Welcome to a collection of tools, books, and resources that have helped shape how I think about productivity, mindset, habits, leadership, simplicity, and wellbeing. These are my personal favourites — the ones I keep coming back to, recommending to clients, or gifting to people who are on a growth journey. If you’re ready to learn, reflect, and build new habits, you’ll find something here that speaks to you.
1. Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
A powerful reminder that focusing on less but better creates clarity and direction.
2. Atomic Habits
One of the best, most practical guides on how small changes add up to remarkable results.
3. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
A modern classic on habits that shape success, grounded in timeless principles.
4. Your Brain at Work
Insights into how our minds really work — and how to make them work better for us.
5. Deep Work
Essential reading for anyone who wants to protect focus in a world full of interruption.
6. & Dare to LeadDaring Greatly
Two transformative books on courage, vulnerability, and leading with heart.
Click here for Daring Greatly>>
7. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
Explores how our beliefs about ability and intelligence shape everything we do.
8. The Highly Sensitive Person + Highly Sensitive Parenting Guides + Highly Sensitive Child
Essential tools for empaths and caregivers navigating a world that can feel overwhelming.
Click here - Highly Sensitive Person>>
Click here - Highly Sensitive Parenting Guides>>
Click here - Highly Sensitive Child>>
9. Simplicity Parenting
A gentle guide to creating calmer, more secure childhoods through simplicity.
10. The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari & The 5AM Club
Inspirational reads that blend life philosophy with daily practice.
The Five Minute Journal
A beautifully simple tool to build gratitude, reflection, and intentional habits.
Moleskine Classic Notebook
Your best companion for thoughts, plans, reflections, and brainstorms.
Capsule Reuse Kits
Small sustainable choices I love for reducing waste in everyday routines.
I have worked in the resource extraction industry for most of my career: mining, energy and forestry. The biggest lesson I have learned is that we need to reduce what we consume and take care of what we have.
Buying new things made of any type of material, whether it be plastic, metal, wood, or glass, has an environmental cost. Even in a developed country with the most stringent environmental regulations, vegetation is removed, wildlife and fisheries habitat is lost and water is sometimes polluted.
When I started Simple North Coaching and Consulting, an important aspect of owning my own business was that it was aligned with my values. Stewardship is one of my key values. This is the definition that I use:
Stewardship: Taking care of the land, water, and all living creatures so that they can take care of us.
Part of stewardship is becoming aware of your own footprint and then reducing your footprint where you can. Years ago, I came across an article on plastic pollution and it introduced me to Plastic Free July. Plastic Free July is a campaign that encourages us to take action and reduce our plastic footprint.
Plastic pollution affects our environment, wildlife, and ultimately our own health. As leaders in our communities and in our own lives, it is important that we lead by example and take steps towards a more sustainable lifestyle.
The first step in reducing our plastic consumption is building awareness. Participating in Plastic Free July helps you do just that. I have participated in Plastic Free July for 4 years now and I can assure you that saving all the single use plastic that you consume in one month really does help you build awareness. We have done it both at home and while travelling. It has allowed us to observe our daily habits and become aware of the amount of disposable plastic items we use.
Once you have a clearer picture of your plastic consumption, you can start making simple shifts towards a more sustainable lifestyle.
For our first year, we were still shifting away from plastic water bottles and grocery bags. Now, we almost exclusively use our reusable water bottles and cloth grocery bags. We are still challenged by packaging on everyday items, especially groceries.
Here are 3 ways to help reduce your plastic this July (and hopefully all year)!
1. Reusable Alternatives:
One of the easiest ways to reduce your plastic footprint is to invest in reusable alternatives.
Replace:
2. Choose products without plastic packaging:
Avoid products with plastic packaging. When shopping, choose items that are minimally packaged or packaged in recyclable materials.
3. Reduce and reuse:
If you need motivation, the Story of Stuff is a great place to start.
In Whitehorse, we have some great local businesses that will help you reduce your footprint. If you haven’t already, check out:
- Fireweed Community Market
- Cultured Fine Cheese
- Yukon Refillery
- Riverside Grocery
- Yukon Soaps Company
- Aroma Borealis
- Whitehorse Community Thrift Store
By reducing your plastic footprint, you are not only protecting the environment but also setting an example for others to follow. As leaders, it is important to be mindful of the impact our actions have on the world around us. By taking simple steps towards a more sustainable lifestyle, we can create a ripple effect that inspires positive change in our communities and beyond.
