Productive Days!

Gotta love the days that you get everything...or even nearly everything off those "to do" lists! This past weekend was one of those times! The list wasn't completely looked after, but it felt like we got a good chunk done...including re-painting a portion of the house, which was not on the list until next month! I don't know about you, but I can get pretty bogged down with other things during the day and tend to "stray from the course" of the plan I make over coffee first thing in the morning. I always start out with the best intentions, but then the phone will ring and it will be someone I haven't spoken with for ages and really want to catch up with, or it will be a volunteer event that I am planning that needs a last minute detail to be dealt with, or my puppy is tossing her Kozie Kong toy on my lap while I am typing because she wants to play (and who can say no to that face...)! Yes, the time that is not dealing with staging or decor projects - the time that should be devoted to office management, household chores, and yard work can be taken up pretty quickly by other things. So when there is a day or weekend that is truly productive, it feels phenomenal - and this was the perfect weekend for it to happen... The in-laws will be here on Thursday for a few days - am really looking forward to having them! And because of this past weekend, the few remaining "chores" to get finished in preparation for the visit seem like nothing... I actually have a bit of time to plan some meals and sightseeing for them!

Is that the colour I chose???

A fresh coat of paint can do wonders for a space that has gotten a little tired looking, but choosing the right colour can be difficult... There are so many aspects to consider when choosing the right paint colour for a space - how different lighting transforms the hue; whether you want reflective colour to open up a space or absorbing colour to "cozy" up a room; if the colour will balance out the coolness or warmth of the room; how the colour may affect your mood or thought process; whether the colour "pulls together" all the items in the room or whether it creates the need for a whole new look... There are 3 things I would recommend if you are wanting a new paint colour for your walls: 1 - Hire a professional for a colour consultation - This is so much easier and less time consuming than agonizing over the endless "which one would be better?" questions that can plague the otherwise "fun" process of change. This professional should go through colour samples and photos with you, ask you questions pertaining to thoughts and feelings regarding colour palettes, and discuss with you items you are wanting to keep and change in the space the new colour is coming into, in order to determine which genre of colour you should be in and then guide you through the selection - not just choose randomly for you... 2 - Look at the potential colours at different times during the day - I will tape a sample, or paint a small sample, on the chosen walls and look at them in the day and evening - light can have a very different effect on colour - you want to make sure that the different shades will still work with the look you want in the room. 3 - Don't second guess - If you keep going back to the same colour or shade, there may be a very good reason that you're drawn to it. You don't have to go with the exact "trend of today" - you can make any colour work with today's styles, and remember - the trend will change tomorrow - if you don't feel like painting every year, then pick a colour that you love to look at!

Time is ticking by...

Seems like the days are rolling into one another and I am scrambling to catch up...ever feel this way??? It is well into June - how did this happen? Yesterday it seems there was snow... I find that my best efforts to plan my days are falling by the wayside for more pressing items, and because of the lack of accomplishing my goals by sticking to my plans, the list keeps mounting and goals seem more daunting which is causing a slight case of procrastination - an old habit from my university days (I never did as much hand-washing or organizing as when I had a paper due or an exam coming up...) Am now adapting my plan to include time for unforeseen items that may pop up - that way I will always have some time blocked off for catch-up! Will let you know how it goes!!!

Cleansing

So working for yourself can have its pitfalls...getting sick. Getting sick is never any fun, but in a normal job you still get paid when having to take a "sick day". You don't have that option when you are self-employed - your business can just STOP or you don't stop and end up getting worse because you never took the time to rest and heal... I have been sick A LOT in the last couple of months (the start of the busiest staging season, I may point out) and need to take the time and make the effort to get well again. Our immune system is controlled 70-80% by our "gut", so if you don't eat right your body knows it because your defences are left damaged. When I get too busy, I tend to lapse on the proper eating, or I forget to eat - neither being good, especially for weight loss (which incidentally, is also one of the plates that are spinning right now). I have decided to "stop the madness" as an annoying health advocate used to say on TV... I am cleansing (nothing crazy - just cutting out a lot of stuff that bogs down the body functions) in hopes that my immune system can have something to work with again and I start to get back on track health-wise. After all, I am RSDR basically - if I am not able to work... well, you know. I'll let you know how it goes in the next couple of weeks. If successful, will let you know the plan details - hopefully it can help others that may be in a similar situation!

Praise!

Just finished a staging job of a really unique property... I met with the realtor and client to see their reactions of the finished product. "Amazing transformation", "Open and bright", "Beautiful", "Fantastic"...all things I was very pleased to hear! The property was built in a Spanish/Mexican style with an open design and archways throughout the interiors. A lot of the walls were done in white stucco. The original paint colours that the clients had were definitely truer to the architecture of the home as they were bright and bold, but may have limited the number of people that want to see and buy the property based on the very definite style of the home. I love jobs like this - unique properties REQUIRE your creative juices to flow! You have to find that balance between the style that the original architecture dictates and the modernity of today's styles of interiors that potential buyers look for. Basically in a property that may have a divide of potential buyers between "love it" and "hate it"...you want to mitigate the latter! You want to play up the strengths and beauty of the property and eliminate anything that may be distracting or jarring. This home had lots of natural light, a gorgeous open concept and tons of space. All definite pluses that needed to be showcased in a way that appealed to the target demographic as a whole - not just the buyers that wanted a home fashioned after a hacienda.

Balancing Act

Working for yourself is a blessing most days! You make your own schedule, right? So you should be able to avoid line-ups at Costco and the bank because you can go during "working hours"; you should be able to take a day trip or an extra long weekend whenever you like; you should be able to avoid using daycare for the most part; you should be able to sleep in when you really want to and work in your pj's some days. Reality is that since I have the job with all the flexibility, I tend to take on the appointments that have to happen during the weekdays. It just makes more sense and is one of the reasons I do work for myself to begin with. But when you have an open schedule like this, appointments can build up - the vet, the dentist, CT scans, puppy classes, staying home for deliveries or plumbers...scheduling in time to actually work can end up being the tricky part! I have learned that if you want a a successful business, you need to make the work a priority, otherwise you end up with a hobby that pays you every once in a while. The great thing about building a business though, is that you can build it to suit your personal needs as much as possible...eventually. In the beginning you are working long hours, networking, building a client base again, getting your name out there, figuring out marketing strategies, balancing your books, checking your bottom line constantly and starting fresh the next day... Discovering the optimal balance that allows you the personal time you need as well as the success that you deserve is the tough part. In the beginning, you tend to scramble a bit. Things that shouldn't be left on the back burner end up there and you can get very bogged down, very quickly! When I was in real estate full time, I worked countless hours to build a client base. I loved what I did, my clients saw this and I started to get more and more referrals. This is the greatest compliment I could have received so I said "yes" to every one of them! Before I knew it I was working 16-20 hour days, my diet was crap, I hadn't seen the inside of a gym in months (no...let's be honest...years) and I was still single with not a lot of prospects because I never made time to get to know them! Things needed to change and I made some hard decisions about my business in order to have all the other things I wanted in my life, such as a family, time to travel, etc. I came into RSDR with much knowledge that I didn't possess back then - I also came to it with a husband, a puppy, an acreage, health issues...basically a whole new set of items for the balancing act! Watch those plates spin!!!