Post written by Leo Babauta. If you’ve noticed that I’ve been around a little less than usual in the past week, it’s because of two things: 1. I’m preparing for the launch of my book, The Power of Less, which comes out on Dec. 30. More exciting news on this soon!

Roughly a year ago, I wrote an article entitled Goals and Plans for 2008 that specified the things I intended to do during this year: eliminate all of my family’s non-mortgage debt (didn’t quite make it), start an investing plan (yep), double the readership of The Simple Dollar (yep), pull the trigger on three writing projects (two out of three ain’t bad), and spend more time wit

By Paul MichaelNora’s recent article “Saving the planet - one drop at a time” rang a bell with me as I was sat in the men’s bathroom at work yesterday. All the stalls were occupied and every minute I heard flushing. It was constant.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, right?

In this pose, we strengthen our legs, stretch out our backs, and build up some heat and energy in our body. It’s an excellent way to deal with stiffness from a long car ride. As in all yoga postures, the breath is vital. Benefits Helps relieve sciatica What to Watch Out For Check with your doc before doing this pose if you have high blood pressure or heart problems. Step By Step

Today we joyfully welcome Alex Fayle, author of the blog Someday Syndrome, as a guest author. He is a former procrastinator who now helps people break the procrastination obstacle so they can find freedom and start living the life they desire. Also, he’s a really nice guy. Welcome, Alex!

We’ve talked before about self-presentation and the importance of overcoming the stigma of self-marketing in the creative world. Unfortunately, nobody will represent you better than you. Forget PR and word-of-mouth, your career (and the success of your “product”) is 100% your responsibility. Creative talent is not enough.

My husband and I celebrated our fourth anniversary in September of this year. We just put up our first Christmas tree last week.

“Angela” writes in: What advice do you have for a frugal wedding? We’re getting married in the fall of 2010. Since we are both in our early twenties and don’t have a lot to spend we were hoping to keep our wedding as small as possible. We were thinking no more than six to eight people including ourselves.

Image courtesy of zaxl4 Would you like to become more productive by doing less? Would you like to be capable of solving complex problems with sudden bursts of insight? Would you like to learn how to apply consistent effort to complete the most daunting of tasks? Great! Do a jigsaw puzzle. Wait…What?

A few days ago, I saw news reports that in the January issue of O Magazine, Oprah reveals that she has gained forty pounds and now weighs 200 pounds.

Last year, in answer to reader questions, I suggested some personal-finance books that make good gifts. Though the list was good, I wished that there were more to it than just books. To that end, I’ve kept my eyes open in 2008 for other options for financially-themed presents.

The grandparents are chomping at the bit to shower our daughter with gifts this Christmas. I just found out that my mother-in-law has purchased a motorized jeep for our daughter that will have be stored at their house. We just don’t have the space to store it and our city street isn’t a great place for such a toy.