The Art of Jean Paul Gibbs

This is the art work of Jean Paul Gibbs, a young artist from Bristol.  I was disturbed and shaken when I first saw this image and it prompted me to look at more of his work.  He uses a variety of mediums to create some thought-provoking work.

Sticking to One Thing

Yesterday I thought it might be a good idea to have one project/area a month and only focus on that and that only for the entire month. Last night I decided that that was a good idea and I picked -Decluttering as my monthly theme.

The idea is that in my spare time I will only focus on decluttering. There a several reasons why this is a good idea. It will:

* help my Be Clutter Free business and my clients
* give me the totally decluttered home that I want
* enable me to have lots to write about in my decluttering blog

The most important thing
Clutter is not just about things - if I go through the whole house it will bring up a lot of 'stuff' which will be useful. You clear not just your things but your emotions. Decluttering helps you to create new and better systems. Streamlined systems are useful for scanners - they help you to get on with what you really want to do.

How and what I do around the theme is totally optional and depends on what I feel like doing. This will be the part that appeals to me as a scanner. There are no limits, as long as its about decluttering.

Last night I was going to carry on reading Edward de Bono's Thinking Course (great fellow who has great ideas that I try and implement - if only he wasn't so hard to read). Then I realised I was already breaking my own rules. Here I was choosing to read something in my spare time that was nothing to do with decluttering. Instead I took my iphone and looked at other decluttering webisites and blogs. This is a great idea - to provide useful resources for my clients and to give me inspiration too.

I am a bit scared. I've been decluttering my desk this morning and I feel quite tired - when I think about relaxing I think about doing something different than decluttering. This is interesting. I suppose that change not only gives the brain a boost but also a rest.

In the past my decluttering antics have been about spurts of activity. If I'm doing only this for a month then it does not have to be about manic activity to 'get it done.' I can please myself. Nice.

The Canteen in Bristol

You would not think that this ugly office building in Bristol housed a fantastic pub/restaurant/music venue.  The relaxed (although loud) atmosphere of The Canteen is conducive to a good time.  The food is delicious and amazing value (£6-£8 for a main meal with accompanying vegetable dishes).  You have a choice of six or seven things which are up on the large blackboard and change daily.  I was surprised to also be given an 'extra' (I hadn't ordered it) of some homemade soup to start with some delicious bread.

There is live music every night and the owner (very handsome) comes in with his lovely dog who likes to flit from punter to punter.

Monthly Focus

I've been looking at a few sites today which has inspired me to think about doing things in monthly blocks.  One of them is The Artist's Way.  This is twelve week course devised by Julia Cameron.  The idea behind this is to discover one's creative potential. Its something I started once but didn't see through to the end.

Barbara Sher recomends time tabling all the fun things we want to do into a year planner.  I might want to take this idea a bit further and timetable in some things that I also 'need to do.'  I am guessing that a month is long enough for any scanner to focus on something if that is all they have to focus on.  The idea is that for a month all my spare time will go on the topic for that month and nothing else.  Its possible that this may not work for me but its an idea that appeals at the moment.

Here are some ideas that I could timetable in:

• My own decluttering and decluttering blog
• My home
• My body
• The Artists Way - this would take up a 12 week period but would include all the creative things that I enjoy
• Relationships
• Helping Others
• Learning the guitar and appreciating music
• My Garden
• Increasing my income
• New Places
• Coaching
• Publishing my ebook

These ideas would take a whole year and a month. As Barbara Sher says is typical of scanners - sometimes they have so much they want to do that they end up doing nothing.  I do a fair amount but always feel I'm not doing eveything that I feel I should be doing or want to be doing and certainly nothing in enough depth.

Concentrated focusing should help me achieve a great deal which is something that makes me very happy.

We shall see.  For the last ten minutes I've been wondering what on earth I would do first and how I could possibly ignore everything else and only do that!

Many Scanner Things

 In true Scanner style I've been dipping in and out of things and not focusing on this blog.  I've been enjoying several things:

• putting all my music onto my iphone and actually listening to some of it
• learning the guitar
• making jewellery
• taking a lesson in jewellery wire work
• visiting my daughter in Bristol
• reading lots
• working
• learning more about digital photography
• scrapbooking
• watching House MD

Forum for Scanners

If you want a place to meet other Scanners then the Barbara Sher's Forum for Scanners is a good place to start.  I've only just discovered  it myself.  Unfortunately at the moment there does not seem to be lots of activity on it but its worth a look.

