productivity

Spring Clearing Series – Shopping is most productive when selection combines with superb service

Home Depot Customer Service Rep — Smiley Jeison is one of the standout staff at the North Queen Street location of The Home Depot Canada.

Spring always inspires me to do a deep clean of my spaces, both inside and out. I often use basics like vinegar and baking soda, but when I need to tackle a more serious problem, I need a place that will help answer my questions and have the solutions I need. With a wide range of domestic and professional grade products and a keen commitment to customer service, I head to the Home Depot.

Whether moving homes from Montreal to Toronto and deciding on paint colours, to choosing hardware when upcycling furniture for Habitat for Humanity’s charity efforts. Most recently I wanted to learn more about removing mildew. There is one stubborn spot in my second bathroom that just isn’t coming clean.

cleaning aisle at the Home Depot — Robust cleaning aisle at The Home Depot on North Queen Street, Toronto.

Well-marked, I find the cleaning aisle quickly and within seconds, orange-vested Laima, who was happy to help answer my questions. I asked her to help me understand which product would be most effective. She showed me a range of products from brands I was familiar with, to more powerful products suitable for commercial use, sharing her experiences regarding the relative efficacy and suitability of each product.

Unfortunately, Laima wasn’t so keen on having her photo taken, but trainee, Jeison, was more than happy to oblige.

I asked Laima about what was new and interesting in the world of cleaning and clearing products. Here are a few of the treasures we found:

allen's double strength cleaning vinegar — Double strength cleaning vinegar with its higher acetic acid content works harder for you.

Natural oil fragrances with no harmful chemicals to add a variety of aromas to your space.

chemical free fragrance sticks Bed&Bath — Room fragrance from Bed &Bath Sticks at The Home Depot.

When it comes to clearing in the garage and garden, the tools you choose can make a tedious task more comfortable. I adore this very wide aluminum dustpan. It catches everything you bring at it with a regular size broom and fits within the width of a wide leaf bag, making cleanup a breeze. In this case, bigger is better.

Quickie Aluminium 17" Dustpan from The Home Depot — The Quickie Aluminium 17″ Dustpan makes for faster cleanup.

The Home Depot leaf bags and aluminium dust pan — It fits perfectly into large leaf bags.

If bending down is a challenge, this dustpan, which I often see in commercial applications allows for a more comfortable clean up.

Upright lobby dustpan — Reduce the need to bend down with the Upright Lobby Dustpan from Rubbermaid at The Home Depot.

When choosing a supplier, be sure to consider their offering, availability of service, flexible policies, proximity and if necessary, shipping/delivery. The more of your needs that are met, the more productive the experience.

I work with organizations to deliver sustainable performance. If you know of a forward-thinking company who wants to achieve objectives and help their leaders and teams avoid disengagement and burnout, we should talk.

Book a Discovery Call to learn more about a range of engaging talks and effective coaching.

Spring Clearing Series – An inspiring, comfortable office is a productive office

3 min read

This post is sponsored by Staples Canada. As always, opinions are my own.

I had the pleasure of touring to a few cities in Canada this spring to share ways to be more productive this season. Not only do we need to think about being productive in how we accomplish what we want to do, it pays to find solutions which are as effective and efficient as possible. I gathered a few ideas which provide one-stop shopping or deliver complete solutions for you, and in this five blog series, I’ll share the benefits of each one.

Happier workers are more productive

As you might imagine, several studies¹ validate the premise that happier workers are more productive. In fact, somewhere between 10 and 20% more productive. One analysis suggests that “Workplaces with ‘very satisfied’ employees had higher labour productivity, higher quality of output, and higher overall performance.”²In fact, small shifts in well-being are directly correlated to big shifts in performance.³

Productivity can be pretty. Standout supplies from Staples Canada.

So, what keeps people happy at work?

