Christa Wagner

There is so much information available to us, but I know for the busy Moms out there, you don’t have time to make a dud dinner.   I cook nearly every day so I like to share with you recipes that are tried and true and winners in my home.   Most of the food I make is simple and easy and can be made in 30 minutes.  I use my Meal Planning Made Easy System to plan the meal and make sure I have all my ingredients. 

Today’s recipe is Mediterranean Chicken Burgers.   I originally found this recipe in Martha Stewarts Every Day Food Fast Cookbook; a fantastic cookbook.  But the original recipe called for chicken thighs which I don’t like so I modified it a bit.   Here is an outstanding chicken burger recipe that that will have your family asking for more. 

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In a recent blog post called 10 Worst Work Habits, we learned one of the top ten worst work habits is being a sloppy emailer.  As a follow-up, I wanted to share what I think that means and how you can avoid it.   Email is not something we were taught how to do, it just entered our world and we started using it.  Now we use it every single day and abuse it in many cases. 

In my opinion sloppy emailing is more than sloppy grammar.  If you are texting with a close friend, or even emailing a close friend, sure you can skip the grammar check.  But if you are in the work environment, be sure to spell and grammar check prior to sending.   I think that goes without saying so I am not going to even bother including that in my email rules to avoid sloppy emailing:

Use Descriptive Subject Line:  Your subject line can tell your reader how important the email is and the the context of the email. 

• Be clear and concise
• Be to the point
• Be descriptive
• Be informative
• Be specific
• Foreshadow the content to follow
• Avoid clever or cute headings

A great subject line is “Action:  Please submit your marketing plan to be my 5pm 5/15.

Skip The Long Paragraph Of Text:  I don’t know about you, but if an email is over a few lines I stop reading and therefore I am missing a lot of information.  Instead of a lot of text use short bullet points and indicate where actions are necessary with bold words like “Your action required.”

Limit Use Of Reply All:  I personally just wish this button would go away altogether, but since that is not likely we have to work together on this.  Before you hit that reply all button ask yourself if everyone really needs to know your thoughts, ideas or opinons.  For every email we send, we receive three in return.  If you send off an email to 20 people, think about how many emails that is in your inbox.   If you do have to send an email to a group, blind copy (BCC) everyone so reply all is not an option, or consider including verbiage: To save time, please reply only to me rather than hitting “Reply All.”

Use Email Lingo:   Again, no one has taught us to use email; we are doing the best we can.  Like I said at a seminar last week, we need to learn to manage email because right now its managing us.   Consider using email lingo like ‘No Reply Needed’ – added this to subject line – shorten to NRN
‘No Thanks Needed’ – same as above (NTN).   Using this lingo let’s people know you do not expect a response and will have less in your inbox. 

Come on, email can be a great tool but we have to learn to use it effectively.  Don’t be a sloppy emailer; use my suggestions and spend less time in front of that computer screen.

Email abuse has become a bit of a focus for me.  For other blog posts on email related topics, read One Step To Reducing Email Overload, Take Control Of Your Email Inbox, Reduce the Volume Of Email You Receive and Detox Your Inbox.   Consider hiring Savvy Solutions to help you or your employees Avoid Email Bankruptcy.

Proud Biz Owner - 2004

July 1st is Savvy Solutions 5 Year Anniversary!!!!  It’s hard to believe that it’s been five years since I launched.    In that time, we have worked with hundreds of clients on complex organizing projects as well as the simplest of organizing projects that made a huge difference in our client’s lives.  My business has grown, changed and developed and I could not have done it without the support of my clients, family, friends, other organizers and most of all my hubby John. 

Christa

Continuing with our 10 Positive Things About a Challenging Economy Series is #9: Reconnecting With Your Space.  I can’t tell you how many times I have heard someone say I need a larger space. But with larger space, comes more stuff and more to deal with.  Reconnect with your home and come to love the home you’re in today.  Declutter and remove items you don’t need, use or love.  Move the furniture around, paint the walls a new color, shift your art, move knick-knacks around, etc.  There are so many ways to reconnect with your space; the important thing is to create a space you love to be in and are proud of. 

