What was the day about?  In a physical sense it was a bunch of tweeting Irish business people getting together to put faces to usernames and network off line.

In reality I think it was so much more.

It was a uniting of common interests, of similar paths, comparable hurdles and will do attitudes; a coming together of like minded individuals who have found not only business connections online but also an emotional support network of fellow travellers on the road to business success.  People who are not looking for others to do the work in their businesses for them, for freebies or an easy road to the top but who notice a raising of their own inner strength and resilience as they chat to others who are in the same place and going in the same direction.

They are business owners who want to do it themselves because they are passionate about how they have chosen to ‘make a living’.  They are passionate about Ireland moving forward and passionate about them being a part of the mechanism which will drive that movement.

What struck me from the very beginning of the day [apart from the fact that people were turning up early  ] was that everyone was exceptionally welcoming and eager to network and introduce each other – gosh, even I was going up to people I had never talked to before!  There was hugging .. and lots of it … I think we naturally ‘got’ what everyone else is going through and that in many ways broke the ice with everyone.  People travelled from all corners of the country to be part of something that was almost instinctively felt as a coming together of good energy; a start of the next chapter in the #SMEcommunity story.

The positive energy created during the day didn’t just stay in the room.  It moved online later in the evening as people arrived back to their homes.  I’m sure in the coming weeks every one that was there will feel a terrific buzz within themselves and that will naturally go into their respective businesses.

There is something really amazing happening here … a truly heartfelt approach to business support where by helping and supporting others emotionally we gain strength within ourselves.  For what was essentially a business networking event there was something unheard of in the room …. love … not mushy kissy kissy love but a heartfelt caring that comes from giving back with out asking for anything in return.

Well done all who participated in such a wonderful event

Other posts you might like to read:

• SMEcommunity – mindful business at work
• keep calm.. it’s my new mindfulness poster
• Can you feel the hug?

That old wartime mentality of ‘make do and mend’ …when people were truly mindful of just how valuable food, clothing & c was, has somehow been lost over time.  Now it often seems so easy [or was during the boom times] to just go out and buy something new and replace it and I think a lot of us got hooked on buying things for the sake of buying.  Shopping is enjoyable .. I like it [I likes it a lot] but this year I am trying to buy less and upcycle more of what I already have.

When we are being frugal we are mindful of the value of things and use all of whatever it is until there is no more to realistically use.  So it’s great to see a move back to people using things wisely and getting all the value out of an item before having to finally finish with it.  Seeing as I always fancied myself as a bit of a frugalista I have naturally acquired quite the repertoire over the years.  Coming from a long line of inventive homemakers I think it must be in my blood.  More importantly I think it’s good to get back to really respecting the money we earn and the true impact of what something actually costs to produce.

So here are a few quick and easy ways to be a bit more frugal/mindful in the kitchen.

5 mindfully frugal ways:

1. Limp veggies – now we all at some stage or another find a bunch of carrots in the fridge that have lost their crunch. Instead of throwing them out they can be put with any other veg that have past their prime and made into a nice vegetable stock to use as the base of a soup or stew. Remember, if you find yourself with limp food often to stop buying as much or maybe try buying frozen instead.
2. Old tin foil – You know the tin foil you have wrapped something in and have now unwrapped it and are going to throw it out? Well before you do…a] can it be used again?… if it wasn’t wrapping anything yucky or raw meat then it might be okay to fold up for another use.  b] if it can’t be saved then fold it in half a couple of times and cut it in strips with any scissors you need to sharpen. It sharpens them and productively uses up the tin foil that you were getting rid of anyway.
3. Half used bottles – gather all the half used bottles of things you may have and bring them to the front of the cupboard and make a point of using them up before buying anything else. If you particularly don’t like the brand then give it to someone who will. It not only clears space in your cupboards and drawers but helps you think about what you do buy.  Just because it’s on special or ‘cheap’ doesn’t mean you need it.  Did you know that baking soda is a terrific cleaner in the kitchen?  It brings sinks up lovely, cleans the insides of ovens and takes the tea stains off the inside of mugs when rubbed on as a paste.
4. Stretching the mince meat – meat can be expensive, especially if you are buying organically. When frying up any mince you can add some oatmeal.  I can see all your eyebrows raising but it is terrific….  I find about 20% works out right. Just remember to add a bit more liquid/stock as it gets absorbed by the oatmeal. As you don’t really notice the oatmeal is in there you can buy 20% less meat than you would normally buy!
5. Save on cling film – instead of using cling film to cover small leftovers on plates or in bowls, you can either put a bowl over the leftovers on the plate or put a smaller bowl over what is leftover in the bowl. You use less plastic cling film and save money – so mindful of the environment and mindful of your cash.

