Squatty Potty

Posted by random olio

I know, I know… I somehow frequently bring up potty talk, but this time I could not resist. Last week I came across a Fast Company article about a new device called “Squatty Potty.” For those of you without kids, please keep reading as it is actually not a potty for training little ones. It is a potty for us all. I am including a video below that explains the process in full. The gist, in case you do not watch it, is this. For those of us that live in the western world, we sit on a nice porcelain vessel that allows for excrement to quickly flush away. What we have lost sight of is the best way for our bodies to shit it all out.

The Squatty Potty is a step stool of sorts that allows your feet to basically be the same height as your butt. When we sit normally on a toilet we are at a 90 degree angle, the Squatty Potty shifts your body to a 35 degree angle (see their website for illustrations). The way we sit on a toilet impacts our puborectalis muscle, and does not allow it to relax. By ensuring our body is in more of a squatting position, the puborectalis muscle is relaxed, allowing for ease in the pooping realm. Who knew!? I am fascinated.

Before I go out and buy one, I made a makeshift one yesterday out of 2 shoe boxes. If after a few days of trial I see amazing results, I might purchase the three pack. So beware future guests, you might just wonder why there is a “Squatty Potty” in your bathroom. It will be my treat to you.

What my email needs from you

Posted by random olio

Do you ever have days when you never see the end of your email inbox? When you could literally spend the entire day reading and responding to emails? I recently read this Fast Company article “Why Every Email Should Be 5 Sentences Long.” and it really made me think. What if we were blunt at the beginning of our email if we need someone to take action?

I will give you an example:

ACTION: I need you to review the below and give your feedback by 5 pm today.

[Body of the rest of your email that needs to be reviewed.]

I have always been of the email camp that an email should be a conversation, and I am not backing away from that stance. Except. Yes, there is an exception. I think it depends on the audience and intent of the email. If it is from a company and they are apologizing for an issue that they caused to a customer, then they need to have a more structured email. They need to greet the customer (just as they would if it was in person), state what needs to be said and conclude/say goodbye. That process I still strongly think needs to happen.

It is the action oriented emails that need a change in behavior. These are the exception. With the volume of emails that we receive on a given day, we all need help to know which emails are important. That is thanks to those of us who may have colleagues that have abused the red exclamation point to the extent that no one really knows if an email is truly urgent.

Try it today. Any action oriented emails, put ACTION at the top, and tell others right at the beginning what you need them to do with your message. I would love to hear how it goes.

Holstee Manifesto

Posted by random olio

Many of you may already be familiar with the Holstee Manifesto. It has inspired many individuals in the last few years to live their life, and live their passion to the fullest. Last week, I came across this Fast Company article about mindfulness that mentioned the Holstee Manifesto.

A bit of background from the Holstee website about how the Manifesto came about: “Together with good friend and founding partner Fabian, a new journey starts for Holstee. This small team sits together on the steps of Union Square to write down the things in life they want to work towards, value and not forget, an inside document that would later become the Holstee Manifesto.”

It was a good reminder for me as I had forgotten about Holstee and it reinvigorated my thoughts to slow down more. I have a tendency to go.go.go, and not slow down too often. The article mentioned six ways the guys at Holstee handle mindfulness:

Presence // Architect your life // Personal time // Ask “why?” // Know your food and appreciate meals // Understand the impact of what you buy

In this go.go.go world, I try to keep up. I could do a better job at staying present, talking less, and creating more boundaries around my time. There are so many ways in our lives that we can slow down, and yet we do not. I find that I often cram as much as I can into each day. On one hand I live my live life to the fullest, and enjoy each and every day, but does doing that also take a toll? What would it look like to just be a vegetable for an hour a night, rest, relax, and ponder your day? Yet, the Holstee Manifesto says “Life is short.” So maybe as long as you are doing what you love the rest does not matter.

What do you think?

Water can save a life.

Posted by random olio

It took me a few days to catch up on the world this week. I have felt that life has sent me a wave, and I have not done such a good job of riding it. Actually, I’ve belly-flopped a bit.

So when I finally caught up on my emails, and found a good friend had sent me a link to this poignant video, it was just what I needed to kick me in the ass, raise my head above water, and think about Nkaitole’s bucket list. You will have to watch to see what I mean. It will make you appreciate all that you have, it will make you cry for all those little precious ones that might not make it past their fifth birthday, and how access to water can change their world. Please watch.

I hope you did not skip ahead, and you took the time to go on an adventure and hear about Nkaitole’s bucket list. A foot in the ocean, a bubble bath, a hot air balloon ride.

More details about Water is Life.

More details about the lifesaving straw.

This girl kicks ass.

Posted by random olio

This video is making it around the Internet this week. I love it. Long live aunt flo! How easily I can remember fourth or fifth grade when we had “sex ed” and learned all about aunt flo. If only we had such a bad ass video at the time to feel empowered about the changes that were about to or were happening to us. I most vividly remember a video we watched on a film strip about finding out you had your period for the first time, and the emotional foreshadowing was of such gloom. Will anyone find out? Will the boys know? Who cares.

I only hope this video will empower girls to feel fierce, free, and normal about their period. The video below is called: “The Camp Gyno.” It is from a company called: “Hello Flo.” Such a clever idea to help girls acclimate into the world of womanhood. You will laugh, I promise you. This girl is hilarious, she takes getting your period to a whole new level. One of my favorite lines is: “It is like Santa for your vagina.” Be sure to check out the blog on their website. There are some fun and clever videos, and content that demystify “the period” for a girl.