If you want some help with your project, contact us and we will make sure you achieve your goals.   There are many great reasons to hire an organizer.

To read our previous tips, go to 10 Positive Things About a Challenging Economy, #1:  More time with family, #2 : Better food choices, #3: Exercise, #4: Using What You Have, and #5: Buying What You Need, and #6 Focusing on What Matters, and #7 Boost Creativity, and #8 Getting To Know Your Neighbors.

In a recent blog post called 10 Worst Work Habits, we learned one of the top ten worst work habits is procrastination.  As a follow-up, it seems important to share what I have learned about how to avoid procrastination and get things done. 

A basic definition of procrastination is putting off the things that you should be doing now.  Sometimes we do this because the task is something we really don’t want to do or perhaps the projects is too large and we are overwhelmed by it.  Other times, it cab be as simple as we are waiting for the “right time” of the “right mood”.

According to Time-Management-Guide, from an organizing perspective here are some reasons for procrastination: 

• Lack of clear goals
• Underestimating the difficulty of the tasks
• Underestimating the time required to complete the tasks
• Unclear standards for the task outcomes
• Feeling as the tasks are imposed on you from outside
• Too ambiguous tasks

So what can you do? 

1. Just get started!  The most challenging part of any task is getting started. Once you begin, the task is often easier than you expected.
2. Break the project down.  Chunk it down into smaller, more manageable parts. 
3. Schedule time on your calendar to complete each portion.
4. Set the timer and don’t allow distractions.
5. Avoid perfectionism.

If you still want to procrastinate, consider whether you should be doing the task at all or if you can hire someone to do it for you.  Stop procrastating and start doing – you will feel accomplished, successful, less stressed and enjoy more.

Before

Back in March we had a contest called Vancouver’s Ugliest Office Contest.  I partnered with Suze Interiors and we “made over” the Ugliest Office in Vancouver.  Our winner, Elyssa McKee lives in a two bedroom apartment with her husband Ryan.  They have lived in their home for four years and Elyssa uses her home for work and study.  Elyssa was great to work with and Ryan was amazing as he helped us while Elyssa was out of town at the end of the trip.   The photos speak for themselves……

Suze and I met with the client and assessed the situation, developed goals and prioritized.   Elyssa’s overall goal was an office that could be used for working, studying and reading.  She also wanted a calm, yet motivating space that she wanted to use.   Before the makeover, she didn’t even want to enter the room so she certainly wasn’t using it.  I went in with a team of three organizers and we started by sorting the contents of the room.  There was so much stuff and box by box we sorted like items together.  Once we had everything sorted, we went through each pile and Elyssa released anything she no longer used, needed or loved.  This was tough for her as it can be for most people.  But with our help, she let go of anything that did not have a purpose in the office.  Then we decided where things would go in the new office.

From there Suze went in and talked furniture, color and accessories.  The client’s budget was $1,000.  Until this point the couple had really made due with what they had and it was time for a major furniture face lift.  So Suze and I went shopping and pulled it all together.   We purchased a desk, a file cabinet, a bookshelf, a rug, baskets and containers, closet organizing tools, hanging file folders and a FreedomFiler.  You can see the results were amazing and the client is thrilled.

So what can you learn from all this?

• Elyssa and Ryan had plenty of space, but it was not being used effectively.
• They had too much stuff in one room that was supporting the needs of that room.
• They were holding onto things they no longer had a use for.
• They had old broken furniture that was hurting, not helping
• The room had gotten so out of control, it was too overwhelming to manage on their own.
• They need to get back to basic organizing principles; one in, one out, for example.

Good thing Suze and I had the contest.  Learn from Elyssa and Ryan and make a change in your home today or contact us to help you turn your ugliest room into a relaxing, practical and gorgeous space.