I know some of these tips are easy or obvious but sometimes they are the ones we might not think of ourselves. It’s all the small things which we do often that will add up and help us all move forward. Small changes done on a daily basis will change our habits for the long term. Mindfully moving forward to help ourselves initially but collectively to help all in the end.

be mindful and enjoy

photo from The Library of Congress via The Commons c1939

Other posts you might like to read:

• Being productive and mindful: 20 one minute to dos
• How many gurus will you notice today?
• Be where you are

Speaking of spending – one of the biggest drains on family/personal finances is the food bill and whilst it might be nice to buy all food from markets and artisan producers …the ol’ finances just will not allow it [at present].  Now, I enjoy as much as the next person cruising around the supermarket putting all the pretty labels in my trolley; lulled into a consumer cocoon by an army of retail psychologists.  What I don’t like is the amount of money I seem to spend each week on the stuff when with a bit more thought [yes, this is where the mindful living kicks in] I could enjoy the food just as much, be nicer to the environment and save me some spondooleys.  All by incorporating a bit more mindfulness into the before and during of my shopping trip.

Now as you may or may not be aware, supermarkets [especially the big chains] spend a lot of money to assist us in emptying our wallet as much as possible.  That’s fine, it is a business after all providing us with a service and products we choose to use.  However, by keeping our wits about us as we shop we can overcome some of the tactics which are employed to make us part with our cash.

A few suggestions to help us be more mindful as we shop:

• It’s an oldy but a goody – shop with a list … and stick to it! [I’m good at the first bit but not so good at the later – something I am working on this year]

• Make sure you check out the top and bottom shelves for better value items.  Research shows that most of us mostly look in the eye to waist level areas of the shelving.  So naturally all the big names are going to be there & therefore the big prices.

•  Always look at the price per kg cost, not the unit price.  Surprisingly, sometimes it’s actually cheaper to buy two small sizes instead of the bigger size.  Looking at the per kilo cost also helps you to see which brand is better value for money as sometimes it can be hard to tell between different sized/shaped bottles and packets.

•  Always check your docket before you leave the store! 

•  Last but not least….If you see something on special always check the grams/mls on offer and all the product details against the specials label on the shelf.  Sad to say but I’ve noticed this ALOT as I walk around …it’s the putting of products which aren’t actually on special above the tag saying the special.   For example: sometimes when the 250g is on special they will put the 500g there or last week I saw in the frozen aisle some frozen fish fillets that were a completely different brand with the specials tag under them.  Now, when we are gliding  around in our little supermarket world sometimes we just see the special price, assume everything is alright and pop it straight in the trolley all smug that we have a bargain…. so please double check you are actually getting one.

So let us be aware when next we go to the supermarket … By being mindful of our choices and noticing what is going on us we will probably save ourself a bit of money.

If you’ve noticed anything else we should be paying attention to as we stroll through the supermarket please share it in a comment below

UPDATE ON LAST WEEK: How are we all getting on since last week with being more aware of our appliances and light usage?  I know myself, it made me especially notice some areas I could improve on…like turning the kitchen light off when I went in the next room to watch telly or have dinner…and I found a radio that is left on standby all the time too!  Small things but they do all add up.