“Be the Change You Wish to See in the World”
~ Ghandi
This July, I challenge you to be Plastic-Free!
Take a closer look at your plastic consumption and make a commitment to reduce your plastic footprint. Start small with simple shifts in your daily habits and gradually incorporate more sustainable practices into your lifestyle. Together, we can make a difference and leave our planet healthier for future generations.
Nourishing your body well during the summer can sometimes get a little challenging. With kids out of school and schedules changing, it can be difficult to stay on top of meal planning. However, with a little bit of organization and some helpful tips, you can simplify your summer meal planning and make sure you and your family are well-fed with nutritious food all season long.
One of the best ways to simplify your summer meal is to plan ahead. Instead of trying to figure out what to make for dinner each day, take an hour or two to plan out your meals for the entire summer. Start by creating a list of meal ideas for each month, along with the corresponding grocery list. This way, you only have to do your meal planning once, and you can easily repeat it for June, July, and August. I often use this tool to help plan out my meals.
To help make this process even easier, Chat GPT, an AI-powered chatbot, can help you generate meal ideas and grocery lists with just a few prompts. Simply enter in the types of meals you want to make (e.g. vegetarian, kid-friendly, quick and easy), and Chat GPT will provide you with a list of meal ideas along with the ingredients you need to buy.
A prompt you can use is:
“Create 1 month of summer dinners that include vegetarian on Mondays and Wednesdays, Taco Tuesdays, BBQ and salad on Thursdays and the weekend meals can be easily made at home or camping. Include grocery lists for each week”.
Another tip is to prep ahead of time. Consider marinating some of your proteins in the sauce and then freezing them. This way, they are ready to throw on the BBQ when you're ready to cook. You can also pre-chop vegetables and portion out snacks ahead of time to make meal prep faster and easier.
For adventure snacks, making a giant batch of healthy energy balls can help ensure the energy levels stay high enough to avoid meltdowns. These delicious bite-sized snacks are packed with nutritious ingredients like oats, nuts, seeds, and dried fruit. They are perfect for taking on hikes, road trips, or any summer adventure.
By taking the time to plan ahead, using tools like Chat GPT, and prep ahead of time, you can simplify your summer meal planning and make sure that you and your family are well-fed and happy all season long.
In a world filled with full calendars, more tasks than you can possibly complete and notifications coming at you from all angles, it's easy to get caught up in the negativity that surrounds us. As our daily world seems to just keep getting faster and busier, it's crucial to find ways to counteract this negativity and shift our focus to more positive thoughts. One powerful technique that can help with this is gratitude journalling.
Humans are wired to notice and remember negative events more vividly than positive ones, a phenomenon known as the negativity bias. This bias has been a survival mechanism throughout human evolution, as it helped our ancestors avoid dangerous situations and threats. However, in today's world, this bias can lead to increased stress, anxiety, and dissatisfaction.
Gratitude journalling is a simple practice that involves regularly writing down things that you are grateful for. By focusing on the positive aspects of your life, you can retrain your brain to notice and appreciate the good things around you. A gratitude journalling practice can create new neuropathways in your brain, leading to increased feelings of happiness, contentment, and overall well-being. As Tony Robbins points out, where your attention goes, energy flows.
Research in the field of positive psychology has shown that gratitude journalling can have numerous benefits. Studies have found that individuals who engage in regular gratitude practices experience improved physical health, better sleep, reduced stress levels, and increased feelings of happiness and joy. Additionally, gratitude journalling has been linked to stronger relationships, increased empathy, and a greater sense of fulfillment in life.
By taking just a few minutes each day to write down things that you are grateful for, you can begin to shift your mindset from one of negativity and lack to one of positivity and abundance. For me, I practice gratitude journalling in the morning, after I have enjoyed my cup of coffee. I love and recommend the Five Minute Journal. This journal provides space for you to jot down three things you are grateful for and three things that would make today great. For me, this serves as a reminder that each of us has the ability to create their days so we can enjoy them (note: this may require a mindset shift). It also includes space at the end of the day to reflect on what went well and what would have made it even better.
This simple practice can have profound effects on your mental and emotional well-being, leading to a more fulfilling and satisfying life. By setting aside a few minutes each day to reflect on the things that you are grateful for, your mindset will begin to shift toward finding the good that is already all around us.