Our happiness is influenced by a wide variety of things including

personal experience – core beliefs and values, genetics, age, gender, personality, temperament and preferences, and health
family and social circumstance
what happens while at work – the people, events, culture, and environments involved

Digging further into happiness at work there are a huge number of influencers including role clarity, value alignment, relationships with colleagues, the level of autonomy we experience, the opportunity for personal growth, and the physical office environment. Most people work best in a well-organized, inspiring space.

3 ways to create a productive and pleasing workspace

1. Personalize Your Space

Choosing decorative and functional elements in palettes and finishes that reflect your personal tastes can make your workspace more inviting. Staples Canada, rebranding in early 2019 as “The Working and Learning Company”, understands that.

Crayon bar at Staples Canada, University Avenue, Toronto.

Pop into the flagship store in downtown Toronto, and you’ll find a bright, airy, membership-based co-working space, auditorium and invitingly laid out shopping experience. Explore the venue to find a robust stationery section complete with an ample selection of journals, pen bar, and inviting bins of crayons in a multitude of colours. You can’t miss the full-service print shop and a significant “Tech Discovery Zone”.

What really stands out though are the office space vignettes. Staples has partnered with design icon Joe Mimran to create 10 stylish Workspaces from colourful to retro to a gamer’s dream, making it easier for you to picture what you might create in your space. Here are a couple of examples:

white desk, white chair, black floor lamp, black desk lamp, wall clock — The “Keep It Simple” office vignette at Staples Canada

white desk, black chair, coral office storage, wall clocks, umbra hook — The vibrant “Live In Colour” office vignette at Staples Canada

As you might guess from the way I dress and the way I decorated my condo, I love colour with a bit of glam. Here are a few treasures I picked to show off on tour:

Swingline Stapler

white and gold stapler — Swingline stapler, so elegant in white and gold.

Nifty Keyboard

pink keyboard with raised keys — This pretty in pink keyboard from Nifty makes keyboarding practice more fun.

Poppin creates an assortment of desk accessories to get you both organized and energized.

Turquoise file sorter

file sorter turquoise — Energizing turquoise Poppin document holder.

Gold Pencil pouch

gold pencil case — Dazzling gold Poppin pencil pouch

2. Green it up!

Studies of offices in the UK and The Netherlands revealed that plants in the office boosted productivity up to 15% while increasing both engagement and satisfaction. ⁴

plants in office space — Adding plants is a low-cost way to improve the quality of your workspace.

Earlier this week I visited a branch of a major bank. There was plenty of brand-based colour but little else that might have been deemed decorative in the space. It lacked soul. I commented that plants would be a lovely addition and the teller pointed to a vertical bundle of brown twigs a few feet away proclaiming, “We have sticks!” Adding plants is a fairly small upfront investment and with a little nurturing can bring continuous healthy energy to your space.

3. Keep your space comfortable

There has been significant debate recently about open versus closed offices, or what I prefer, mixed space environments. As a highly sensitive person, noisy and visually stimulating environments are quite exhausting to me, so as soon as it was possible, I chose to work more of the time from home. Being able to craft my work environment was a huge benefit to me and left me with more energy at the end of the day I could choose to invest in personal wellness, my family or other interests.

Clare Kumar at desk in tidy organized home office — Working from a well-organized home office makes for a productive lifestyle.

A study reveals that females prefer more light than males. There are also differences in the appreciation of noise and temperature with women preferring higher temperatures and less noise. Yet, there is no variance in preferences for formal / information working environments and the need for mobility. Recommendations from the study suggest that those crafting spaces pay attention to the demographics of their work environments and encourage responding to the needs of those using the space.⁵

Sources

The Connection between happiness and productivity
Worker well-being and performance
Small Shifts in well-being boost performance
Benefits of Plants
Office Innovations to improve happiness and productivity

Lighten Your Laundry Load!

This is a sponsored post.

Laundry never stops, so if we’re going to have to take care of it I like to encourage ways to make it a lot less onerous. Read on to find ways you might even find yourself enjoying it!

Shift your mindset

As a productivity coach, my mission is to help people have more fun while getting things done, and laundry is no exception. In my holistic model for sustainable performance, Productivity CPR™, the R stands for Ritual. Why ritual? Because I think the word ritual can give a sense of honour to what can often be perceived as mundane.

