Have you ever had one of those projects?

You know, one of those “I just have to push through this” kind of projects? Maybe it’s your quarterly taxes, or a holiday is coming and you just have to get the dining room table cleared, or your newsletter is way overdue. Maybe it’s that overwhelming stack of books I wrote about in the last newsletter. Something has reached the breaking point.

If you felt motivated about this project, that would be great. You could use that momentum to fuel yourself. But, unfortunately, the project I’m talking about is something you’ve been dreading. Something that’s tedious and loathsome. This project will take a lot of effort and you don’t feel like doing it. Can you feel it? Got something in mind?

The usual strategy is to push

I’m not a mom, but I know enough people who’ve given birth to know that there’s only one time in that whole process that it’s helpful to push — and that’s at the end. If pushing starts too soon it doesn’t just complicate matters, it also wastes precious energy needed later. That baby won’t join the world until it’s good and ready.

With a loathed project, a lot of people start pushing at the very beginning. Sometimes this works initially, but it leaves you exhausted long before you reach the finish line. In fact, one of my intrepid researching clients found a study that shows that exerting willpower actually lowers your blood sugar. So, pushing isn’t just emotionally and mentally draining, it affects your metabolism too.

Take tax prep, for example

As I write this, I’m vaguely aware that the quarterly tax for self-employed folks is due this week. I’ve been spending a lot of energy avoiding thinking about it and telling myself that I’ll get to it. Interestingly, I’m using up energy just to push away the project. When the time comes to do it, it would be a prime opportunity for me to push through and do a lot of inner damage.

In the past, I would have stayed up late, gotten overwhelmed, and berated myself for waiting so long. I would have pushed through with insufficient sleep, tearful outbursts, and days of recovery time. Now I have more effective strategies (which I’ll share with you in a moment), but this is one example of how pushing doesn’t really work.

Mean self-talk makes everything worse

The biggest problem with pushing is that when your energy for a project starts to flag and you become fatigued, you switch gears into a kind of self-loathing, “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” talk. It’s an insidious inner dialog that includes nasty jabs at your own value. A few of mine include “What the hell is wrong with you?” and “You idiot! Why did you wait so long?” (and those are on a nice day). I suppose some people’s inner dialog is directed at the complexity of IRS forms and the agency in general, but my mean-talk is usually directed at me. You too?

Here’s the thing: the mean self-talk is intended to motivate us. No matter how miserable we feel about these inner exclamations, they’re misguided attempts to prod us into action when we’re tired. But now, instead of having a loathsome, tedious, dreaded project — you also feel like crap. Yuck.

Been there?

Alternatives to pushing through

Make space:

Back to the baby analogy for a moment – what’s the one thing everyone learns to do in preparation for birth? Breathing. When it comes to projects, you can do literal breathing to get calm. You can also give yourself breathing room by taking a short break, physically leaving the space you’re in, getting outside, taking a shower. You can do any number of things that will help you get out of the spin and feeling more grounded again.

Talk nicely:

How would you talk to your best friend if she were in the same spot as you, struggling with a project? Being the kind of person you are, you’d offer support and solace and commiseration. Chances are pretty good that you’d offer encouragement.

What would it be like to do that for yourself? One thing you can try is pausing to notice the steps you’ve already taken. Say them out loud or in your head. Say encouraging things. Try being your own best friend and supporting yourself when the chips are down.

Explore small steps forward:

One of the things that makes big projects harder is their complexity. So it can help to take a moment and jot down the next 3-6 steps in your project. Baby steps. For my taxes example, I first need to get a summary of the last 3 months’ earnings. Secondly, I can then divide that number by 33%. Thirdly, I can get out the checkbook and an envelope. When I write out these steps, I start feeling calmer. My brain engages. It begins to seem possible that I can complete this by Thursday.

Ask for help:

When you’re struggling and isolated, this sometimes compounds the difficulty of doing something big. It helps to share your struggles with someone you trust to be supportive. To participate in a class that focuses on your project, like decluttering your office. To find a buddy who struggles with the same project and work encouragingly side-by-side. Just because you got here alone doesn’t mean it has to stay that way.

