lunch + writing at positive pie

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This week I am reviewing the blog Zen Habits, which is written and maintained by Leo Babauta.

What this blog is about

Zen Habits is one of the most widely regarded lifestyle blogs on the internet with more than a million monthly readers. Zen Habits is about finding simplicity in the daily chaos of our lives. It’s about clearing the clutter so we can focus on what’s important, create something amazing, find happiness. Some of the topics it covers include: simplicity, health & fitness, motivation and inspiration, frugality, family life, happiness, goals, getting great things done, and living in the moment.

About Leo

Leo Babauta is a former journalist of 18 years, a husband, father of six children, and in 2010 moved from Guam to San Francisco, where he leads a simple life. He started Zen Habits to chronicle and share what he's learned while changing a number of habits. Find out more about him on his post My Story.

Why I love this blog 

What's not to love about it I think is the better question. Every time I go exploring on this blog, I always find something I needed to read. Leo also blogs a lot about writing, which I find very useful. The theory in Zen Habits is that you can accomplish anything but you have to start small and build your habits one by one. By building habits, you stick to and accomplish your goals.

Leo also offers some courses for building habits, including his Habit Course and the Simple Fitness Habit course. I plan on taking both of these :).

Check out Zen Habits. You won't regret it!

Resources 

Zen Habits - http://zenhabits.net/
Leo Babauta - http://leobabauta.com/
The Habit Course - http://habitcourse.com/
The Simple Fitness Habit - http://simplefitnesshabit.com/

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courtesy of standford.edu

What is creative overload?

This weekend I experienced something that I never thought would happen. I had creativity overload big time.

I've heard of information overload (I deal with it as a librarian) and there's also creative blocks (like writer's block). To have an overabundance of creative ideas is normally a good thing. But for some reason, my brain just wouldn't work.

I had so many ideas going through head and I have a ton of individual projects I'm working on. And all of sudden, my brain refused to cooperate. I even had the weekend to work on things, on projects I needed to get done sooner rather than later.

What did I do?

How was I going to get over this? I needed my brain to function ASAP (nobody would work on my creative projects but me!). I spent Friday night fighting it. And then I decided to do one thing.

I listened. I tuned into what my brain was telling me and I couldn't remember the last time I took a break from doing stuff. So, I put my creative projects aside. I watched movies and read all weekend to give my tired brain a rest.

And it felt great! By listening and being mindful, I was more productive after the weekend. On Monday, I churned out 10 pages of a writing project that I had been dreading.

Be mindful 

When dealing with overload or an overabundance of anything, remember to tune in and be mindful of what your body is telling you. Do you sense any resistance? If so, then you might need a break. Take the opportunity to rest and return to your creative projects with renewed energy.

Thank you for reading! Until next time :)
Melissa

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The Renaissance Soul: How to Make Your Passions Your Life by Margaret Lobenstine 

courtesy of powells.com

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This week I am looking at the blog Yes and Yes, which is written by Sarah Von Bargen.

Yes and Yes by Sarah Von Bargen

What this blog is about 

Yes and Yes is a lifestyle blog about living a multifaceted life. Sarah interviews interesting people, shares travel tips to cool places, connects nice people, tries new things, finds recipes from awesome books and far-flung countries, and writes about a million how-tos.

About Sarah 

Sarah Von Bargen started Yes and Yes in 2008 and has slowly found an audience of 11,000+ daily readers. She has been self-employed for the the last three years, harnessing all that hard-won know-how for hundreds of clients. She works with creatives, bloggers, and small businesses to create super doable, totally effective, non-overwhelming plans for internet domination.  She can help with ideas for blog posts + social media plans + pitch templates + promotion ideas.

Why I love this blog 

When I first started building this blog, Yes and Yes was where I went to for ideas on how to design it for readers. Sarah has written great blog posts on starting a blog and she also has a small business blog on her personal website. Plus, Sarah's posts are so interesting and she really has something for everybody.

P.S. Sarah also has ads for other businesses on her website. Take a look at them. I've found some creative services and people through those ads.

Until next time :)
Melissa

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Pen on Fire: A Busy Woman's Guide to Igniting the Writer Within by Barbara DeMarco-Barrett 

courtesy of Barbara DeMarco-Barrett

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars 

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