Karin How long have you been doing what you do and how did you get to be a SuperWoman Relief Expert?

To answer this question, it is easiest if I tell you a little bit about me and my history:

I started out being a scientist, but soon discovered that, if I liked the problem-solving involved in science, I hated the fact that I was dealing only with numbers, rather than people. So I left academia and joined corporate America. I worked there for quite a few years, in a variety of positions, but something was nagging at me: I felt that I wasn't doing what I was meant to do, and that what I was meant to do implied working on my own. Several times, I thought about working on my own, but always stopped mid-way, because I couldn't figure out WHAT it is that I would be providing. Until a day where I was home, sick. I turned the TV to a day-time talk show and watched as the main guest, a professional organizer, was talking about her profession, and showing an example of what she did. 

I suddenly sat up: I had the element that I had been missing. After all, I had been helping family, friends and co-workers be more organized, both in terms of space and in terms of the way they worked, and I loved doing it. I started to read every book my local library had on organizing and time management, which only confirmed that this was my path. Eventually, I left my job and have been helping people make the most of their space and time ever since.  

Who are your clients exactly?

I work with women - and some men - who are self-employed or in a situation similar to being self-employed, such as sales, managers or small business owners. Some have children, some not. The key is that my clients make their own schedules, and are responsible for their income, rather than just receiving a check. 

How are you different from other professional organizers?

Most professional organizers work on optimizing your space, your time, sometimes both. I don’t limit my work to those areas, but look at the whole person and their life. I also have a specific approach because of my past: I bring a 7-step process to problem-solving, just as an engineer would, but with empathy, understanding and never, ever, judgment.

Do you work alone, or with a team?

I do work alone, but have a number of resources to assist you whenever necessary. I most often team up with organizers who specialize in organizing space, in particular if you don't live in my area. 

What type of personality do you work best with, and what is expected of me?

I work best with women who are active, proactive, self-starters, interested in many things, and who are truly committed to improving their situation and making the changes it entails. If you want a magic pill or are not committed to making things happen, I’m not the right person for you!

I expect you to be proactive and to take action on the topics we discuss, but I will also be there every step of the way to support you and guide you in the process, up to the point where you don’t need me anymore.

What exactly is the Office Relief System and how does it work?

The Office Relief System is a 7-step system that touches all the areas in your work life that have an impact on your productivity and your ability to be proactive. Here’s what the System gets you to do:

1. Assess the strengths and weaknesses of your present system
   
   Believe me, even if you think everything is out of control, some areas are working. Figuring them out will give you immediate confidence, and knowing what doesn’t work will allow us to breeze through the next step without misstep.
   

2. Make your environment more efficient
   
   My experience has shown me that lack of organization is often part of why you can't be on top of everything. If we clear that out first, then we have a clean slate to work with the rest. I will guide you and assist you in the process, and you will be amazed to already find many new areas of efficiency at this stage.
   

3. (Re-) Discover your goals and make action plans
   
   In the hustle of life, we often go about doing the motions, and forget why we do them. This step will allow you to define, or redefine, what you truly want out of your career – and out of this year - and start to align your actions with it.
   

4. Optimize your day
   
   Now that you have optimized your space and defined your priorities, it is time to tackle your schedule and your task list. We will weed out of it everything that doesn’t align with your priorities, define new tasks or activities that align with them, and in general allow you to systematically optimize your day.
   

5. Eliminate Your Time-Robbers
   
   We will now look at how your day unfolds, with an eye at finding everything that robs you of time. It may be a co-worker who keeps interrupting you; the way you handle phone and email; inefficient routines. In this step, we will bring to light all the elements that take time away from you, and eliminate as many of them as possible - or as you want.  
   

6. The art of effective communication
   
   As women, we are socialized to help, rather than be helped, which can be a handicap at work. This step will teach you ways to delegate, and who to delegate to, whether you have a team working for you or not. Also, we will look at the elements of effective communication with peers, bosses and in meetings. At the end of this step, you will have a clear picture of how to communicate and delegate effectively, and which strategies to use with whom.