In short, you’re worth it!

Applying these alternatives takes time, but it’s worth it because they can decrease the amount of stress you feel when working on a big project. Over time, you feel less dread and more confidence in doing things that seem hard. Best of all, bringing kindness to challenging projects leaves you with extra energy to spend on yourself, fun activities, and with those you love!

Feel free to share your experiences with hard projects!

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Our friend, the humble book

Happy September! Can you feel all the back-to-school energy in the air? Maybe it’s even taking place in your own household. This season, that energy has me thinking about books. Several of my clients are working on long-untouched collections of books lately too. Do you have books?

Books are like friends. They carry memories with them. They are a tangible reminder of who we’ve been, where we’ve been, and what we’ve learned. They are sentinels of what we value. With all these strong associations, it’s very common to hang on to books long past their useful life, even when we don’t want them or run out of room to store them. We have an undeniable emotional relationship with these lovely, bound collections of ideas.

How I collected books I dread

Way back, Inspired Home Office was a little glimmer of an idea I gently tossed around with trusted friends. I had no idea what IHO would be, but I loved it. I also felt pretty insecure about my expertise as an organizer because, for someone who’d been as disorganized as I was, I felt nervous that I deserved any credibility or authority.

So I bought books. I loaded up on the Big Names in organizing: Covey, Allen, Morgenstern, Kingston, Gillingham-Ryan and others. I got books about organizing, time management, feng shui, money, decorating and others. My thinking was that if I read the experts that I would feel more confident and knowledgeable.

In case you hadn’t noticed, I was attempting to solve something from a place of fear. Reading the words of all these polished, accomplished authors just made me feel more insecure and fearful. I found myself comparing myself to them. I felt smaller and smaller. My little internal committee was scoffing at the very idea that I had something to contribute. Yuck.

Two big lessons learned

Although many of these authors had fantastic ideas, I was insulted by the very idea that there was One Right Way to do anything. It bothered me that so few left room for interpretation or personal experience. I felt insulted by the tone used in some of the books, “It’s simple, anyone can do this!” because this was not my experience. I couldn’t do it. Many of the people I’d met couldn’t follow their simple advice.

In hindsight, reading these authors also helped me realize that there are many ways to get organized and none of them are perfect. These authors write about methods that work for them. And in the end, there’s only one way — the way that works for you. So, in some ways I’m indebted to them, even if I didn’t agree with all of their strategies.

And a true confession

The surprising thing is, after feeling all this resistance and negativity associated with some of these books, I still own them. Today. They’re sitting in a pile, half-read on my shelf.

Even if I’d once loved these books, I know they don’t fit me anymore. What’s a sentimental bibliophile to do?

One way to clear out old, unhelpful books

To honor and possibly release your books, here are the 8 steps to try:

• Take your time with your old friends. Go one book at a time.
• Hold the book in your hands. Notice the title, the cover, the author.
• Reflect on what you wanted to learn from owning this book. What hopes did you have?
• How do you feel when you hold/look at this book?
• Be curious: Does it align with your the vision you have for your life?
• If you released it, could you find it again if you needed to?
• Where could it go next? Back on the shelf? To an organization in your community that buys books? To a charity that sells them to fund their work?
• What’s your next step? Allow yourself to decide.

Trust your intuition with these questions. If you want to keep the book, don’t force yourself to release it. Often there’s a lot more going on emotionally than practically (as in, where to donate it), so take your time. Make space for the feelings and memories to come up. Cherish them. Make room for them.

Choose and act

As I looked over my own pile of organizing books and did this process, I discovered that there are two that have a real ick feeling to them. I’m going to release these — in fact they’re now by the back door so that I’ll remember to put them in the car. The rest I still look at occasionally and like to have them when my clients refer to them. So the remainder will stay.

Is it time to spend a little quality time with your books? You never know what friendships you’ll rekindle in the process!

Feel free share your experiences with books by commenting below!

11 comments

Do you have a Pottery-Barn-perfect office?

