Author: Tova

On January 13th 2010, Elie bought me an iTouch as a gift. I remember the date because it was the twins due date. He was being thoughtful, buying me something I wanted on a day that was all about not having what I wanted.

I quickly took to the gadget, installed apps and started using the calendar… a few months later I got an iPhone and dumped my traditional calendar and notepad and have never looked back.

Until recently.

We were preparing for our vacation and my head felt like the inside of a pinball machine with all the bits and pieces of information I was tossing around in it. Work stuff, family stuff, Muchness stuff. The truth is, I never fully integrated the digital organization system into my life. Not fully. When I was finally able to admit it to myself, I decided enough was enough.

I know that little notebooks have never worked for me for all sorts of reasons, and I know that no matter what I choose to use to it has to be Muchy and call out to me if I’m gonna be consistent about it. So I went to an art and stationary store to see what I could find and it did not disappoint. Like a beacon of color and Muchness, the wall of personal organizers called out to me. I found the color – PINK! – that felt right and then- I turned the corner and saw the most amazing display of specially designed little papers and pockets and rulers and knick-knacks- even colorful post-it notes, all made to fit into the book.

I figured if this didn’t help me get organized, nothing could.

It’s been about a month.

I’ve been asked by more than one person if I am one of those people who refuses to “upgrade” to a digital system. My answer is NO! I have upgraded FROM a digital system to a system that works for ME! My book fits in my bag. It goes with me everywhere. I’ve stopped using a wallet and keep all my credit cards and cash in the book. (which, is actually not much larger than my wallet, and a LOT more practical.)

The fact is, now that I have started sticking to a system that works for me, I feel more organized and less stressed. I’ve gotten things off my to-do list that have been on it for months years and every time I grab that well-made pink book from my bag to make a note of something, I get a jolt of Muchness because my head feels less jumbled and I know if I mark something in there, it’ll be right where it’s supposed to be.

Now, you know I am a product designer and inventor, and I TOTALLY have 100 ideas for how to take that baby up a notch and make it even MORE functional and awesome. (Are you listening FILOFAX people- I’m talking to YOU!!! Call me! 😉 ) But check out what I DID do:

I created custom colorful subject tabs for the things in my life I need to keep organized and easy to access…. ***Side Note: What does it say that the MUCHNESS tab is before the FAMILY tab? And that BRAINSTORM tab? That’s where I put all my REALLY new ideas. 😉

Then, taking a tip from my OOTM (Obsession of the Moment) Marie Forleo, I created something that I was surprised filofax didn’t already make; a YEARS in advance calendar. (Since they didn’t have one, I got to make mine muchy) See, Marie says that in order to reach our goals, the first step is CLARITY- knowing exactly what those goals are. She also had a sit-down with another inspiring woman, Gabi Bernstein, who said the following: “Those who are certain of the outcome can afford to wait, and wait without anxiety.” and a little less anxiety is a huge gift to myself these days.

I have a long term goal (is 18 months technically “long-term”? Cuz to me it feels like forever from now… I’m a NYer- I like to move quickly…) and I am certain of the outcome- and so I put it on my calendar.

