SavvyBlog

Topic —  From the Publisher's Desk,

Balancing Act

December 09, 2009
Sarah Morgenstern

Last Friday, I had the honour of speaking to a group of working moms who were part of the Deloitte Career Moms Initiative network, the objective of which is to provide consistent, ongoing support for women through pregnancy, maternity leave and their return to work, and whose overarching goal is to retain women longer and increase the number of women in leadership positions. I am also an alumni of the firm, and they were interested in my career story—both as a management consultant and more recently as a mom entrepreneur—so they asked me to share some of my survival tips with them.

To be perfectly honest, the month of December is not a great time for any mom of school-age children—working or otherwise—to be feeling very much in balance and top of it all (the holiday concerts, the teachers’ gifts, the holiday travel plans…that list does go on) so I felt a little disingenuous talking on the topic. But I shared some strategies that I have used over the years and the group seemed to find them useful, and I thought I would share them here as well:

1. Ask for help. As much as we want to be able to do it all, it’s the surest way to burn-out. Ask your partner to load the dishwasher, ask the kids to make their bed, ask your assistant to book your client dinner reservation, ask your mother-in-law to watch the kids while you go shopping alone…there are lots of people you can ask for help, if you just let yourself.
2. Simplify. There are probably things on your list that you could live without doing so just don’t do them. For me, one of those things was holiday cards—a number of years ago, I crossed those off the list and while I do enjoy receiving them from other people, I enjoy the few minutes that not having to do them has given me back at this time of year.
3. Just say no. High-performing women like us get asked to do a lot of extra things, whether it’s helping out at the school fair or hosting a visiting out-of town client for dinner, because our peers know we’ll get the job done right. But remember, you can (and should) say no to some of those requests, no excuse necessary. Just practice saying ‘I am afraid I won’t be able to help with that. My schedule won’t allow it.’
4. Don’t put your home life on hold. When we get busy at work, it’s natural to put everything else on hold but all that means is that when your work project is done and the client report is delivered, you’re going to come home to a domestic disaster. So to avoid this, take a few minutes every work day to get the home front under control, whether that’s doing a drugstore run on your lunch break or grabbing a few minutes to order some gifts online.

What strategies do you have to manage it all? We’d love to hear them.

Topic —  From the Publisher's Desk,

The 20 Minute Purge

January 06, 2010
Sarah Morgenstern

With the new year comes new resolutions, and for moms, that often includes something about organization. By the time January rolls around, I am usually itching to do a little purging due to Christmas overload, trying to find a place for all the new things that arrived from the North Pole and the general pile-up of cold weather gear around the house. But January also brings ski season and with two kids racing and one in ski lessons on Saturday and Sunday (plus the hockey games and practices), we’re pretty much not home on the weekend again until March Break, which means no day-long organizing sessions. So I have to fit it in during the week, which is tough to do after work, driving kids to afterschool programs and all the other nighttime duties required to keep things under control around here.

But I can’t wait until spring (clutter causes me pain, it really does). So I have come up with a simple plan—before I go to bed every night, I resolve to spend 20 minutes attacking one clutter-filled spot in the house. It might be under the bathroom sink, a shelf full of sweaters or one box of toys in the basement, but whatever it is, it’s something I can start and finish in 20 minutes so I get that sense of satisfaction from completing an organizing job. So far I am three for three the last three nights and I think by the end of January, I will have made a lot of progress.

Exciting stuff, I know (well, sadly, it actually is for me…). What are your resolutions for 2010?

Topic —  From the Publisher's Desk,

Update: The 20-Minute Purge

February 05, 2010
Sarah Morgenstern

I’ve already made it through a month with my New Year’s resolution of a daily 20-minute purge and I did pretty well, I must say. Some of you have been wondering what spots have been the victim of my nightly routine and I am proud to tell you there have been many. At home, I have attacked daughter #2’s bookshelf, two of daughter #1’s drawers, 4 kitchen drawers, one toy shelf in the basement, my makeup case, my husband’s sweater shelf, one bathroom cabinet, my son’s desk and entire bookshelf (thank you, out-of-town hockey tournament for that excellent purging opportunity), and my dining room, which was turning into a bit of a storage room itself. As we’re at our cottage every weekend at this time of year for skiing, up there I have also managed to get at the freezer, the pantry, the sideboard and the toybox, to round out the list.

February is here and I think I might have run out of spots for the moment. Perhaps I will take it easy for a few weeks until it’s time to start with the seasonal switch. Skis for soccer cleats, sweaters for shorts…March and April will need ample time for more 20-minute purges.

How have you been doing with your New Year’s resolutions?

Topic —  From the Publisher's Desk,

The Spring Clean

March 24, 2010
Sarah Morgenstern

Last week’s warm weather here in Toronto was definitely a tease that spring is here, or at least just around the corner. The snow is definitely gone and with that comes another round of organizing for me (it never really ends at my house somehow). It’s the big winter-to-spring seasonal switch-up and I am itching to get started on it.

The kids’ cubbies in the back hall are bulging with winter coats, our dining room is filled with skis and hockey bags and the stacks of clothes in our closet are definitely looking more like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. So I plan to get back to my 20-minutes-a-night de-cluttering program this week and hope to clear up some of the messes that have magically appeared in all the corners of the house.

But it’s the kids’ clothes that seem to take more work this time of year—sorting through what still fits and storing the winter clothes away. I’ve developed a few tips along the way that seem to help:

• Instead of having the kids try on every single article, find a shirt and pair of shorts that do fit, and hold the other ones up against their profile to find ones that are too small.
• Don’t store articles of clothing that are going to be too small by fall—wash them and give them away now.
• Similarly don’t store things that need repair—take the jacket to get that new zipper now so it’s ready for when you need it in the fall.
• No matter how much you think they should, kids’ winter boots really don’t last more than one season.
• Sort clothes by type, store like with like, and label the boxes clearly—one cool, crisp autumn day you will need those mitts in a hurry and finding a box named Mitts & Hats will be a lot more helpful than one that says Sarah’s Stuff.

So if you’re looking for me for the next few weekends, you’ll likely find me with a head in one of the kids’ closets, or in the basement washing and storing ski clothes. I have to get it all done before soccer season starts!

Topic —  From the Publisher's Desk,

Prep & Pack

July 30, 2010
Sarah Morgenstern

It’s almost time for our annual ‘Western Tour’, where we pack up what seems like half our house, and head out west to visit our families and enjoy the great outdoors. We’re going to be spending some time on a houseboat with my in-laws, and then on to a backcountry hiking trip with my extended family.

So that means this week is a whirlwind of packing and appointments (need those legs waxed!) and lists to get to the finish line (a.k.a. airport check-in on Saturday). The papers are cancelled, the piles of kids’ clothes are stacking up on the dining room table to be checked against my standard summer packing list that I developed a number of years ago and print out fresh each time (that list is indispensable, but when will my kids be old enough to pack for themselves anyway?) and we’re counting down the days.

And if you’ve been following along, you’ll know that I will definitely be packing my laptop along. It actually makes me less stressed, not more, as I know I can check in on some of my projects back at the office from time to time, so if there are one or two loose ends this week I can’t get to, they can be addressed from afar.

What are your vacation prep tips? I would love to hear them.