Whether it be processing receipts or doing laundry, a task that one finds tedious can be elevated with careful thought. Think of your clothing as a tool to help you do what you want to do and to help you make the impression you want to make in the world. Doing laundry then becomes taking care of the clothes that take care of you. This shift in perspective can elevate laundry from a mundane task to an act of love and honour.

Another way to make garment care a more positive endeavour is to think of all the work that went into sourcing, making, shipping and selling the piece so that you can enjoy it. Taking care of it is part of the garment’s life until it can be passed on or recycled.

You may have seen Marie Kondo’s show “Tidying Up”, and observed how she treats spaces, people and things with respect. I noticed this reverence while living in Tokyo for almost three years. We may have different ways of expressing honour, but it’s a truly beautiful way to engage with the world. I grew up witnessing a similar approach in the way my father managed his things. They were well-cared for and treated with love.

Fit laundry in virtually anywhere

If space is tight, in a spot only 24” wide, you can install the ventless, Smart All-In-One Washer and Dryer from Whirlpool which as it sounds includes both the washer and the dryer in one machine! I live in a condo and would really love to have both appliances in one machine to free up hanging space for the clothes I choose to air dry. Both the machine and a hanging rack could then be kept in my laundry closet keeping them out of sight rather than lingering in the bathroom. We can’t deny laundry exists – it deserves a good home!

Photo: Whirlpool Canada – Load & Go Dispenser™ holds detergent for up to 20 loads

Simplify the process

Not only do you no longer have to worry about switching clothes from the washer to the dryer, the Smart All-In-One Washer and Dryer also saves you time with its super capacity dispenser which holds up to 20 loads worth of laundry detergent. This will make it even easier for anyone in your home to do the laundry. Without having to manage a heavy detergent bottle, you can now get the kids to pitch in.

Smarten the process

To save money on electricity, it can make sense to do laundry when electricity rates are at their lowest. Have you ever thought about that and intended to turn on the machine yet forgotten? With remote access, you no longer have to worry about being home. Your washer and dryer has just joined the internet of things. The “Smart” in the name of the All-In-One Washer and Dryer means you can access the machine from an app on your phone. You can start a load while waiting for your daughter to hit the ice at hockey practice, or run the dryer when you’ve gone to work and your house guests let you know they are awake.

Photo: Neatfreak® – Easy Carry Flex Fabric Laundry Basket-Tote with EVERFRESH® Odor Control

Keep collection easy

Make sure you an easy way to gather laundry anywhere it collects. Bedrooms or a shared bathroom are ideal spots and there are a variety of sizes and shapes to fit any space. A corner unit is fun in a kid’s room if you want to make tossing laundry in the hamper a fun way to get kids involved in the process. Hampers now come in a wide range of finishes as well so you can find something to blend in with your décor. The handles on the hamper shown above make it easier to carry.

The Time Timer® helps you have a visual sense of the time available to complete a task.

Make folding more fun

I searched twitter for “laundry” and “stress” and there were so many posts about people sleeping with their laundry instead of folding it, it blew me away. There is a lot of angst out there. With things we don’t like to do, it is common to overestimate the time it takes. A timer is your friend here.

Step 1 – Run a timer to learn how long it takes to fold a basket of laundry.organization

Step 2 – Keep a Time Timer in your laundry room and now you know roughly how long it takes to fold a basket, see how fast you can get it done and play beat the clock. Gamifying works! Why not include getting all the clothes back in closets and drawers? This is an awesome thing to do with the whole family. It’s never too early to get everyone involved.

Give yourself a treat

We know that rewards work, so consider being kinder to yourself when doing the laundry. If you’re like me, in the winter months, your skin is dry. One day, the skin on my fingers was so dry and it kept catching on the inside-out clothes I was turning outside-out (is that a word?), and I decided from that day forward, I would never turn inside-out clothes the right way around again. A little “garbage in, garbage out” theory so my kids would have to solve the problem on their own.