Yeah, me neither. But I suuuuure did want one.

To be 100% honest, I yearned for an office like that.

I sighed over the high-end woods and metals…pined for the sassy classy textiles tossed just-so on the lounging sofa…longed for the vast empty desk space to whistle while I worked…and whined for an upholstered wall with lots of inspiration and very few work reminders.

And I did all that sighing, pining, longing, and whining while slumped at an undersized, overwhelmed particleboard IKEA desk—in a small bedroom with barely enough room for rolling back my chair, forget an extra piece of furniture just for lying around and throwing blankets on.

If there was a square inch of empty space on my desk, I would’ve had to move the 8-inch stacks of paper and a rainbow snowbank of Post-Its to find it.

And if I wanted to find inspiration, my four blank beige walls with a few wilted postcards pinned to them were not the place to look.

This was my reality.

Reality? Check!

But the fantasy…oooooh, the fantasy!

I daydreamed of Pottery Barn’s pictured perfect spaces, full of bright windows and matching folders and furniture not made of dust and glue. In my sleeping dreams I walked among tall cabinets with tiny drawers full of treasures and sat at a gleaming empty desk.

And whether asleep or awake, I thought: “If I had an office like that, I would have a real business. And until I have that, I’m not a real business person. Because this mess of mine ain’t what a real business looks like.”

And then I found the first flaw.

I was flipping through yet another catalog and deep into the sighing, pining, and whining when I realized that none of the computer monitors had cords. Or the CPUs. Or the laptops either.

But then, what would be the point of cords when there were no outlets to plug them into?

Sometimes this was absurdly obvious, like the desk that was coyly positioned in the middle of a room. It was a shining steel-and-glass island floating in a sea of polished wood floor…

…that I’d have to abandon for the kitchen counter in four hours when the laptop battery died.

And good thing their office had those big windows for general lighting, because there were only two task lamps for the entire room. And, hey, how can someone pick the right folder when they’re the same color and alllll the way on the other side of the room?

It went downhill from there.

I’d finally seen those dream offices for what they were: Dreams. And someone else’s dreams, to boot.

Because my ideal office would need all kinds of lighting to shine me through the wee morning hours when I do my best work. And why have furniture to hold folders when I could organize my files digitally and get rid of paper altogether?

And it’d be pretty important to have cords to plug in and outlets to plug them into, wouldn’t ya think?

Sheesh…how was anyone supposed to get any real work done in there?

In the end….

As you’d guess, my real office looks nothing like those dreams. In fact, it looks like nothing…period.

I have a laptop, a portable wireless connection, a notepad, and a pouch of pens. And when I want to travel really light, I exchange the laptop for an iPad.

And that’s all.

No desk, no chair…no office.

Instead, my office is where I make it. Sometimes it’s in a noisy plaza across town and sometimes in a cafe downtown. Sometimes it’s a quiet corner of my local sandwich shop and sometimes it’s the soft sunny corner of my couch.

The world is my office.

I never pictured that. And those catalogs didn’t either.

So.

Please don’t compare and despair. The pictured perfect probably isn’t perfect for you! You’ll need more or less space, more or less light, more or less storage, more or less stuff.

Maybe you’ll discover you need a whole lot more. Maybe, like me, you’ll discover you need a whole lot less.

You’ll definitely need a way to plug stuff in

Don’t get me wrong, magazines and catalogs are great for ideas and inspiration, but only those. If you catch yourself sighing and longing and pining and whining, remember my opposite-of-office, chew on what would work best for you…

…and get real.

Crys Williams writes about ideas and tools for tiny online businesses over at Big Bright Bulb. Her office moves around, but you can always find her in the same place on Twitter: @bigbrightbulb.

12 comments

Two monitors?

I always thought that one computer monitor was sufficient until I worked in an office that had all the computers set up with two, side-by-side.

image source: computershopper.com

Just like the picture — except without the creepy staring eyes. You get the idea, right?

