What sounds more fun? Filling in spreadsheets with data for eight hours or coming up with new and exciting ideas?
I’ll go ahead and assume you went with option two. The opportunity to innovate is something most of us want more of in our daily work lives. Yet often, we feel we can’t be more creative at work because of factors beyond our control. Perhaps your company is risk-averse and likes to play it safe, perhaps your targets are intimidatingly aggressive, or perhaps the sheer size of your to-do list makes adding anything new feel impossible.
While a lot of these may be true, there are also some tips and tricks almost anyone can adopt to keep your innovation muscles strong and ready to go. And like any muscle group, the more you practice it, the stronger, better, and more unstoppable it becomes. Here are 10 things you can do on the job to make it easier to be more innovative every single day.22…
Life is short. Live it well. Travel a lot. I hate having my life disrupted by routine. To awaken in a totally strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world.
And I get inspirational everyday thanks to the people I meet along the way. From fellow travelers to local citizens, from bus drivers to shopkeepers, backpackers to cruise ship passengers, beggars to musicians, flight attendants to waiters and waitresses, from students to teachers, street sweepers to fruit juice vendors, volunteers to expats, ……
Artist and writer William Morris once said, “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” I whispered these words to myself one warm May morning as I hauled boxes of my belongings into my uncle’s basement. He had generously offered to store 95 percent of what I owned.
Although I am not a packrat, I did value many of my more sentimental possessions, such as boxes of letters and photographs, keepsakes and treasures from my travels, as well as my artwork and supplies. I pared down what I could, but still ended up with a couple carloads of stuff. Then Kyle and I set out on our one-way road trip with the vague idea of moving to my hometown in Northern California. Beyond that, we had no concrete plans. It was a liberating and unnerving sensation….
A lot of us are looking to make some positive changes in our life, but we have no idea where to begin. My suggestion is to do something different.
When you’re willing to do something different, you are telling yourself, your subconscious mind, and the entire Universe, “I’m asking for a change and I’m willing to DO something about it now.” The Universe responds to DOING since it actually means you’re starting to also BE something different.
You don’t even have to know what to do, at least not at the start. Doing ANYTHING different, that seems like it MIGHT head in the direction of what you are looking for, is a step in the right direction. You can make adjustments as you go. You can fine-tune the changes you are asking for later, once you get the hang of doing something different. The point is this: DO SOMETHING — ANYTHING — DIFFERENT.
Let’s say you have the same habit of never having enough money in your bank account, but you never know where it goes. Something different might be getting an old-school notebook out and writing down your expenses. Or if you want to be fashionably high-tech, you could get an expense-tracking app, AND USE IT. This one small act for many people has been the beginning of getting their financial affairs in order by doing something different….
She’s the one with the messy unkempt hair colored by the sun. Her skin is now far from fair like it once was. Not even sun kissed. It’s burnt with multiple tan lines, wounds and bites here and there. But for every flaw on her skin, she has an interesting story to tell.
Don’t date a girl who travels. She is hard to please. The usual dinner-movie date at the mall will suck the life out of her. Her soul craves for new experiences and adventures. She will be unimpressed with your new car and your expensive watch. She would rather climb a rock or jump out of an airplane than hear you brag about it.
Don’t date a girl who travels because she will bug you to book a flight every time there’s an airline seat sale. She wont party at Republiq. And she will never pay over $100 for Avicii because she knows that one weekend of clubbing is equivalent to one week somewhere far more exciting.
Chances are, she can’t hold a steady job. Or she’s probably daydreaming about quitting. She doesn’t want to keep working her ass off for someone else’s dream. She has her own and is working towards it. She is a freelancer. She makes money from designing, writing, photography or something that requires creativity and imagination. Don’t waste her time complaining about your boring job….
During the summer my wife and I got to go on an amazing road trip in Norway with our good friends Samuel and Hildegunn Taipale. Norway is just amazing landscapes after amazing landscapes. Definitely a place worth visiting if you ever get the chance!…
Now that the weather is warming, we can’t think of nothing better than the two-hour ride up to Hudson for the weekend. For a truly special stay, Haviland House checks all the boxes for a trip upstate: a comfortable stay in an elegant home with dreamy interiors, easy access to the mountains and countryside, and a one-and-a-half block walk to Warren Street, the creative pulse of the city.
Thought to be the first structure on Fifth Street, the house was built in 1825 and later named for its original owner, Steamboat Captain John T. Haviland. Today, the three-bedroom vacation home sleeps six and is filled with gorgeous antiques, original wide plank flooring, multiple wood-burning fireplaces, and a screened porch and backyard that is perfect for dining al fresco.
One of the best draws to the house is its close proximity to all of the city’s wonderful restaurants and shops. Talbott & Arding and Hudson Wine Merchants are both within walking distance — the perfect spots to pick up local provisions and wine to take back to the house. And although the house comes with a fully-equipped kitchen, if you would prefer to dine out, we recommend Fish & Game, one of our favorite farm-to-table restaurants serving seasonal food in a former 19th century blacksmith shop.
Haviland House is available to rent throughout the year from Red Cottage, a boutique rental agency with a curated collection of beautiful vacation homes upstate with properties ranging from cozy cottages and rustic cabins to airy farmhouses and palatial estates….