Photo by Harris Walker via Creative Commons

Some previous postings you might like to read:

• Simplicity Thursday – 5 things to do whilst boiling the kettle
• In the silence are all the answers you seek
• 20 ways to make life harder

As I said last week with my intentions post, I’m really concentrating in 2012 on being more mindful of my actions – both big ones and the very small ones.  There are so many small things we can do on a daily basis that alert us to being more aware of what is not only going on around us but also what we are actually doing.  So today I’m going to start off very small -to ease us all in – and do a bit of a list of a few things to try to pay attention to around the house that will

• a. help us be more aware of what we actually are noticing, and
• b. help us be more mindful of our money…. and for anyone – especially us in Ireland – that is a really good thing.

Here are a few questions to ponder:

1. After you finishing using the washing machine, do you turn the knob back to ’0′ so the little light goes off?
2. Do you pay attention to how much water you are putting in the kettle for a cuppa? …is it just enough for you are you expecting the local football team to drop in unannounced?
3. After you’ve charged your phone..what do you do ?  Do you walk away and leave the charger plugged in or do you turn it off at the wall.  Do you take it out and pop it away ready for the next use?
4. Do you shutdown and unplug your computer when you’ve finished with it for the day?
5. Do you turn the lights off when you leave a room?
6. Appliances like music systems or the second tv .. Are they on stand by just waiting for you to turn them on at the weekend?
7. Do you take your washing straight out of the machine and put it in the dryer or do you hang them up to dry before giving them a burst to just ‘finish them off’? [this is an Irish blog after all ]
8. While we are on the dryer…do you turn the light off on your dryer as well when finished?
9. Do you habitually put lights on of an evening in lots of rooms just so it looks pretty even though you never go in there?
10. Do you check the timer on your central heating so it fits in with the current weather? Often we put it on for more hours when it’s chillier and don’t bother altering it when the weather gets milder for a few weeks ..like now.

These are all small things – some of them are *really* small – but by being mindful of the many little habits we have in our homes [I feel] this translates as us being more mindful of our impact on the environment and more immediately to us…our wallet.  All the above will save you money, not much mind but that is not the point.  More importantly it will save CO2 and if everyone started to do these small things then that means big things are happening…..it’s all win win win

Enjoy

ps…Soz if from the title you were expecting  a romantic tale of unrequited lust

A few of my previous blogs you might like to check out:

• Life is in the doing not the having 
• Delight in all the turns of your life

Ahh 2012 …. don’t you all just love a new year?

Of course all moments are a new beginning but there is something essentially symbolic about starting a new number when we write the date.  Plus I love … let me rephrase … I LOVE starting a new diary with all the fresh pages and filling in all the reminders.  Small things delight me, what can I say…

After all the excesses of the last week or two I’m definitely ready to get back into living a more economical life again.  All those mulled wine, chocolate filled and yes I will have another slice days are over and to be perfectly honest I say good riddance  … I don’t know about you but I get a bit bored with it all after Christmas Day.  My thoughts turn to newness and activity around the 27^th Dec and I like to go into prep mode.  Unfortunately I still carry on eating all the bits whilst prepping so by the time the new year actually begins I am not only ready mentally to move on but my body is as well!

Each year I like to set an intention or two for the year; not a goal but more of an underpinning for all my choices.  This year my main one is to have greater awareness & understanding about the wider effects my decisions have [especially with what I choose to purchase] my second one is to be a whole lot more proactive when it comes to getting things done – basically to be a bit more gutsy/ballsy.  All up I’m excited about the year ahead … it’s going to be a great one! 

What are your intentions for 2012?

Some previous postings you might like to read:

•  Delight in all the turns of your life
• Simplicity Thursday – 5 things to do whilst boiling the kettle
• 20 ways to make life harder

Personally, I always find it a good idea in late November to give things a bit of a clear out and to streamline around the house a bit before all the madness and visits begin.  Two reasons for this:

1. By being aware and preparing for the extra demands on our time that will definitely crop up next month we will hopefully take some of the stress out of things.