Why it’s useful

One of the limitations of a single monitor is that switching between documents or programs is challenging without getting the tabs all confoozled. In the real world of paper we hold documents side by side to compare them, to switch between them easily. Imagine trying to balance your checkbook with the bank statement directly underneath it. It’s confining. It’s not efficient.

Spreading stuff out, especially for visual creative types, makes information easier to process. Having two monitors allows you to duplicate this spaciousness in your computing.

In case you’d like to do this weekend project, this great how-to video from cnet walks you through the process step-by-step and tells you want equipment you’d need to make the switch.

Have you tried this? What do you think?

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Getting distracted and getting stuff done in your home office
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Distraction

Your brain is a busy, busy place. You try to concentrate on your work — doing that marketing stuff or that article or balancing your books — but you “come to” an hour later on Facebook, looking at your childhood best friend’s baby photos.

Ahh, yes. We all do it. We’d like to be perpetually productive and professional, but our creative minds don’t willingly take on that yoke. Although you are a grown adult, you have a distractable three-year-old inside your brain throwing tantrums, picking daisies, and — ooh! What’s that over there? A raven mind that’s drawn to on shiny objects. The Buddhists call it monkey-mind.

Whatever you call it, despite knowing all the things you’re supposed to do in business, something else takes over. Regularly.

Distraction happens

As I type this, there’s an American Robin sitting in a tree close to my window, singing full tilt boogie. He’s so near, I can see his bright yellow beak opening and his body expanding with each burst of song. It’s all I can do to not watch him for the next 20 minutes instead of write this.

Full disclosure: I started this article two weeks ago and have been in compulsive Twitter-checking mode since. Hmm…

So whether your distraction is caused by long-term stress or a hard-wired condition like ADHD, it happens. Our brains are not machines. They’re not meant to be “on” constantly.

Your mind wants to gobble up cheese puffs

When your mind’s distractable, anything that’s visual and easy to consume is like a bag of cheese puffs for your brain. When I’m in a brain-snacky kind of mood, I’ll click on just about any link that crosses my path. My brain snackage includes Facebook, Twitter, email, cakewrecks.com, and cake decorating videos on YouTube. It’s true.

There are alternatives to letting distraction drive you (and those who love you) nuts. Here are a few:

Five ideas for shifting distraction

1. The power of a pause

If you notice yourself doing these cheese-puffy activities in the moment, pause. Don’t berate yourself. Just stop and gently ask yourself what you need.

Very often we chomp on brain snacks because we’re tired, overwhelmed, or feel uncertain about how to begin something big. Very often, I find myself online when I need a break.

So I stop and ask, “Is this what I want to do right now? Is this activity nourishing me? What do I need?” Asking these questions can invite curiosity and help you redirect your attention in a positive, respectful way.

2. Let ‘er rip

It’s important to recognize that having a distractable mind isn’t a bad thing. You’re not lazy or lacking in discipline. You’re creative. You’re curious. Your mind is naturally wired for discovery and insight!

When you have these gifts, you can honor them by allowing time for them. You might still nibble on mental cheese puffs occasionally, but I invite you to be curious about what you’re longing to explore. And then do it!

Instead of obsessively watching cake decorating videos on YouTube, I signed up for a month-long fondant decorating class. It was so much more fun and engaging (and delicious) to practice this new skill than watching any video! What do you find fascinating? Make a date with it. Indulge it. Have fun!

3. Try something other than force

Have you ever noticed yourself using force to focus on and complete something? Sometimes force is effective. Sometimes, no matter how much you force, your work starts to drag to a snail’s pace. Instead of strenuously pushing pushing pushing to get something done, give your brain some down time.

Give yourself an on-purpose distraction. Do something different. Get up, move around, get the mail, stretch, put some stuff in the recycle bin. Just get away from the project for a few minutes and see what happens.

4. Write for clarity

When I’m super-distracted, I grab a blank sheet of paper and a purple pen, sit on the floor (away from my desk), and write down everything I’m trying to hold in my head.

Writing things by hand is a powerfully integrative activity. It only takes a few minutes to get it all down on paper — and it feels like setting down a 10lb bag of cheese puffs. Get it all out of your head. Suddenly you feel lighter and clearer.