As a leadership and lifestyle coach, I often work with clients who are feeling weighed down by their past experiences, beliefs, relationships, or physical stuff. One of the key areas that we focus on is the importance of shedding what no longer serves you so that you can make space for growth and transformation.
Just like a snake shedding its old skin to make way for the new, we too must learn to let go of the things in our lives that are holding us back or weighing us down. This can include limiting beliefs, negative self-talk, toxic relationships (or even relationships that just no longer bring us joy) or outdated habits that no longer align with who we are becoming.
Shedding what no longer serves you is a process of introspection, reflection, and intentional action. It requires a willingness to confront the parts of yourself that no longer serve your highest good and the courage to release them with love and compassion.
To begin the process of shedding, start by taking inventory of your thoughts, habits, and relationships. Notice where you are feeling stuck or stagnant, and ask yourself what beliefs or behaviours might be contributing to this feeling.
Then set intentions for what you want to release and make a plan for how you will let go of these things. This could involve setting boundaries in toxic relationships, challenging and reframing limiting beliefs, cleaning house, or implementing new habits that support your growth and well-being.
Remember that shedding/letting go is a continual process of growth and evolution. Be patient and kind with yourself as you navigate this journey, and celebrate each small step towards living a more aligned and authentic life. By letting go of what no longer serves you, you create space for new opportunities, relationships, and experiences to enter your life and propel you toward your full potential.
When things get busy, we can often find ourselves juggling multiple responsibilities, trying to maintain a balance between our professional and personal lives. However, sometimes things seem to just not add up and everything can start to seam harder than it is.
The stress of managing work, family, and personal life can become overwhelming, leaving us feeling drained and unable to be the best version of ourselves. In such situations, it can be time to start subtracting. By simplifying our mindset, calendar, to do list and our stuff, we can live and work within our own capacity.
Here are 5 ways to start subtracting, plus a bonus to help you recharge:
1. Prioritize and Delegate
One of the first steps to simplify your life and work is to prioritize your tasks. Create a list, if you haven’t already. Then determine what is most important, what can be delegated to others, what can wait for later and what can be eliminated. As humans, we often take on too much, trying to do everything ourselves. However, by delegating tasks to our partners, children, or colleagues, we can free up time and energy to focus on what truly matters.
2. Set Boundaries
Setting boundaries is crucial for maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Establish clear boundaries between your work and personal life, and communicate them to your colleagues, friends, and family. This may involve setting specific work hours, turning off work notifications during personal time, or designating a specific space for work. By setting boundaries, you can create a more balanced and less stressful life.
3. Declutter Your Space
A cluttered workspace or home can lead to a cluttered mind, making it difficult to focus and be productive. Take some time to declutter your space, getting rid of unnecessary items and organizing the rest. This will not only create a more peaceful environment but also make it easier to find what you need when you need it.
4. Limit Distractions
Distractions can significantly impact our productivity and ability to focus. Identify the distractions in your life and work, such as social media, excessive email checking, or unnecessary meetings, and limit or eliminate them. By reducing distractions, you can increase your focus and productivity, allowing you to live and work within your capacity.
5. Learn to Say No
Sometimes, we take on too many responsibilities, thinking that we can handle everything. However, this can lead to burnout and decreased productivity. Learn to say no to additional tasks or commitments that don't align with your priorities or that exceed your capacity. This can help you maintain a more manageable workload and avoid feeling overwhelmed.
6. Embrace Self-Care
Self-care is essential for maintaining our physical and mental health, which in turn helps us be more present and more effective in our work and personal lives. We sometimes think of self-care as a day at the spa, but self-care can be as simple as making sure you get in your daily walk. Make time for regular exercise, a healthy diet, and adequate sleep. And if you can, set aside time for hobbies and activities that bring you joy and help you relax. When we take care of ourselves, we can better manage our work and personal lives and the thoughts and feelings that come with it. We can also show up better for those most important to us.
Remember, simplifying your life and work is an ongoing process. It's important to regularly reassess your priorities and make adjustments as needed. By removing the clutter and focusing on what truly matters, you can live and work within your own capacity, leading to a more fulfilling and balanced life. So, when things aren't adding up, start subtracting. Your future self will thank you for it.
Quarterly planning is a great way to stay focused on achieving your goals throughout the year. Quarterly planning allows you to break down big goals or projects into manageable chunks that can be completed within a 90-day period.