Understanding that there are lots of like-minded people out there feels good.  Its also a great place to explore ideas that the book Refuse to Choose does not cover.  For example, what are Scanner relationships like?  It has ocurred to me that if a Scanner has trouble sticking to just a few things does this apply to their social life too?  Are Scanners more likely to be serial monogomists or live in open relationships?  Do scanners have many friends too?  Do they get bored of their friendships?  This is a whole new and interesting topic.

Refuse to Choose

 I have purchased Refuse To Choose by Barbara Cher from Amazon and it is so illuminating.  It talks about Scanners and helps them to understand that their's is a great way of being.

The first thing that Barbara Cher recommends is buying a Daybook within which you can start to chart all your ideas.  The aim is to get into the essence of being a Scanner without shame or embarassement.  This book is aimed at being a celebration of who you are.

I went out today and purchased a Daybook and am really looking forward to using it.

The premise behind the book is that scanners should plan to do everything that they want.  Much of what the book talks about goes against the grain of conventional wisdom.  Yes, for me its inspiring, affirming and very, very exciting.

iPhone Delight

I have an iphone now.  It's a Scanners delight and fantastic for people who want to get organised wherever they are.  In theory it will help me do more with less effort.  Unfortunately it will not do my housework.

The only downside is that it loses memory really quickly.  Mind you - it is doing a lot of powerful stuff!

The apps available are large in number and there is something for everyone.  I've spent most of the last 24hrs playing around with my iphone and sadly, actually fell asleep with it in my hand.  I played with it in a cafe today and found I wasn't concentrating on what I was eating and dropped food onto my chest.

I love all my technology - laptop, pc and now my iphone.  Joy.

Fun on Stumbleupon

I was on Stumbleupon today and found this. It really made me laugh.

Stumbleupon is a great site for Scanners. You can choose categories that you are interested in and then get the site to find you random websites within those categories.  Beware!  It is also very time consuming.

If you have a website or blog you can add it to Stumbleupon.  If others land on your site they can give it the thumbs up or thumbs down.

As I've decided to embrace the scanner in me, Stumbleupon is perfect.  Its perfect for stimulating my senses and helping my creativity.  Today I've found really useful information for several areas of my life by using it.

Florence and the Machine.

I don't listen to music very much.  I don't see this as a good thing.  My children do and what they listen to is very eclectic.  This weekend they introduced me to Lungs by Florence and the Machine I had an emotional reaction to it.

There is something about the music and her voice which feels very primieval.

One of my Scanner desires is to listen to more music and really learn to appreciate it.

Decluttering Project

In one of my jobs (I imagine I am not the only scanner with more than one job) I am a decluttering coach.  I help people to declutter their lives.  At the moment I have embarked on a big declutter myself.  I'm going through the whole house, doing at least ten minutes of decluttering every day.  I am charting my progress on another blog.

I think this project will help not just me but my coaching clients too.  I declutter some areas regularly but I haven't done a whole house purge for about two years.

Goal Setting with GoalHappy

Sometimes setting goals is very valuable to me, sometimes I prefer to go with the flow.  If you enjoy goal setting and it works for you then have a look at this goal setting site.

The guy who designed it, Paul Bibby, did it when he was a physiotherapy student.  Its a great tool.  The site looks good and is simple and easy to use.  It's even got a cool name:  GoalHappy.  You can use it from your iphone too!

So far I've set myself the following goals:

• eat 5 portions of fruit and veg a day 
• drink5 glasses of water a day
  

Remember to set positive goals rather than negative ones.

I really want an iphone.  Perhaps for my birthday.

Finding Out About Scanners

Last week I listened to an audio from John Williams and recognised myself as a scanner.  It was a revelation and I am excited to see myself in these new terms. I've decided to celebrate the fact rather than feel guilty and fight against it.

This blog will be a record of my scanner ways!

If you have any of the following characteristics listen to this audio about scanners:

• interested in many things
• difficulty settling into any one carreer or job
• a love of learning
• creative
• starting lots of projects but not always finishing them
  

Listen to the audio and see if it fits you.  It was produced at John's monthly meeting for scanners in London.

John William runs a scanner website and blog ScannerCentral.com which has some useful advice and resources.