In Office Spa Day, I encourage folks to do this kind of brainstorming. Once you’ve offloaded the list onto paper, I invite you to choose the one easiest, funnest, most do-able thing on the list. When you start doing that one thing, overwhelm turns into focus and motivation. It’s amazingly simple and so effective!

5. Practice slowing down

Sometimes distractibility is a sign that you’ve been busy and you expect to be busy for-basically-ever. It’s not fun, and lack of focus is a symptom of a life out of balance. Slowing down can help.

Some people rightfully resist the idea of slowing down because it seems counter-productive. How does slowing down get through the to-do list? Some are afraid if they slow down, they’ll never start back up again. As I mentioned, your brain can’t go-go-go constantly without compromising functionality.

The beauty of slowing down is contrast. When you take a break from the Internet for a weekend or afternoon, or when you sit and read a book instead of racing through email, you recalibrate your sense of what’s normal. You re-integrate a new, healthier pace for your brain and body. Sometimes you can even remember that there’s more to life than getting more stuff done (like hugging, savoring a meal, or contemplating clouds).

I’ve written a bunch about the value of retreating. So has Jen Louden and Elizabeth Gilbert and a gaggle of other awesome people. Maybe there’s some merit to this slowing down thing. Just maybe.

Distracted?

If you’re distracted, just know that you’re in good company. Setting an intention to be kind to yourself and compassionate in your solutions can make a big difference.

Are these ideas helpful? What else helps transform your distraction?

5 comments

I have the right to express myself
to live my life as I see fit
to say no and mean it
to say yes with my whole being to what I love

I have the right to my own creative space
to draw a real or imaginary line around my domain and claim it for myself
to a door that closes
to absolute silence when I need it

I have the right to spread out
to interact with my ideas
to see them
to touch them
and doodle in the margins
until the ideas seep into my bones and become mine

I have a right to a sacred space
that is free from intrusions
that is free from guilt
that completely supports my spirit
that is truly sacred space
powerful as an ancient circle of standing stones

I have a right to fully inhabit my body and treat it with loving care
to a good night’s sleep, to clean teeth, warm hugs, and supportive ears

I have a right to a healthy relationship with myself
to choose gentleness
to change
to grow more deeply into my magnificent self
to learn to be my own best friend

I have a right to a space that allows me to become who I am
that helps me visualize my dreams so I can make them happen
that celebrates my gifts and all my senses
Because when I can hear my own deepest knowing, self-criticism dissolves
and in finding my own voice, I am better able to hear yours

I have a right to contribute something valuable to the world
I was born with gifts, talent and abilities that the world needs
While the world hungers for compassion, for wisdom, for beauty, for healing
my space gives me the grounding I need to courageously offer my service

I have a right to be here, in this world, at this time in history
Despite the risks of living, I know I am safe
I am loved
I belong
This life I’ve been given is a gift
and each day, I find gratitude
and new courage to live it

Comments? You’re invited to share thoughts or feelings that reading this brings up for you.

No comment to share? Feel free to add a little stone  -o-  to let me know you’re here and took the time to read (this delightful idea courtesy of Darcy).

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On a recent post, I mentioned how difficult it is to keep kitty litter off the keyboard A cat-savvy reader suggested this desk attachment called the Kitt-In Box.

Adorable, isn’t it? I’d be willing to bet that if I added a warming bed, it would be kitty bliss!

Hat tip to Nita for the resource!

3 comments

Back when I ran a staging business, I drove all over creation and hardly spent an hour at home. I’d have to remember to invoice them to get paid. I also only accepted checks from my clients. It was awkward and inefficient.

If I had this neat thingamajig back then? Wow.

It’s called SquareUp – a teeny credit card card reader that fits in your smart phone!

I don’t use this my self (no smart phone), but I’ve talked to a couple of people lately who do — and who can’t say enough good things about it. It’s great for business owners on the go.

