Tag Archives: Environment

The Impact of a Stand Desk

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In my November note, I said there would be a piece on my new stand desk. Why did I do it? Fad? Physics? Productivity? Let me take you on a short journey…

My old office arrangement, even when I had cleared most of the clutter still looked, well . . .S's office after 4x6 (copy)

–  – cluttered.

I had recently finished working with a couple who worked from home.  She had build a rigid standing desk and loved it. He was building one for himself.  They were both enthusiastic for them. They had many positive things to say about them.  I became curious.

I saw a Kickstarter campaign to build a reasonably price standing desk that could be both – a sitting desk and a standing one. The campaign was very convincing – lots of studies extolling the benefits of a standing desk.

Research was needed.  

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Sitting is the new smoking.

What began as a curiosity has provoked a great deal of studious inquiry.  Results?

• Reduced risk of obesity

• Reduced risk of Type 2 diabetes and other metabolic problems

• Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease

• Reduced risk for many kinds of cancer

Wow! And that’s just what the Smithsonian Magazine reported. (March 26, 2014)

Sitting six hours a day ups he death rate by 20% for men, 40% for women!

That’s scary while some other research says otherwise, but the consensus indicates we should be standing/walking at least 2 hours a day and then work up to 4.

OK – I got into the Kickstarter campaign and got my desk a couple of months ago.

I had to rearrange my office.

Time to declutter.

Pounds and pounds of files into the trash, Scan others.

4 file drawers to 2.

Fewer printers, fewer everything.

And the result?

StandDesk up sm

What a difference!  Take a look just at the top:

StandDesk down SM

No, I don’t stand all the time, but I’m standing more and more and sitting less and less. I find not only has the simplification made me more focused, but much more productive.  I love the top – it’s bamboo, my favorite building material.

You can jerry-rig a standing desk for yourself and try it. I like mine because I can take it up or down, and stop it any place that suites me or my arms or my chair (all at the touch of a button.) A programmer friend just bought himself one that uses counterweights to go up or down. He has a bit of a weight problem, so this is going to be good for him as well! And a major client I just worked with we designed his office so not only could he have a standing desk, but combine it with a treadmill!

If you want to see the one I bought, (also because I support new companies) go to

https://www.standdesk.co/

If you do try one, or have one, what about sharing? Post a comment. And I’ll stand for it!

Oh – Happy holidays too!

Interior Design vs Feng Shui

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Interior Design, by it’s very nature, is client centric. The designer takes the client’s requirements and creates an environment which pleases the client.  There’s nothing wrong with that and it works for many people, especially those who have very specific ideas about how they want things to look but don’t know how to get there.

Yin-Yang-by-Virtual-Alchemy-Feng Shui, good feng shui, is more holistic. The best feng shui creates a space that is balanced. Not just for the client, but for everyone who enters the space.  Feng Shui creates an enveloping  energy that is both positive and supportive of everyone.  In that sense, the path feng shui takes can incorporate the ideas of the client but goes far beyond. Sometimes good interior design can get there also, but the feng shui practitioner knows exactly how and where the path is.

Are you wanting to change a home? A business? A room?  Look at the work for both the feng shui practitioner and the designer. Talk with the friends of those folk and see where your scale balances. Feel unsure about this? You can give me a call and I will be glad to help guide you to your best decision. 541-488-1777.

Adding Feng Shui to your landscape

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Beauty almost always includes positive Feng Shui. Good modern design often means simplifying, so it often unknowingly incorporates basic Feng Shui.

Here’s a link to 10 backyard renovations, each and all of which bring beauty in simplicity. There’s only one problem: notice how angular and yang they are. If you like these ideas, soften the lines (bringing yin energy in) and enjoy the results.

http://tinyurl.com/mwazxdb Zen outdoor fountain

I hurt for the world

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It’s hard for me to stay positive, what with all the destruction I see in the name of profit. It’s hard for me to stay positive when I see we are willing to vomit on our food in the name of money for those newly found persons, the corporations. So when I hear that Bill Moyers has a conversation with Wendell Berry, it’s something I want to watch and listen to deeply. I invite you to do the same by going to http://tinyurl.com/kvazcvq. I invite your comments and reactions.1Wendell

Part 2 – What to Shred and When

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Shredding is great fun but not if you shred the wrong documents. Here’s your guide:

Monthly

Credit card receipts after reconciliation with the credit card statement. Don’t shred receipts needed for tax purses or warranties. Attach those receipts to either the user manual or the warranty.

Shred cancelled checks and debit receipts [again excepting those needed for taxes or warranties. My bank has a picture, front and back of all my checks, so a paper copy, mailed by the bank is redundant.]