2. Everything always looks calmer (and nicer) when unused or unwanted paraphernalia is cleared away – especially when a whole bunch of glittery baubles are about to be thrown into the mix

Organisation at this time of the year helps greatly in adding to the enjoyment of all that goes on and allows us to relax a bit more and be filled with festive cheer.  By dedicating a few moments now to preparing and planning for the coming weeks, things can be calmer and flow a bit more smoothly.

So, to kick of this series of helpful pre Christmas tips I’ll start with a quick one for those who seem to accumulate a lot of paper, old magazines and papers etc…

Today’s Tip

You will need:

• a bag (an old paper clothing one is good for this job)

• to set your timer for 15 minutes (on your mobile, the cooker – whatever works for you)

Go around your whole house from room to room and put any bits of unwanted paper into the bag.  Old newspapers or magazines (don’t start flicking through them as if you haven’t read them in a while you won’t remember what you were saving it for anyway… and next thing you know 30 minutes will have passed!), plus any old envelopes left after the contents have gone, sundry bits of paper no longer needed, junk mail, etc etc – you know the sort of thing.

Keep going for the fifteen minutes and don’t think too much about it, make snap decisions regarding the paper rubbish then put it all in the recycling bin [that’s the beauty of the paper bag].  Job done

Repeat if needed in a few days or so

Whilst this is not rocket science its amazing how much can be gathered in this short space of time.  Enjoy

Other posts you might like reading:

• 3 acts of morning mindfulness?
• Spring cleaning in the now – and what I learnt

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I’ve been busy these last few weeks enjoying the last of the summer … let me rephrase that as ‘summer’ … and working on getting my organic cotton t shirts printed and looking nice.   I’ll be releasing them soon  but in the mean time I’m offering Free Shipping on all my posters from today until this Friday 9th Sept 2011

Just use the code B86i2

Grab something to remind you to be calm and collected as the kids go back to school or you get back into full steam work mode.

You can check out the whole range in the Mindful Productivity shop

or for a bit of extra info on the posters you can puruse

• Bringing Mindfulness
• B@1 [be at one]
• Stations of Oneness

be mindful and enjoy

It’s easy to get carried away with the happenings of the day and make decisions which are more a reaction than a choice.  By bringing ourselves back to the moment regularly, we become more conscious of all the moments we have during the day and as a result are more productive.

I’ve already used it 7 times this morning and its only half 10!

I trust you’ll enjoy it as much as I am

thanks to novodyjp for putting up such a nice little resource on YouTube

Other posts you might like reading:

• 3 acts of morning mindfulness?
• Spring cleaning in the now – and what I learnt

Running a business involves an awful lot of decisions and plenty of focus.  Often it’s hard to keep our eye on the ball and have things move in the direction we would like them to.  For many, especially if just starting out, it can be a challenge getting the right things done at the right time.  Mostly because we often have to do it all ourselves!

Sometimes, it can get a bit much and we can get frazzled or stressed out.  It’s easy then to lose sight of what we’re actually meant to be doing and what we have planned to do.

It’s through having  discussions around this subject with the lovely Olwen from Irish Business Intelligence that we decided it would be nice to blend our talents and put something together for all those who are currently needing a bit of focus and guidance in their business or professional lives.

We wanted to highlight how complimentary management and mindfulness ideas are and how they can be blended to bring greater productivity to business.

Mindfulness can be applied to all facets of our daily life.  It’s not only helpful in letting us fully enjoy what we are doing, it also helps us make better decisions as we are more aware of what is going on.

The above 5 ways to Flow with the Go of business document is free to download   It contains Olwen’s top 5 business tips with my equivalent from a mindfulness perspective.  You can pop it up in your office, your workspace or anywhere you think it will help you focus and make decisions.

So go ahead… download it, print if off and use it.  It’s our gift to you and we both hope you enjoy and benefit from it.

…. Stay tuned as in the near future we shall be doing a flip side of this wonderful little ditty entitled Mindfulness and Management.  Where I will give my top 5 mindfulness tips and Olwen with give her take on how to apply them to business

download  5 ways to Flow with the Go of business

A few of my other posts:

• 3 acts of morning mindfulness
• Are you utilsing this moment?

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