But here’s another option…I’m a big fan of hydration and moisturizing, as where I live you need all the help you can get. I’ve put my best lotions in my gym bag for years to indulge after a workout. Why not have a luxurious salve on hand to use while doing the laundry, especially after any hand-washing, to keep your skin feeling soft and smooth? Made in Canada, from 80% organic ingredients, toxin-free DermaCare Skin Salve from eScential Wellness will make you feel like you’re loving yourself a little bit, too. #loveyourselfhard

I hope this gives you a few ideas on how to make laundry a little lighter in your household!

This post was made possible through financial and/or product contributions from Whirlpool Canada, Neatfreak, eScential Wellness and Time Timer.

Four Ways to Have a Smooth and Productive Transition into Fall

Clare and Stephanie talking on couch — Stephanie Smyth of CP24 interviews Clare Kumar on getting organized for the fall. Photo: Screen capture of show on CP24

The change of seasons brings a change of schedule and some anxiety for all about how we’re going to manage it.

Watch the video here!

Here are some strategies which may help. If you’ve got others, please add a comment!

Choose your outfit the night before.

It’s often beneficial to separate planning from execution. Planning requires decision making and sometimes problem solving. Execution is about completing tasks you know how to do. Since mornings are often more rushed, take time the evening before to select what you’re going to wear the next day . I check the weather and often plan from footwear up. Layering is your best friend for days which start out cool and warm up, or for transitions between hot weather and cool, air conditioned environments.

Fuel up for your day.

Your brain is on average 2% of your body mass, yet consumes about 20% of your energy.¹Tune into what your body seeks to keep thinking clearly. If you don’t want to eat a full breakfast before you leave for work or school, identify some portable, nutrient rich snacks which you can take with you. You don’t want to end up depleted during your morning, or worse, “hangry”!

You might think caffeine is helping you boost your focus, but recent research suggests that it is simply an alleviation of your body’s craving for the substance. Consider cutting out caffeine to see if your mind is equally sharp without it.

Create a task management system.

When schedules change and we take on new challenges, there is often a worry about keeping on top of everything. Because our brains are challenged to remember everything, as Daniel Levitin suggests in his book, “The Organized Mind”, “Writing things down conserves the mental energy expended in worrying that you might forget something and in trying not to forget it.²

Having a system that works for you is critical to staying on top of things, and comforting because you know you depend on it. Key elements of a system include a place to gather your intentions – a “to do list”, a calendar to make time less abstract, and notifications to cue your attention.

When building your task management system, pay attention to how you like to work. There is no right and wrong between paper and online solutions. What is important is that it is accessible when you need it, easy to interact with, and redundant (possible to recover information if lost).

Avoid making a mess.

When arriving home, it’s easy to plop down our backpacks, briefcases, lunch and gym bags, kick off our shoes, throw off our coats, hats and sunglasses and toss our keys. Generally, though, this approach leads to chaos. Turn your “drop and dash” into “stop and stash”!

To avoid a stressful entry way, make sure every item you come in with has an easy home to land in. Drawers or hooks near the front door for keys. Cubbies or hooks for backpacks. Use a magazine holder for mail and papers parents need to review. Offer a bin per person for accessories. Unpack your lunch bag and prepare it for its next use right away. This especially important on Friday nights to avoid unpleasant surprises!!

Changing behaviours takes time, so a little lot of coaching is likely required of housemates as you adopt the system. Not only with it keep the entryway clear, everyone will know where items are when they’re running out the door!

NEW – In recent months I’ve created new workshops which have been well received by clients such as Facebook Canada and Ryerson University. If your organization is looking for an informative, engaging talk on boosting productivity, becoming more organized or better managing work-life integration, please pass on my contact information, or connect us and I’ll be happy to follow up. With many thanks.

SOURCES:

Appraising the brain’s energy budget. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.
Levitin, D. (2014). The Organized Mind, Allen Lane, Penguin Canada Books

Spring Clearing Series – Shopping is most productive when selection combines with superb service