Do you guys listen to podcasts? I am a podcast fanaaaatic. And, like all rational females, my favourite is Oprah’s Supersoul Conversations. A couple days ago, I had the immense pleasure of listening to Oprah’s latest interview with Sister Joan Chittister – a Benedictine nun, author, activist, and 83-year-old all-around badass. Sister Joan was talking about civil discourse and how we can’t seem to have conversations about important things anymore. Much of her work today focusses on the need for people to stand up and say the truth, rather than entrench themselves in their beliefs and put their heads down.

Well, here’s my truth: I think it’s cool to be smart. …

As some of you will know, I was briefly a lawyer. This means I have lots of lawyer friends (which, I presume, can only come in handy). One such lawyerfriend texted a while back with the following: "I've just started listening to classical music and now I'm addicted."

Glory be, hallelujah! Another convert! *Rings big bell and maniacally adds hatchmark to tally on giant chalkboard*

While I have yet to dig into her newfound love of classical music with her, I suspect she's stumbled upon her new addiction because it aligns perfectly with her work. Classical music is an amazing tool for boosting productivity, increasing focus, and, most importantly, adding more curiosity, juiciness, and joy to your day. 

So, to uplevel YOUR work soundtrack, here's WHY you should listen to classical music while you work, and HOW you should do it.

The other day, I referenced one of my all-time favourite books, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. It’s a fairly lengthy read, but I cannot recommend it enough. I can’t recall if Covey actually recommends that you do this in the book, or if I read it somewhere else, but I’ve found that the most effective way to down the whole thing AND build the principles into your life is to read one “habit” at a time, integrate it, then wait a bit before picking the book back up and moving on to the next habit. Buy yourself a hard copy this January and put it on your desk or your bedside table and return to it a few times through the year – I promise it will bring rewards you aren’t even aware of right now.

To give you a little taste and hopefully get you intrigued, here are the 7 Habits in brief…

When I read that Obama wore the same suit every day during his presidency because people have limited decision-making ability and he wanted to retain that one extra daily decision in his quota – well, I was hooked on what I like to call “pre-decisions.” There are few things I enjoy more than setting a gentle constraint on my own life that saves me decisions, time, and stress. This is why I capsule wardrobe, bullet journal, and cook a limited number of things for dinner (ok that last one is a lie, but it makes me sound a lot smarter to suck at cooking for a lofty reason).

Perhaps the ultimate pre-decision one can make is the default daily routine – another obsession of mine. Daily defaults allow us to do two critical things: make sure we fit every activity that we want into our day, and also avoid making lots of little decisions throughout the day about whether or not we’re going to go through with each thing.

For artists, daily routines are absolutely critical, and most revolve around sacred, uninterrupted work time. Whether it’s visual artists, dancers, or musicians, most artists need significant chunks of solitude through their day to do a couple of essential tasks…

Ladies,

Look. We’ve all been there. We’ve all been somewhere we didn’t necessarily want to be. We’ve all been young and stupid and too smart-assy for our own good. We’ve all been young rebels who laugh at how idiotic everything is. We’ve all felt uncomfortable somewhere and, rather than explore that discomfort, we have chosen to protect ourselves by trying to look aloof. Especially as young people. We’ve all been there.

I know I looked lame last night when I kept staring at you, slack-jawed in amazement at your total disregard for your surroundings. I know I must have seemed as old as the actual old lady sitting in front of me who was incredibly distracted by the light from your screens, the tap tap tap of your manicured nails as you texted, and your painfully audible “whispers” filled with eyeroll-worthy content. I know I must have seemed just as uncool as the moms who had brought a large group of little girls and boys to what might have been their first symphony concert, who unfortunately had to put up with you sitting behind them. Yup, I might seem like all of those things, even though I’m pretty sure I’m only a few years your senior.

Ladies, I’m here to tell you I get you. Hell, in other situations I probably was you. But, because you were too absorbed in Snapchatting parts of the concert, texting whoever the hell you were texting, and scrolling through goddamned Pinterest, let me give you a brief rundown of what you missed….

You know when you're in a situation that is somewhat unremarkable, but then there's a really heady, rich, awake moment? Where you were just kind of rolling along, half-aware, and something changes to make you go goddamn, this IS something! Where all of a sudden your eyes and ears come into electric focus and everything seems 10x sharper, slower, richer? Where you feel a deep, earthy connection to living that makes you think "my God, am I just walking through my life asleep most of the time?"

I had one such moment recently at a lovely party which included listening to tracks from various LPs selected by party guests. The somewhat inebriated group gathered for the "serious listening" part of the evening, and selection after selection delighted the little audience. Classic pop and rock mostly, including some obscure tracks that were particularly well-received. Throughout, I was impressed by the level of attention the crowd held. Chatter continued at a minimum, the occasional chorus was sung along to, and a couple of drinks were spilled (ok, that was me, whatever...), but overall, for a group of intoxicated 30- to 60-year-olds who were in the middle of a party, it was quite impressive to see such a high level of focus for the simple activity of music listening.

But then there was a real "holy shit I'm alive and this is amazing" moment….