a leaking tap somewhere….the third day I knew the movements of the neighbours. The point being it can take regular practice, focus and a sense of humour to make meditation friendship with your mind.
It can take time to reign in and train the puppy.
The goal is to be master of the mind rather than be mastered by the mind; to be present rather than playing back what’s been and gone or playing out what could happen next.
And once the chatter has quieted down, it’s in this alert stillness that we have space for insights, ideas and inspiration to come to the surface.
It is where we can tap into our creative potential, naturally, without the use of mind-altering substances.
In next month’s column we’ll look at how this creative potential translates on to the canvas as I talk to an artist about meditation as part of her artistic process and inspiration.
Being in the midst of Winter, it’s a time when we tend to focus more inwardly – a natural turning in as the days are shorter, darker and colder. It can be a period of introspection before the burst of Spring energy entices us out.
So why not use the opportunity of the season to take time for stillness? Take some time to connect with the breath, still the body and allow the mind to de-clutter. But please, play lovingly with the puppy if you find it a little excitable.
Emily Harrison is a yoga teacher and writer who often has a mind that runs like an excitable puppy. She finds taking time for yoga, meditation and relaxation is important to keep the puppy under control (along with a sense of humour). You can read more at iamem.com