Let's face it, being a working mom means you have to stay super organized and do your best to multi-task every day. There's not a lot of wiggle room and the working parent schedule is not very forgiving from a time management standpoint. Like most working moms, I fall down on the job sometimes.

Sure my child goes to school with clean clothes, hair and teeth brushed (except for one day last week) and my husband and I make it to work on time just about every day. On the weekends, we always make time for a fun family activity and rarely miss a kid or family member's birthday party. So what am I blabbing about? The stuff (insert the word I really want to use here) that doesn't get done.

For us, it's almost always the same. Family bike ride? Check. Laundry. Nope. Spring cleaning and changing our clothes from winter to Spring? Finally took place last month just about the time the Summer Solstice made its grand appearance. You get the idea.

When I get the rare day off that's not earmarked for a sick child or travel day, it's a great opportunity to get to those pesky little projects that desperately need my attention. For me, today is that day and my self-proclaimed hoarder status is my project.

Keep. Toss. Donate.

We're paper pack-rats. My husband is the major mail opener and bill payer, I can't seem to throw away any of my child's artwork or family cards, and my kid colors and draws like it's his life's work (can a mom really argue with that?). Today, I'm happy to report that my recycle bin is full. In fact, I can't even close the top properly. It took FOREVER to look through every single piece of paper, but I'm feeling really good about the fact that my piles have either diminished or - in the rare case - disappeared all together.

I went through both mine and my son's closets and held nothing back in the toss and donate department. Thankfully, I have mom friends who have boys younger and smaller than mine and we have terrific places to donate and consign women's clothes in our town.

My mother gave me a beautiful photograph of my grandmother around Christmastime, so imagine my surprise (It was more like dismay, bordering on shame) when it appeared in yet another pile of "stuff". I'm definitely keeping it and may even achieve superwoman status and finally get it properly framed.

So three hours into project clean up, I'm taking a break and writing this blog. Next up? Lunch and an iced coffee. I've made some serious progress, but I'm still me after all.

As the advertising director at The Saratogian, I manage a team of 9 outside sales reps and managers in addition to an inside sales staff. Although it's not always the case, this particular group of sales professionals has incredible synergy as a team with several at or approaching "rock star" status.

Every sales manager knows that creating and managing a successful team takes skill, experience, timing and, in my opinion - a little bit of luck. Recruiting talent is commonly an agenda item on management conference calls these days because it's both challenging to pull off and at the same time critical to a company's bottom line. So, what does it take to build a successful team?

I thought I'd take a look at my current team for information and inspiration. As it turns out, they have some things in common:

- 77% played competitive sports in high school and/or college.
- More than half hold degrees in Business Administration with concentrations in Marketing, Communications and Economics.
- 2 hold degrees in Fashion Marketing/Merchandising.

So are sales people hard wired for the profession? Partly, I think. Sure it's about maximizing natural talent, but it's also about developing the right habits.

This week's sales meeting/training I held focused on time management and other habits that successful sales people have in common. Let's face it, just about everyone I know is being asked to do more, do it better, and do it FAST. Patricia Drain, author of Sell the Sizzle, had the opportunity to interview 177 top sales producers, both male and female, from all backgrounds. She discovered several main points in common. Here's what she had to say:

"...I discovered that each individual followed certain daily habits that took them to the level of Top Producer in their profession,” says Patricia.

7 Habits That Top Sales Producers Have in Common Are:

Habit #1: Develop a PLAN. Sizzling salespeople plan their days, weeks and months. They set goals in place and work their plan to exceed those goals.

Habit #2: They Create a Clear FOCUS. Sizzling salespeople ALWAYS stay focused on their specialty and their plan. They stay focused by prioritizing each day.

Habit #3: They Ask QUESTIONS. Sizzling salespeople understand and utilize the art of asking the right questions. They list the RIGHT questions to ask when sizzle selling.

Habit #4: They SHARPEN Their Skills. Sizzling salespeople understand the importance of sharpening their saws. They invest in the resources needed to assure ongoing training.

Habit #5: They Understand the Power of NUMBERS. They understand that to increase their sales, they must increase their prospects, customer base and sales volume.

Habit #6: They Know How to Stay in CONTROL. Sizzling salespeople stay in control of themselves to stay on track. They use this control to keep a personal balance in their lives.

Habit #7: They Have a Strong BELIEF SYSTEM. Sizzling salespeople believe they are worthy of the highest earnings, commissions or salary, and that their time is extremely valuable.

I'd like to add a few more I've observed during my 20 years in sales:

Habit #8: They know that INNOVATIVE thinking keeps them one step ahead of their colleagues and competition.

Habit #9: They know how to answer what's in it FOR THE CLIENT when developing pitches, RFP responses and presentations.

Habit #10: They possess INTEGRITY and know that at the end of the day, doing it right trumps selling out.