7. Emergency readiness
   
   In this step, we will look at emergency readiness. Most often, we just pray that everything will go right, and when something goes wrong, we don't have a plan and lose time, energy and productivity trying to deal with it. Whether the emergency is your child being sick and you having an appointment with a critical client, or one of your key personnel being suddenly unavailable, we will examine how to prepare contingency plans. At the end of this step, you will have plans ready to be put into action when something happens.
   

8. Develop strategies to prevent stress from taking hold
   
   Even after wrestling as much effectiveness and efficiency as possible out of your day, there will still be times when stress rises. The techniques you will learn in this step will allow you to lower your stress level on the spot, but also to keep your stress level low by implementing regular stress-reduction techniques.

If you are a mother and feel that your home life also needs some attention, we can also work on this aspect of your life with the SuperMom Relief System.

How quickly will I see results?

That depends in part on you: How fast are you willing to work? How committed are you to make the changes in your life and environment? This said, most of my clients see a big difference in their lives within a couple of months, and I strive to work in such a way that you see a positive difference after every single session.

How will we work together?

You have four (4) different options to work with me, depending on how much assistance you need from me and your budget:

You have five (5) different options to work with me, depending on how much assistance you need from me and your budget:

• Elite Program: Those are for mothers who feel the need for a daily check-in to resurface, and/or to go more in depth into the program. We will talk once a day for 15-25 minutes to help you plan and prioritize for your day; have a weekly one-hour conversation to tackle the steps of the program and the big-picture aspects of your life. You will also have free access to me whenever you need it, either 24/7 by email, or Monday through Saturday from 7:30 am until 9pm. 
  

• Mixer Program: This program is for mothers who feel that they can mostly do it on their own, but need support in getting started and need regular check-ins in person. We meet for one 3-hour session each month, and have three (3) phone coaching sessions in-between, each lasting for an hour.
  

• Phone Coaching: If you are part of those people who are very proactive and ready to work on your own, but who need individual guidance to address their needs, we can do all the work on the phone, with four (4) one-hour session a month.
  

• Teleclass: If you almost know what you need to do, and are able to adapt general advice to your individual case, you can take my 8-week teleclass on the SuperMom Relief System. I will teach you every one of the steps of the System, and give you the corresponding worksheets and assignments. You will also be paired with a buddy who will be a sounding board and a cheerleader when you need one. Register for this one here.

• Select Seminars: If you are generally well organized, and find the time to do most of what you want, but have just one or two areas that you would like to improve on, choose one of those teleseminar to strengthen this area. Learn more about it here. 

Now, ask yourself this: Which of these options suits you best? When would you want to start?

How long is the program?

Once again, that depends on you. Some clients progress very quickly through the steps, others need more time to get them done. In most cases, the work is done within three months or so.

What resources can you provide me?

I will provide you with worksheets, assessments, articles, resources, websites, books to read. Also, I have allied myself with a team of outstanding professionals, who can assist you where I cannot, if you so choose.

Do people ever ask you to work with them again?

Yes, fairly often. Some feel the need to revisit one of more of the steps; or something has happened that has changed their lives and priorities, and they find that they would like some guidance to adapt to their new situation. Finally, some people feel the need for a regular check up to make sure that everything is fine and to do regular fine-tuning, which I offer in the form of a maintenance program.

I know which program I want. How do I get started?

Great! You’re on your way to a more proactive and balanced work life. Here is what you do: Give me a call at 201.484.0263 or email me at and let me know which program works best for you. We’ll set up a day and time to start working together and you’ll receive a welcome packet by email. Please fill out the new client information and return it to me at least 2 days before our first session. This will allow me to get a better sense of what your challenges and goals are, and we’ll be able to save a lot of time during the first session.

If I’m not sure I’m ready to get started, how can I sample your work at low cost and see if it’s right for me?

Take my monthly one-hour seminar called “How to Go From Reactive to Proactive Without the Stress: A Systematic Approach to Making the Most of Your Time”. It is free of charge, will introduce you to the 7 steps and give you the opportunity to experience my style of work.

Another way to sample the Office Relief System is to subscribe to our free newsletter. Every month, you will receive proven tips, resources and powerful techniques from our Office Relief program.

I have a couple of additional questions. Can I call you?

Of course! Feel free to call me at 201.484.0263 at any time. If I cannot answer your call, make sure to leave me a message with your phone number and the best time to call you, and I will call you back as soon as I can.