My the time September 2013 rolls around, I expect to be at my goal. Seeing it every day (multiple times) when I open my filofax reminds me what I’m working towards and that it WILL be reality.

~~~~~Side story I was reminded of…~~~~
I met Elie in November 2005. When I bought my 2006 calendar just a couple of weeks later, I went about filling in all the birthdays and anniversaries of my friends and family… Being silly, I did some basic time calculations and ‘decided’ I was going to marry this guy I’d been dating for basically 10 minutes, in October 2006. There were a bunch of jewish holidays in October and only two sundays that would be logical wedding dates. I marked one on the calendar as “my wedding day” and promptly forgot about it. By the time February rolled around I’d totally lost the calendar… long story short, I don’t even need to finish the story, right? I found the calendar years later when I was pregnant with Molly and we were moving into our house and lo and behold, we’d gotten married on “My Wedding Day.” See? this stuff works. 😀

Which brings me to my Pic Of the Day!

Yes, That’s me and my Filofax. (With my Marie Mantra “Everything is Figureoutable” sticker on the side.) It’s not just that my filofax makes me feel muchy, it’s that I took this pic while waiting for them to finish my car’s oil change, which was well overdue, but finally got done cuz I put it in the book!!

***Note to self- put “eyebrow grooming” in the book. That’s also been on your to-do list forever.

***Edited to add: Filofax didn’t pay me to write this- though they really should have. 🙂 I just really love that product.

Today was exhausting. In a good way. Good stuffs brewing. But bedtime with Liat- that’s awesome stuff. 🙂

I need your help!!! 

Marie Forleo (Former Muchness Chic Of The Week!) is the founder of a Multi-Million dollar business coaching company for women and she is my BFF. OK, maybe not my BFF– yet…. She actually doesn’t know me at all, but she creates these incredibly watchable and insightful and inspiring business coaching videos and a recent one talked about how you can manifest stuff that you want and I want to be Marie’s BFF. So there. By my calculations, I’m about halfway towards my goal.

Marie’s been sharing these free business coaching videos in preparation for the main event, her Upcoming Seminar… Rich Happy & Hot B-school, which I am DYING to go to.

This mornings video ended with an opportunity to WIN a scholarship to her upcoming seminar. These are her rules:

SCHOLARSHIP RULES: Create a video under 2 minutes long. Tell me who you are, what your business is and the bigger WHY behind it. How does your business change the world? I’m looking for heart, creativity and the ability to follow directions.

I was SO INSPIRED after hearing her video I literally walked out of my office, went down to sit on a bench in the middle of Midtown Manhattan, in the middle of a light drizzle, and made this video.

[youtube_sc url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX4cSC6bWzE”]

(I plan to add in text that a portion of the proceeds from sales of Muchness Bands goes to Baby loss or Women & Children based charities…. oh, and I plan to edit out 6 seconds so I follow the rules :-))

So, here’s where you come in. Do you think it’s “enough?” It’s pretty straightforward – no major bells and whistles, but it’s honest and comes from the heart AND in a surprise coincidence, meets my obligation for a Day 7 headshot challenge posting!

I’d love your feedback before I submit it on her site!! If I don’t win this scholarship, it’ll be a lot harder to meet Marie and manifest our BFF-ness into reality—- I’m counting on you!!!

***Note to Self: You should really do something about those bags under your eyes. Sleep would be a good place to start.

Here’s the thing about The Muchness Challenge. It really does things you don’t expect. For many of us, getting out of a mental loop of sadness or frustration or darkness is an overwhelming task. There have been people that have started the challenge with the idea that they are going to do monumental posts every day… Their expectations are so high… And then, feeling overwhelmed by the enormity of the task they’ve laid before themselves, they skip a day, and then they feel bad (which is SO the opposite of the point!) and then they give up.
That sucks.
That is one of the primary reasons I encourage you to pick a theme. I’ve been emailing with some new members to help them find a theme that’s right for them (and I’d love to help you too if you’re feeling stuck too!!)
When you pick a theme it helps you tune in your Muchness antenna to a specific area, rather than randomly looking all over the place. It helps you really think creatively and push yourself out of your comfort zone so you can grow. It also, ironically, helps you “phone it in” on days when you just don’t have a lot of time, but will lose momentum if you skip a day. (and those posts, contrary to what you might think, are often the most rewarding days when you look back on your journey…) Ultimately- picking a theme allows you to create a series of photos that, one by one may not be earth shattering, but when compiled over the course of 30 days, tell a story, to you and your readers, about who you are and how these 30 days have watched you blossom.
Don’t set yourself up to fail by trying to write the journey in advance – it doesnt work that way. Just start. Day One. Just experience it, day by day. One Muchness Moment at a time.
—
So, as you might know, my theme for this challenge is my face. The one I show the world every day. It might not be the most fascinating thing youve ever seen, but it’s conveniently located right above my shoulders all day every day, and convenience is important- I’m a busy girl. 🙂 Whats most important is what its doing inside my head. I started with just my pic and no plans, and already at Day 6 I’m Feeling inspired and creative and looking forward to the little things I can do for myself to keep my photos creative and honest!
Today, I treated myself to a fresh fruit smoothie. I was mad rushed all day and skipped lunch. When I left work I was starved but normally would talk myself out of buying a smoothie cuz they’re $9(!!!!!) but today I treated myself- and it was a muchtastic treat as I ran to catch my bus. 🙂

At my job I design leggings. Tons and tons of leggings.
We have solid color leggings, denim leggings, floral leggings, tie-dye leggings, sparkly leggings, bike length leggings… You name it, we make it. When people make the mistake of wearing leggings incorrectly, I hold myself just a bit responsible.
Today we got in some samples of leopard print leggings and I needed to make sure they were sized correctly. I asked my fit model to try the size medium. I put on the small.
We bumped into each other in the hall and it was just ridiculously funny.

—note to self: you need a haircut. Looks like you bought a one-way ticket to split-ends-ville.

Today I finally let Molly put on the Hello Kitty press-on nails that she got for her birthday.

She was soooo happy. I was a conflicted combination of amused, slightly horrified, and a teensy tiny bit jealous.

About 10 minutes later she and Elie were chilling on the couch watching Nick Jr. when Molly discovered one of her nails was missing. She showed Elie the finger with the rogue nail.

Clearly, this is not a happy camper.