Source: Patricia Noel Drain is an international author and speaker living in Arizona. Visit her online at http://www.buildagreatbusiness.com and http://www.patriciadrain.com

You couldn't really call it a photo shoot because working moms were involved. '

It all started because I finally had an appointment to have my hair colored and cut on my calendar. Sure it had been on my calender two weeks prior (conference call bumped that one), but this one was going to stick. It had to, since my roots were quickly becoming borderline offensive.

Our current MediaMoms photo is 1 1/2 years old. This fact, combined with the thought of great hair, prompted the photo shoot idea. Here's my thinking: the day you get your hair done is the PERFECT day to take a photo. In fact, it's the only day that month that your hair is going to look like you actually spent more than 10 minutes on it.

I shared my epiphany with Betsy Demars, fellow Media Mom, and Erica Miller, The Saratogian's chief photog. They couldn't argue with female logic, so the question became, could they make it work? The answer: well, maybe. We decided to play the whole thing by ear since we had to also factor in breaking news (the nerve!).

Our set appointment time came and went, which we all knew it would. Then an hour later, we all suddenly found ourselves - long after five, mind you - in the same room. With no time for primping or planning. our creative strategy was simply "let's do this thing".

The time frame allotted for the photo? Less than five minutes. Why? Betsy had made a promise to her son that she'd personally shuffle him to practice. She had to make that stick, and we weren't about to let her down.

Erica, being the talented gal she is, decided that even though it was pitch dark - we needed to get out there. In the freezing cold. So onto Maple Avenue we went with a prop (chair) in hand. Shivering back to back, we laughed out loud and the irony of the moment. How on earth do you schedule and art direct two working moms into the perfect shot? You don't. Because there is no perfect day, time, shot. Thankfully, we'd given up on perfection when we became working moms!

I haven't seen the photographs, but I know that seeing them will bring to mind the reality of being a mom who works and makes promises to her kids, who still needs to cover her roots and who accepts the fact that these things rarely go as planned. Nor are they easily scheduled. Home and work collide every day. It's a messy job, but these two Media Moms like it that way. And, we have the pictures to prove it.

As a working mom, I can tell you life is busy. When the holidays arrive each year, "busy" anxiously welcomes its long lost pal "overwhelm". So how can you cope with stress during the season of supposed cheer?

Delegate. Are you lucky enough to have a friend or coworker who's a fabulous baker? I do. Emily Donohue, our online editor here at The Saratogian, can whip up a delectable holiday cookie tray in a flash. I just ordered two homemade (albeit not by me) cookie trays that will be ready on Christmas Eve. If you don't have your own source, feel free to borrow mine. Emily's Cookies

Schedule a sanity check. Call a girlfriend for coffee or tag team a shopping trip. I play Bunco with more than 20 great gals in Saratoga once a month and this month we're turning our "girl's night in" into a girl's night outside. Honk if you see a group of women serenading fellow Saratogians on Broadway in Saratoga this Thursday! I'm looking so forward to getting into the spirit of the season.

Sign on. I was a late adopter to online shopping. I think it's partly because I spent nearly four years as a local business owner before returning to media. I couldn't bring myself to shop at a store where I didn't know the owner (or manager, at least). You know what changed that? I had a baby and became a working mother! Now, I buy the name brand stuff the way the rest of the world does. For unique and handmade gifts, I shop local all the way. It's all about balance when you don't have the luxury of time.

Start a new tradition. I'd like to say my idea for starting a new family tradition came straight from the heart. Nope. Mine came in the form of a Bed, Bath and Beyond $5 off coupon. The flyer from the paper showcased an easy-to-assemple, fully stocked kit for making a colorful, traditional ginger bread house. For about ten bucks, I've got myself a new family tradition.

Treat yourself. You know you want to. That gorgeous scarf. The over-the-knee leather boots. A relaxing massage. My version of taming the holiday tension took the form of a much needed personal day last Friday that included a hot stone massage. The soft light, aromas, and the sensation of knots leaving my stressed out shoulders proved to be just what I needed.

Enjoy the season and feel free to share your holiday survival tips with me!

I'm one of the many moms who embrace both work and motherhood with enthusiasm. I do my both to balance my two passions, and consequently I'm a time management junkie who lives and breathes by a schedule. Is my color-coded outlook calendar over the top? Some say yes, I say no.

This past weekend I took my time management skills to the street. I started jogging or more accurately "slogging" - slow jogging - recently and needed a good pair of shoes to support my return to running.

On Saturday afternoon, the family headed to Dicks Sporting Goods to see what they had in the way of running shoes. My husband also needed a pair of hiking boots for a business trip to Santiago, Chile, so it was a dual purpose trip (of course). I immediately honed in on the Reebok RunTone shoes. With easy web access from my iPhone, I quickly learned the Reebok website claimed these shoes "Tone Key Leg Muscles & Increase Endurance". Intriguing, I thought. Could this be the perfect shoe for this multi-tasker who likes the idea of combining cardio with high tech muscle toning?

