Project declutter underway

The start of a new year always seems to prompt at least a couple of weeks of good behaviour. Yeah, this is when so many people talk about losing 10 pounds, learning a new skill, getting organized. And so I found myself looking around at the mess in my home office over...

In praise of home offices

It was still dark as I drove my husband to a 7 a.m. doctor’s appointment yesterday. Traffic was building on the highway, but at least it was moving. In another half an hour, cars would probably be keeping no better than a snail’s pace. It suddenly occurred...

You should volunteer. Do you?

At a networking event given by IABC/Toronto’s Professional Independent Communicators (PIC), I shared why I volunteer, as did my colleagues Leslie Hetherington, Donna Papacosta, Barb Sawyers and Lee Weisser. PIC supports more than 100 independent communicators,...
How to warm up to cold calling

How to warm up to cold calling

While decluttering my office, I ran across a battered 1981 edition of The Canadian Writer’s Market. In it I found 32 pages of agency listings, each entry with a pencilled X or check mark beside it, plus new telephone numbers and scribbled names. Flashback: I was...
9 tips to regain your daily focus

9 tips to regain your daily focus

Updated July 13, 2018 You have to be disciplined to be productive when working from your home, and usually I am. I’m at my desk at 9 a.m. After a quick check for e-mail, I keep the sound off to avoid hearing the siren song that more has arrived. A to-do list has...
6 tips to avoid the legal blues

6 tips to avoid the legal blues

So when I sang the legal blues recently, I should have been more helpful and given some suggestions for avoiding approval problems with lawyers. Here they are: Consider what’s going on. In a time when lawyers are super-super-sensitive, like a lawsuit or merger,...
Antiquing is a treasure hunt through time

Antiquing is a treasure hunt through time

(Article published in Escarpment Views magazine.) Debby McLachlan has strict instructions: no big purchases, because her tiny condo is already jam-packed. So we’ve arrived at the Aberfoyle Antique Market about mid-morning, coffee in hand, “just to...