The Square itself is free and the pricing to use it is about the same as PayPal. When you swipe cards with Square there is just one fee: 2.75% and when you enter the number manually, it’s 3.5% + 15¢ per manual entry transaction — and the money goes right to your bank account. No other fees or contracts.

Currently, the Square works on Apple iOS and Google Android devices. You just download the app and go! Pretty cool!

6 comments

Boundaries, continued

Did you ever have one of those “Okay, fiiiine. I’ll do it” moments? Someone wants something from you. You know that whatever is being asked is too much, but you say yes anyway?

Yup. Me too.

“Okay, fiiiine” is a way of permitting something into your life, into your calendar, into your mind. In the moment, it usually feels like you don’t have a choice. Your daughter didn’t work out a ride to dance class. Your spouse forgot to switch the laundry from the washer to the dryer. Your client needs to meet with you at a time of day when you’re kinda groggy and not on your game. You don’t want to, but you do it anyway.

Psst! It’s sacred.

Most people slip through this moment without realizing what’s just happened. Believe it or not, it’s sacred. “Okay, Fine” is an opportunity to honor your boundaries in relationship to time and to commitments. It’s a sacred moment when you’re given the chance to act toward your highest good.

The goal isn’t to say no to everyone, the goal is to recognize that you have a choice in that moment. To wake up to the possibility that the world doesn’t need to rest on your shoulders alone. If you can recognize this opportunity to choose, you can begin to develop your No muscle, your Work it out yourself and get back to me muscle, and your I accept this request and will gladly do it muscle. Powerful stuff!

Over time, requests for your attention, time and talent can fall into elegant categories. No, thank you becomes a viable answer. Resentment falls away. It’s as if you develop your own inner stoplight, complete with green arrows, blinking yellows, and solid red. You develop your own boundaries. People trust you more. You trust yourself more too.

Playing with “Okay, Fine” in your workspace

When you have too many Okay, Fines on your to-do list, your life can feel pretty crazy. When you have lots of Okay, Fines on your desk, it can look pretty crazy. I’m sure this isn’t news.

It can be really helpful to look at the sources. Sometimes things end up on your desk because you have a boundary you’re unconscious of or haven’t enforced. For example, there’s cat litter on your keyboard again — and you suddenly realize this bothers you. Or someone interrupts you while you’re working — and although you love them, you dislike their timing. Or you’ve gotten another one of those catalogs for the nth time — and realize you don’t want to keep shoving them around.

And remember that you have a choice.

Because you do. And it’s a sacred, precious thing.

The sneaky stuff that skips “Okay, Fine” entirely.

Lots and lots of stuff sneaks into our spaces before we even get to Okay, Fine it. It slips under the radar without our say-so.

Email, for example. Messages and invitations on Facebook. Free bonuses. Jury summons.

It’s sneaky stuff. For all intents and purposes, it looks like stuff you have to do. It piles up or comes unbidden and the assumption is that you have to do it all. Use it all. But you don’t, because you have a choice.

It might seem selfish to consider your needs first, but it’s not. In fact, by doing this, you’re modeling for others how to care for themselves and empowering them. It’s a double sacred gift: you grow more grounded and so do the people around you.

Turning off the hose

When you’re not sure how to choose or your boundaries are unconscious, it’s like a garden hose with no nozzle for regulating the flow. That sneaky stuff leaks (or sprays!) into your space without your consent.

Let’s say that you wanted to practice exercising this choice. One of the best tools in the Inspired Home Office lineup is the Wish Kit for helping you determine what you want in your workspace. This a powerful tool helps you practice using choosing and focusing on what you want (rather than what you don’t want). You begin to move forward quickly.

So start by thinking about what you want in your space – physically, energetically, emotionally, practically, and in terms of your boundaries. It could look like anything!

