Grab Bag Get Your Act Together:

I LOVE this book and its ideas!!!  It’s a new year with new hopes, new goals, new ideas… all adding on to last year’s list of things you still have to or wish to complete. Behold a tome with the message of organization! I was turned on to this book by a friend who was delivering a fun lecture, and she, who is organized to begin with, said it changed her life.

If simplifying your life and accomplishing more while forgetting less sounds good to you, then this is the book for you.  Getting Things Done by David Allen shows you how to incorporate every grocery list, every appointment, every project, every “have to” and every “hope to” into one slick system that gets things out of the chaos in your head and off your desk.

We all have long term and short projects, small and grandiose ideas, mundane and spectacular thoughts. Much of it floats around in our heads. Examples:

• get pants hemmed
• buy mom a birthday present
• update your will
• research art classes available
• write a find-raising letter
• meet with financial planner
• make a dentist appointment
• plant a vegetable garden
• help your daughter move
• send that recipe your friend asked for
• talk to your boss about a raise
• plan summer vacation

David Allen shows you why traditional “to do” lists don’t work well, and quickly unfolds a system to corral everything in your life that needs attention or action.

So… here it is:

Step 1: Go to Amazon.com –  or drive to your local book store

Step 2: Buy “Getting Things Done” (you can recycle by buying it used for $5+ at Amazon)

Step 3: Read “Getting Things Done”  – this part is pretty crucial… if you can’t get organized enough to do this, we’ll have to discuss a remedial program 🙂

Step 4: Marvel at how great it feels to get your life truly organized.

And if a computer-based system would work best for you (Allen lays out many different structures, from paper to computer), the guys at Nozbe have developed a web-based version (not software on your computer, but out in cyberspace, accessible from any computer) of the system inspired by David Allen’s book. There’s even an iPhone app that syncs with it. God, I love technology.

Now about those closets….

Grab Bag Mental Super Food:

Ever think you’d like to go back to college (or, in my case, start college) and learn some new and interesting stuff? Well, it’s 2010, Virginia, and guess what’s coming to your house? UCTV offers fascinating lectures on everything from Nuclear Weapons and International Conflict, to a female San Diego Deputy DA‘s experiences since being ordained as a Roman Catholic priest 3 years ago, to Aging and Rejuvenation: Chemistry and Biochemistry at Work.

We should all take advantage of these opportunities… Lord knows when California state funding will run out on this gravy train… for now most of it is free.

Grab Bag Mental Junk Food:

We all need a little balance, right? This site is filled  to the gills with virtually worthless items… but SOOO cool. You’ll be inspired to start your Christmas shopping right now. I think you should. Check out Vat19.com, for some off-the-wall, great gift ideas.

Grab Bag Nutrition Tip:

No, this isn’t a reprint of a previous post: The apparent benefits of green tea continue to mount. Here is yet another round of ammo in the Green Tea arsenal…. this just out on Dr. Weil’s site, summarizing a report in the December 2009 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition:

Seniors are less likely to be depressed if they sip four or more cups of green tea daily. In a study involving both men and women, all of whom were over 70, Japanese researchers found that those subjects who drank more than four cups of green tea were 44 percent less likely to report symptoms of depression than those who drank less than four cups daily. The effects of green tea held true even after the researchers factored in gender, social and economic status, diet, history of medical problems and antidepressant use. No such association with depression was found for black or oolong tea or coffee. More studies are needed to confirm that drinking green tea really does have an anti-depressant effect, but the investigators noted that the amino acid theanine found in green tea may play a role in the benefits they saw.

If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time you probably can guess that I am a HUGE green tea fan. I make a big 6-cup pot every morning. My favorite? A very high quality Japanese green tea called Gyokuro. The best deal I have found for this relatively expensive tea is at Teavana, a chain of tea purveyors (or order online). If you want to see why this tea is so special, check out this 1 minute video on Gyokuro growing, picking and processing:

IMPORTANT: Brew for no more than 3 minutes, using water that is 180 degrees (boiling water is 212 degrees, so you can experiment with how much cold water needs to be added to boiling water to yield that perfect temperature). Longer steep time or hotter water and you can burn the delicate leaves and embitter the light and clean flavor.

Grab Bag Brain Game:

TEST YOUR SENSES

Grab Bag Funny Stuff:

Just what the doctor ordered….. an animal video guaranteed to make you laugh out loud numerous times…. a blend of home videos and some of the landmark commercials involving our furry friends….