Continuing with our 10 Positive Things About a Challenging Economy Series is #8: Getting To Know Your Neighbors. Somehow in the past decades, we started to spend less time with our neighbors.  Such a bummer.  You have to live near these people, get to know them and build a relationship with them.  Perhaps a social hour where everyone meetings in the front yard and then you can build into a Progressive Dinner.  But get excited, get talking and let people into your life.

To read our previous tips, go to 10 Positive Things About a Challenging Economy, #1:  More time with family, #2 : Better food choices, #3: Exercise, #4: Using What You Have, and #5: Buying What You Need, and #6 Focusing on What Matters, and #7 Boost Creativity.

I provided a workshop called Kick Start Office Productivity for the Kitsilano Chamber of Commerce on June 18th and what a success it was.  We had about 30 attendees at the gorgeous Watermark Restaurant on Kitsilano Beach.  I have given many seminars and worshops over the years and this has to be one of the most beautiful settings I have ever spoken in.  What a view!

I wanted to thank the Kitsilano Chamber of Commerce, specifically Terry Clark and Kirsten Severson for hosting the event.   The topic was Kick Start Office Productivity and I provided 5 organizing tactics you can use in your office that will make a huge difference to your productivity.  There has been no better time to streamline and organize your business.  In a challenging economy we do everything we can to drive store traffic and increase revenue and sales.  Yet what are you doing to boost internal productivity, which can have a dramatic affect on the bottom line?  

Each attendee was asked to select one tactic, where they are the most challenged, and commit to focusing on it for 30 days.  Accountability is key so I will follow up and see how they are doing in 30 days.  I can’t wait to hear. 

The topics we talked about were related to email, desktop clutter, paper, time and focus.  We could have talked about each tactic over the course of hours, but we only had an hour and my hope is each attendee left with a few nuggets of inspiration that will make a difference in their day.   The feedback was terrific and everyone stayed afterwards to talk and ask me questions about their personal situation.  The event could not have been better!

Thanks again to the Kitsilano Chamber and contact us at 778.839.5792 if you would like your own seminar on Kick Start Office Productivity.

I love summer so much.  Summertime brings back memories of being a kid when I would go to the pool for hours, eat popsickles and sleep in tents in the  backyard.  Remember how you just didn’t want the days to end.  That’s one of the best parts of summer in the northwest; we have daylight from 4am until 10:30pm.  The days go on forever.  I try to make the most of summertime and I am sure you are too.  We have kayaking trips planned, a holiday to the Okanagan planned, visits with our families and of course lots of lazy days on our local beach (Kits Beach). 

Here are some summer planning tips to get the most out of your summer.

1. Decide what’s important to you.  We can’t do it all, so decide how you will spend your time.
2. Put the rocks on the calendar.  I heard this saying almost a year ago, from Time Management Coach Bill Zipp, and now I say it all the time.  Put important dates and events on the calendar.  When you have the rocks on the calendar, the sand (of the fluff) will filter through. 
3. Complete any pending actions necessary to ensure success.  Call the hotel and make the reservation, send out the evite, schedule your pedicure appointment, etc.
4. Say no to activities or events you don’t enjoy or don’t feel passionate about. 
5. Consider your budget:  Summer fun doesn’t have to put a dent in your budget.  Go to McDonald’s Playland, make homemade pizzas, go on a hike or canoe on a local lake. 

My new tag line is Get Organized and Get More Out Of Life.   Being organized does not take more time, it just ensures you get what you want out of life.  I encourage you to do some planning so you can spend more time in the sunshine! 

Enjoy your summer!

I am always asked about positive habits in the workplace; how can you be more effective with your time and space.  I saw an article from MSN today that I thought was great and worth a read.  

According to MSN, the 10 worst work habits are:

1. Procrastination
2. Being a sloppy emailer
3. Confusing informal with disrespectful
4. Taking advantage of leeway
5. Refusing to mingle
6. Always running late
7. Being rigid
8. Acting as the resident contrarian
9. Badmouthing the company
10. Politicking

Click here to read the entire article from MSN and check out our other blog posts on the bolded list items.  3 of the 10 worst work habits have to do with being organized.  That’s something to think about.