Yearly Shredpaper-shredding-machine1

• Monthly retirement and investment account statements after they are reconciled with their year end statement.

• The monthly bank statement IF you have reconciled with the year end statement.

• Pay stubs after reconciliation with W-2s, 1099s or equivalents, the IRS has their own copy!

• Repeating monthly bill. Check it against last year’s to see that there is not some freak leak. [My utility company gives me a usage graph this year and last year, so I don’t need to do this comparison and I can just shred last years statement.]

After 7 or 10 years:
• Year end bank statements [if  not needed for tax purposes]

• Any titles, deeds, or surveys to any cars and/or property not owned for 7 years.

 NEVER SHRED

• Certificates of birth, divorce, death.

• Military service records [I have been hearing a horror story of a retired serviceman who is trying to get disability, only to have the Army “losing” his records….]

• Wills and Trusts, revocable and non revocable

• Power of Attorney documents

• Social Security reports

• Year- end retirement statements and policies

• Loans and mortgage paid-in-full docs

• Diplomas and transcripts

• Medical records

* Current resume

• Evaluation and receipts of valuables [art, silver, jewels]

Many of these documents really belong out of the home. A Safe deposit box is good. But make sure someone else who you trust is also on the safe deposit list and has a key. Why? If something happens to you, you die or are incapacitated, they can get whatever is needed.

Next up: Organize what you have and lose even MORE paper!

Why Push Declutter so much?

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Why do I keep talking about reducing/decluttering (however you want to call it)?  It’s simple: one big reason is we are in an avalanche of new knowledge.  If you want to understand just how big that avalanche is, take 5 minutes to watch the video at http://tinyurl.com/bhcjkco. Your comments are welcome.

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It’s amazing how serious sickness or surgery can change our lives. I recently had spinal surgery (five weeks ago) and watched my life move in a radical new direction. Email was no longer important. Cleaning the house took a backseat. Many of the things I thought were important, lost their importance. What emerged instead was massive attention to this body that carries  my spirit through this ephemeral world. Connections with friends achieved prominence in my attention and appreciation I have not known before. In other words, priorities got rearranged in a massive way. Not that I won’t return to the business of feng shui, clutter elimination, and reclaiming our lives, but then will have a different order in priority. I invite you, dear reader, to share any stories of this or a similar nature. It may prove to be a valuable lesson for us all.

More Freedom! More Life! More Joy!

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The latest group of friends who took the plunge and started getting a real handle on their over crowded lives. We met for the last time yesterday. Two could not be there due to personal emergencies, but I think you can tell from the expressions the class was a success. Soon I will announce a new class, RECLAIM YOUR LIFE, where we will come to understand why we gather too much and how to be permanently rid of that little barnacle that costs money, time, health and happiness. Stay tuned! If you’d like to be in on it, let me know and whether you’d enjoy a teleclass (if you’re out of the Rogue Valley.) If you have questions, contact me at info@Creative-Visions.co

Quantum Theory

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Do you think Quantum Theory has anything to do with Feng Shui and vice versa? And who cares anyway? Well, the more I study Feng Shui and the world, the more connections I’m finding between the two. At a recent celebration of Chinese new Years, I explained to about 80 people the connections I have found between the iChing, Feng Shui and Quantum Theory. It’s my thesis that the two are arriving at virtually the same place, one 3,000 years before the other. Which tells me 2 things: Westerners who dismiss Feng Shui are the same ones who feel horse drawn plows are better than tractors and much more efficient. And for friends born in the East if they think that having the bamboo flutes and the money frog will bring them luck, these folks belong with those who prefer Twinkies to a good solid meal. Either way, we need to knock down phony barriers and realize we are onto something very profound.

Lighting as a Tool

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In the midst of the dark days of winter, you become intimately aware of how light affects mood and disposition. In Feng Shui, different qualities, color, and intensity can be used for specific effect. You know this when a candlelit dinner suggests romance and a dank, dark day suggests crawling into bed with a good book. Using lots of bright light can enliven a party, whereas bright fluorescent lighting can make you want to escape. Some people are actually nauseated by the wrong fourescent bulbs. What’s to learn from this? When buying a lamp, or reducing your electric use by using compact fluorescent bulbs, pay attention to the Kelvin rating of the bulb you want to use. [Kelvin is the temperature of the light ranging from cold to warm.] A good lighting store will have boxes where the same photograph is lit with different lamps. Find the one that you resonate with and use that. All of us are different and respond differently, but it’s worth the time and effort if you’re going to enjoy your home or business, rather than finding yourself in a poor mood.