Time to check the reviews! The gist from several reviewers was "The moving air pods in the sole and heel of the Reebok RunTone shoes create a bit of instability with each step. It is like using a balance disk, but with far less of the unstable feel. This slight instability helps activate more muscles with each step, which may result in more toning of the leg and buttock muscles and may help tone core muscles as well". The promise of "may result...may help" was good enough for me, so I headed home with my new "super sneakers".

I've got to say, these shoes are r-e-a-l-l-y comfortable to walk in. Although I haven't taken a proper run "slog" in them yet, I have pulled my son around the neighborhood in his wagon twice and really felt my muscles burning. Combining two workouts in one, is it really possible? For a mom who has little time to herself for exercise in general, I like the idea of a shoe that maximizes my time and muscle tone.

If you happen to see me out on the road struggling to hold my self vertical, just remember that there's one less color-coded action item on my outlook calendar.

Just before the holidays, I decided it was time to get back to a regular yoga practice. Of all the exercise regimens I've had in my lifetime, yoga was the only one with real staying power. I took my first class in 1993 and never looked back. In fact, I found a studio in Atlanta the day they were hanging their sign out front. My friend Lindsay and I were students number one and two respectively. In 2000, I completed my first yoga teacher training and later went on to own a yoga studio. When I was pregnant with my son over a decade later, I took prenatal yoga right up until my due date. I can vividly remember that class trying to balance in tree pose with what I can only describe as a giant pregnant belly. What I didn't know then was that our son would arrive two VERY LONG weeks later.

After I received the 'all clear' to exercise post c-section, I began my daily yoga practice. In a matter of weeks I felt myself gaining strength, flexibility and balance. At the time my son was ten weeks old, I went back to work. Working full time with a baby (or any age child or children for that matter) is a challenge in both time and energy management. In my case, something had to give and that "something" was my yoga practice.

It took me more than three years to find my way back to a regular practice, but I'm happy I did. It has what I'm seeking - balance of body and mind, life and work. You get the idea.

So after four hours straight of sitting in meetings, I left the office and headed straight to Hot Yoga Saratoga for 90 minutes of heat, stretching and well, more work. I took a deep breath and followed our teacher Judy's careful instructions. This form of yoga is a quite challenging and tends to attract type-A personalities, which explains why I'm routinely surrounded in class by what I suspect are high performance athletes. While my post-yoga routine is to arrive home, shower, (work), watch Monsters vs. Aliens with our son, read books and head to bed, I picture some of these folks leaving yoga, running 20 miles, drinking a power shake (or eating a wholesome vegetarian meal) and then working on their novels or renovating their homes until dark. In truth, they're probably a lot more like me, and at least one of them has two kids, a husband and a business to run. Some still look like they could accomplish a home renovation after 90 minutes of intense yoga practice.

Tonight's practice was especially rewarding for me. After a day filled with meeting and talk of new product launches, website re-launches, and new and existing strategic partnerships, I was ready for some exercise that could meet me where I was. And Hot Yoga (also called Bikram yoga) did not disappoint. The same series of 26 poses or postures and two breathing exercises is practiced in every class so you can really get a sense of where you are. Although the balancing postures kicked my butt tonight, the really deep back bends felt amazing after sitting in a conference room for most of the day. And the intense heat - we practice at 105+ degrees - felt great today although some days I do want to leave the room screaming for fresh, cool air.

I left class feeling invincible and ready to face another day of more meetings and whatever challenges come my way. In fact, at this very moment I'm perfectly content basking in post-yoga bliss munching on popcorn. As I listen to my son call for me from the family room, I smile knowing it's family time now. It's about balance after all.

I've got so many balls in the air right now, I just know they're about to start crashing to the floor. I'm on the gerbil wheel, but I can't make it go fast enough. The problem is — everything is a priority.

Though I just sent the May Spirit of Saratoga magazine to the printer last Monday, the June issue deadlines are creeping up. I just sent out a bunch of e-mails to writers with my usual apology: "Sorry for making your deadline so tight because I'm so far behind." I spent a while this morning calling clothing stores that carry men's clothing to see if they would participate in our fashion shoot for the next magazine, but I had no success. As much as the store managers want to, their corporate rules (they were chain stores) won't allow them to allow any unpurchased clothing out of the store. Bummer. So what's the next brilliant idea? The pressure of deadline looms, and I need time to think, be creative. It's such an oxymoron.


Of course, the magazine is just small portion of what I do. And working with reporters and other editors on planning for the daily paper drains major time out of every day. I'm a planner, so I enjoy that part of the job. Truth is though, with everything we have to respond to every day -- directing reporters and photographers here and there — and the hundreds of e-mails, dozens of phone calls, there is little time for actual editing. (That's not good for a control freak like me, and I do have to go home and be a mom, and wife, and housekeeper and cook, etc, etc.)

My routine at work has no real routine, as much as I've really tried for nearly four years. Each day's routine boils down to crisis time management. Each thing comes at me throughout the day, that's what I have to handle first. And in between the raindrops, I'm trying — without a lot of success — to look ahead or catch up, mostly the latter.

OK, gotta stop here so I can get to one of the hundreds of other things that need my attention ...