Once you have some clarity, you can set up some structures that honor your boundaries in your space. Here are a few ideas:

* Placing a beautiful cloth over monitor at the end of the day
* Having a door that closes
* Wearing noise-canceling headphones
* Asking for what you need (not be interrupted, bandwidth use)
* Proactively removing irritants – unsubscribing to newsletters, people who irritate you on Facebook or twitter, etc.
* Setting up email filters
* Setting up work hours and play hours
* Putting “buffer time” or transition time between activities
* Scheduling vacation time (even if you stay home)
* Culling out resources you no longer use that take up space
* Relocate the cat boxes to another room

These actions turn off the hose of frustration, resentment, and overwhelm. What boundaries would you like to establish in your own environment?

No matter where you start, know that establishing healthy boundaries, “letting your yes mean yes, and your no mean no” is a process. It takes time. Bring gentleness and curiosity to your process and you’ll see results in no time.

7 comments

I played two rounds of Monopoly® this weekend. I normally hate this game with the fiery passion of a thousand suns. I hate that it pits normally kind people against each other, transforming them into competitive jerks who wish ill on their friends. I hate that it brings out sneakiness and greed. It’s also one of the few games that, if you play well, goes on and on interminably. Sorry. Not interested.

However, we had an unopened National Parks version that intrigued me. It has lovely pictures of Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, many other places I’ve never been. The Chance cards were birds and animals. This was not the game I grew up with. And the game pieces? Adorable! I also discovered that there are several “fast game” options. So, I chose a hiking boot and a bicycle and played a round against myself.

Right away, I started rooting for Boot. Boot was a hard worker and Bicycle liked to coast through life. 30 minutes later, Boot had lost and Bicycle was barely ahead as the winner. In evaluating the first round, I noticed that Boot and Bicycle both purchased land and tents as soon as possible. They spent beyond their means of $200 per go-around. When disaster struck (like getting caught littering – a $200 fine), they were unprepared. Major tent repair caused Boot to lose.

As I reflected on the game later, I realized that these spending habits reflect my own relationship with money (not coincidentally). I started to wonder if I used some structure, some kind of rules to guide my spending, would the game last longer? Would I collect more national parks? Could I buy more tents?

I wasn’t looking to defile the national park system, I just started feeling curious. What could I learn about money systems from this game? On my second round the following day, I decided that Boot and Bicycle would be more discerning in their purchases. Collect properties you can afford, but nothing more than a quarter of your total cash. In addition, I set up a rule that they would reserve a $500 bill they weren’t allowed to spend, to create a cushion.

I started the game and immediately a trend showed up: Bicycle was luckier than Boot. Within the first half hour, Bicycle had won a fishing contest ($200), become a Junior Ranger ($60) and saved a rare bird species ($200). Boot had gone to jail twice (-$100) (I didn’t ask why), missed several opportunities to collect $200, and had to pay unexpected fees (-$300).

In a way, this variability is kind of like life. Sometimes things are lean. Sometimes you luck out. Having spare cash for the challenging times can tide you over. This time, neither side blew it. Despite the bad luck, Boot hung in there. I played for 2 hours with no sign of ending and I was actually enjoying myself.

No ending was foreseen, that is, until I walked away from the game for a snack. Our tuxedo cat, Pepper, lay down in the middle of the board and discovered that game pieces make fantastic toys. When I returned, my little domain was demolished. Game over. So, I counted up my cash. Boot: $1750, Bicycle: $2485. A win, but not a landslide. Interesting!

Despite everything I’ve said about Monopoly® before, this was a really fun experiment for improving my financial health. In my business this year, I’ve started thinking about creating spending and saving goals. I like the idea of creating some structures that encourage flow without increasing fear or scarcity.

• Create a cushion of cash that I simply don’t spend
• Save a larger portion of my income for taxes and unexpected expenses (like repairs)
• Continue to pay down debt aggressively, but not to the point where it affects cash flow for normal expenses
• Decide which tools would help me accurately see and understand my current financial position so I can make healthy decisions

I may never play another round of this game, but the lessons I learned were so useful, you could say I’m taking them to the bank! Running a business from my home office can be more effective if I have financial processes along with paper management, marketing, etc.

As a side note, some Monopoly affectionados have made a science of winning at Monopoly. I suspect there are some lessons that can apply to running a small business as well!

Have you learned about money structures or systems in fun ways? Feel free to share!

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