Quarterly planning is important for two reasons:
Goals can be focused on what you want to achieve. They can also be focused on how you want to show up – for yourself and for those around you. Whether it's for your professional development or personal growth, having a plan in place can help you build awareness by tracking your progress and allows you to make necessary adjustments along the way.
Here are 7 Steps to Help You Make Quarterly Planning A Success
Step 1 – Identify your Goal(s)
Clearly define 1, 2 or 3 goals that you want to achieve within the next three months (90 days).
Step 2 – Define the Outcome
Take a moment to define what the outcome that you want looks like. Make sure your goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). This will help you stay on track and measure your success at the end of the quarter.
Step 3 - Break it Down
Break down each of your goals into smaller steps. This will make your goals more manageable and help you stay motivated throughout the quarter. For example, if your goal is to update the Policies for your department, you can break it down:
1. Create a list of all the policies your department has.
2. Review each policy and identify which of those policies require updates.
3. Complete the update for Policy ABC.
4. Completed update for Policy XYZ.
5. Provide update to your team on the Policy Updates and what that means for them.
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Step 4 – Create a Plan
Create a plan for each of your goals that includes the tasks, and perhaps subtasks, that will help you get there. You can identify due dates for each task and assign tasks to different people in your team. This also allows you to identify tasks that need to be completed before moving on to a task that is dependent on the task before it is completed.
For the Policy example above, you can outline Tasks 1 to 5 in a table, estimate the time each task will take and then assign a due date to each. This is also a perfect opportunity to think big picture and identify what you can automate, delegate or eliminate.
Step 5 — Make Time
You can’t achieve your goals if you don’t allow yourself time to focus on them. Schedule 60 to 90 minutes a day to advance your big goals, one step at a time. Or schedule a Sprint (more to come on Sprint’s soon).
Step 6 - Check In
To help you maintain your success, consider incorporating regular check-ins into your plan. This can be a weekly or bi-weekly review of your progress to see if you are on track and if any adjustments are required. This can also help you stay accountable and motivated to keep working towards your goals. To help you remember, you can add these reviews to your calendar.
Step 7 – Quarterly Review
At the end of the quarter, hold your own “quarterly review”. This could include:
Reflecting on that the last quarter:
Looking ahead to the next quarter:
If you are anything like most people I know (including myself), you are juggling multiple responsibilities at work and at home. You want to excel in your career and maintain a fulfilling personal life. This is often a recipe that leads to feeling stressed and overwhelmed. When your brain is full and you don’t know where to begin, taking a few minutes to do a brain dump can help you clear your mind and remember what your priorities are.
Brain dumping is the process of taking all the thoughts swirling around in your head and putting them down on paper. This technique can help you organize your thoughts, prioritize tasks, and reduce mental clutter. By externalizing your thoughts (on paper or in a digital system), you free up mental space and make it easier to focus on the tasks at hand.
To start, find a quiet space where you won't be interrupted. Then turn off all the distractions (pings, sounds, phones, etc.). Take out a pen and a notebook and start by writing down everything that's on your mind, without editing or censoring yourself. This can include work tasks, personal errands, emotions, worries, ideas, or anything else that's occupying your mental space.
When doing a brain dump, it's important to include all aspects of your life. This means listing work-related tasks such as project deadlines, client meetings, and emails to respond to, as well as personal responsibilities like doctor appointments, kid's activities (or your own), grocery shopping, and household chores. By including both work and home life, you create a whole picture of everything that needs your attention.
Once everything is out of your head and down on your paper, it's time to make sense of the information you've gathered. Start by categorizing your list into different sections, such as work, personal, health, finances, and so on. This will help you identify key areas that require immediate action and prioritize tasks accordingly.
Next, apply filters to sort through the information and identify what's important. Ask yourself questions like:
What tasks are time-sensitive?
What tasks can be delegated or postponed?
What tasks require long-term planning?
What items are within my control, within my influence or out of my control and influence? For those that you have no control or influence over, let them go.
What tasks are in alignment with my priorities?
By filtering your brain dump, you can create a roadmap for tackling your responsibilities in a structured and efficient manner.
And NOW, it's time to take action. Start by creating a to-do list with the most urgent and important tasks at the top. Break down complex tasks into smaller, more manageable steps to avoid feeling overwhelmed. Set realistic deadlines for each task and track your progress as you work through your list.
In addition to prioritizing tasks, it's important to schedule regular brain dumps to prevent mental clutter from building up. Set aside time each week to review your to-do list, add new tasks and priorities — and remove any that are completed or are no longer important to you.
