Posts Tagged ‘Motivational speaker vancouver’

A Very Merry And Organized Holiday Season

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

I love Christmas season.  The time between Thanksgiving and New Year is so much fun, but of course, with the holidays comes a lot of work and preparation. I’m not going to say its easy, because I actually remember starting to cry when I finally got my first Thanksgiving dinner on the table, but it doesn’t have to be difficult. It should be fun and relaxing.

We know how challenging it can be to pull off a holiday party or dinner?  So here are a few tips to get you through.  Of course, a glass of wine always helps too! 

  • Stick to what you know. This is not the time to whip up a special souffle you’ve never tried before. That is only going to stress you out. We recommend using our Meal Planning Made Easy system to make meal planning and shopping easier.
  • Do as much as you can in advance. If you plan and prepare in advance there’s no reason you can’t be in the living room chatting with everyone else.
  • Let guests pitch in. Who said you had to do it all? Let your guests help out. Let them bring the sides, desserts or appetizers. Having just one less thing on your plate can make a huge difference.
  • Cut corners where possible. I’m not suggesting to skimp on taste, but do you really have to make homemade bread when we have fresh bread on every corner.
  • Delegate to the family. There is so much to do. Cooking, cleaning, setting the table, doing this dishes, chopping, shopping, taking out the garbage, etc.  A holiday is like any other day; get the family involved. Delegate to your family and ask for everyone to contribute to a more organized day.

We want to wish you a very merry holiday season, but also want it to be organized.  For help getting organized this holiday season, contact us at 778.839.5792. Christa Wagner is a professional organizer based in Vancouver, BC.

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Posted in Food & Meal Planning, Holidays, Time Saving Tips | No Comments »

Focus Is The Name Of The Game

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009
I’ve named this post “Focus Is the Name of the Game” because I just returned from the POC (Professional Organizers of Canada) Conference in Calgary and I feel more focused than ever.  Now I know what you’re thinking; that I am pretty focused already.  Well, even organizers can get a little lost with so many tasks, activities and To Do’s.
At the conference I listened to keynote speaker, Les Hewitt, author of The Power of Focus.  He was amazing and he said, “Sustained motivation is when you have something thing good that goes along with what you you do well.”   That really resonated with me.  I am good at organizing and that’s why I created Savvy Solutions more than five years ago.  Of course, I will continue to work with people in their homes and offices on paper, time and email management.  But what I am really good at is speaking in front of a group.  Not many people feel that way, but I love it.  So in the future, you will see more focus on speaking engagements, Lunch & Learns, Workshops and Seminars.  And here’s where I would love your help….
  • If you know of a business that would like to save time and money in the workplace, forward this message.
  • If you know of a company that is looking for a motivational speaker to light a fire under their staff, forward this message.
  • If you know of a group, association, organization or business that keeps running into the “No Time” trap, forward this message.
On average, we spend one our each day searching for misplaced information.  The goal of my presentations is to give you back at least 10 minutes each day, which would equal one week over the course of a year.  What would you do with an extra week of time?
I love working with you in your homes and offices and hope to grow our speaking services with your help.  And the good news is speaking engagements can be in anywhere.  Contact me at 778.839.5792 to schedule your Lunch & Learn at your office.  Book by November 30th and lunch is included.

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Posted in Business Organizing, Clutter, Home Organizing, Inspirations, Office Organizing, Residential Organizing, Vancouver, Workshops | No Comments »

Do You Have Email-Itus?

Friday, November 6th, 2009
Email-Itus is the term I use for people who check email constantly; all day and night, in the middle of the night, on the weekends, on holidays, on vacation, etc.  Email is addictive; in fact I just recently read an article about how checking email is an addiction like gambling or shopping.
By now most people know how I feel about email.  I just feel it’s the largest distraction in our world today.  Sure, I see the benefits, but only if it wasn’t so abused and overused.  One can dream, right?  Anyway, I spend a lot of time talking to clients about email and I’ve come up with a 3-Step Process to reduce time spent on email.
  1. Self Management: Controlling email isn’t about time management as much as about controlling yourself and the strong forces that make us want to read and respond immediately.  One tip is to open your email only after you have completed the day’s top priority.
  2. Computer Management: We all know computers can be our best friends, but can also get in our way when not working properly.  Outlook has many settings that help us manage email.  For example, turn off your sounds alerting you of a new email.  That’s not doing anyone a favor.
  3. Quality Management: Next time you go to click the send button, ask yourself, “Does my busy recipient truly need this email to do his or her job?”  If the answer is no, delete the email.  For every 1 email you send, you get 3 in return.  Moral of the story: the less you send, the less you receive.

In our Lunch & Learn called Avoid Email Bankruptcy we outline key steps you can implement to reduce your time spent on email immediately.   Email just came into our lives and now its up to us to use this tool effectively.  Contact me at 778.839.5792 to schedule your Lunch & Learn at your office.  Book by November 30th and lunch is included.

Christa Wagner is a professional organizer and motivational speaker in Vancouver, BC.

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Posted in Business Organizing, Email, General Organizing, Home Organizing, Residential Organizing, Workshops | No Comments »