In today's fast-paced and constantly connected work environment, it can be challenging for professionals to find the time and space for deep, focused work. The concept of deep work, popularized by author and professor Cal Newport, emphasizes the importance of creating uninterrupted blocks of time to engage in cognitively demanding tasks that require intense concentration and focus.
The work of professionals often involves complex problem-solving, data analysis, and innovative thinking. However, the constant influx of emails, meetings, and other distractions can hinder our ability to dive deep into our work and produce high-quality results. This is where the practice of incorporating deep work blocks into our daily routine becomes essential.
Cal Newport defines deep work as "the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task," and argues that this type of work is becoming increasingly rare and valuable in today's knowledge economy. In his book "Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World," Newport highlights the benefits of cultivating deep work habits, such as improved productivity, creativity, and satisfaction in our work.
Research psychologist and author Adam Grant also emphasizes the importance of creating uninterrupted time for deep work. In his book "Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World," Grant explores the habits and practices of successful entrepreneurs, artists, and innovators, many of whom carve out dedicated blocks of time for deep, focused work.
For professionals in fields such as science and engineering, where innovation and problem-solving are paramount, incorporating deep work blocks into our workday can have a significant impact on our productivity and success. By setting aside specific chunks of time for undisturbed focus, we can immerse ourselves fully in our work, tackle challenging problems, and make meaningful progress on our projects.
To effectively implement deep work into our routine, it is crucial to establish boundaries and create a conducive environment for concentration. This may involve setting specific times each day for deep work sessions, minimizing distractions such as notifications and interruptions, and communicating our need for uninterrupted focus to colleagues and supervisors.
Incorporating deep work blocks into our workday is essential for nurturing our creativity, problem-solving skills, and overall productivity. By prioritizing uninterrupted time for deep, focused work, we can harness our cognitive abilities to their fullest potential and achieve our professional goals with greater efficiency and satisfaction. As Cal Newport aptly puts it, "Deep work is like a superpower in our increasingly competitive 21st-century economy." Embrace this superpower and unlock your full potential in the realm of science and engineering. The ability to carve out dedicated time for deep work will not only enhance your professional performance but also foster a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment in your work. So, set aside distractions, create space for deep focus, and watch as your innovative ideas and impactful contributions flourish in the world of science and engineering. Here's to embracing deep work and reaching new heights of success in your professional endeavors.
Our work lives are often filled with a multitude of tasks, projects, and responsibilities that can, at times, feel overwhelming. The rock, pebble, and sand analogy serves as a valuable framework that we can use to manage our workload effectively.
In this analogy, rocks symbolize the most crucial tasks that align with our long-term goals and values. These are the projects that will have the greatest impact on our work and our careers. Pebbles represent important but not urgent tasks that require our attention. And finally, the sand is the smaller stuff, less important tasks that can easily consume our time if we are not careful.
In our professional lives, it is easy to get caught up in the minutiae of daily tasks - the sand. The never-ending stream of emails, meetings, and minor responsibilities can often distract us from focusing on our rocks - the tasks that truly matter and contribute significantly to our overall success. As professionals, it is crucial for us to prioritize our rocks and ensure that we allocate the necessary time and resources to accomplish them.
One important point that is not often brought up is the fact that not all rocks, pebbles, and sand will fit into the jar. This is a fundamental principle that we must internalize. We must learn to discern which tasks align with our goals and values and say no to those that do not serve our priorities. This can be a challenging practice, particularly in a culture that glorifies constant busyness and productivity. But by setting boundaries and making intentional choices about where we invest our time and energy, we can avoid becoming overwhelmed by the sheer volume of tasks that come our way.
Learning to say no is not about being inflexible or uncooperative; rather, it is about preserving our mental bandwidth and ensuring that we have the capacity to excel in the areas that matter most to us. By prioritizing the rocks that align with our goals and letting go of the sand, we create space for deep focus, creativity, and innovation in our work.
The rock, pebble, and sand analogy can serve as a guiding framework for us to navigate our work (and home) lives successfully. By prioritizing our rocks, pebbles, and sand and learning to say no to tasks that do not align with our goals, we can cultivate a sense of clarity, purpose, and fulfillment in our professional (and personal) endeavours. Embracing this mindset will not only enhance our productivity and efficiency but also contribute to our overall well-being and success in the long run.
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