Blog Posts by SavvySugar

After plenty of false starts, warmer weather is finally making an appearance in most of the US (sorry, New England!). But it can be hard to get into the Spring spirit when you're stuck inside working all day - recycled air and the bluish glow of your computer screen don't exactly scream Springtime.

You may not wake up singing "Good Day Sunshine!" every morning, but that doesn't mean you have to slug through a slow morning routine. Careful planning and self-motivation tactics can help you wake up on the right side of the bed and streamline your daily productivity, to-do list annihilation, and a better morning in the office. Most of us wish we could linger in bed a little while longer, but getting out of it earlier means getting back into it sooner. Here are simple tips for making each morning good personally and professionally.

• Prepare For the Morning the Night Before - Treat your workday like a trip to the gym (without the sweating and spandex, of course). Use FitSugar's tip of packing for a workout the night before and prepare for your morning in advance. Pretend you are in middle school: Pack your lunch, set out your clothes, organize your to-do list and email, put the keys, bus pass, and your purse in one place. When the alarm sounds you will be more likely to pop out of

As soon as April 15 is past many of us like to put taxes - and everything that irked us about the tax season - out of our minds at least until the calendar year has changed. Don't let it creep up on you again. Keep next tax season's stress levels down by getting organized now. Learn how to create a less stressful tax day next time around.

• Keep Up With Record-Keeping - What should stay and what can go? Well, here's a handy guide.
• Save a Date! - Commit to a date on next year's calendar, like some time in February when you'll have received most if not all of your tax-related forms.
• Keep Your Checklist in Order Year-Round - The documents needed to file your taxes are the same every year - you just add to the pile as time goes on and your tax status becomes more complicated. If you are filing as an individual you will need the following. Make sure to keep the checklist and docs together in your handy 2010 tax file year-round.
• Create New Files - Instead of

If you consider yourself a powerful and effective worker, you may be underestimating how long it will take you to get your business done. Recent research suggests that powerful people can be overly optimistic about the time it takes for them to accomplish tasks - and therefore less likely to make an accurate prediction. The error rate for these so-called "powerful people" can reach up to 70 percent.
Interestingly, people often underestimate the time it takes to accomplish tasks. This bias is known as the planning fallacy and derives from a too-narrow focus on the envisaged goal. The more people focus on what they want to achieve, the more they tend to neglect impediments, previous experiences and task subcomponents that are not readily apparent. As a result, time predictions are often inaccurate and too optimistic. Power tends to increase people's focus on intended outcomes. Although this can be beneficial, in the context of time planning we reasoned that power would lead to greater

The first step in planning your wedding is deciding on a budget, and the most important part of budgeting is setting your priorities. Whether you're dreaming of a five-course meal or a designer dress, most brides I know all had one splurge in common: the photographer. Wedding photos are the most lasting part of your big day (aside from the memories, of course!), so it's important to do them right. But that doesn't mean you have to spend a small fortune to do so. Read on for ways to get beautiful photos on a tight budget.

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If you've hopped on the Spring-cleaning bandwagon take note: Training yourself to play with all those fancy buttons and think about the big picture can reap sizable long-term savings. The average home spends about $1,900 a year on energy costs, according to the Consumer Energy Center. Here are some of the CEC's most simple tips for cutting that bill and using your appliances wisely:

1. Do your laundry efficiently by using the warm or cold water setting for washing your clothes. Always use cold water to rinse clothes. (Save: 4 percent)
2. Line dry clothes whenever you can. (Save up to 5 percent)
3. When you need to use the dryer, run full loads, use the moisture-sensing setting, and clean the clothes dryer lint trap after each use. (Save: 0.5 percent)
4. Conserve energy by running your dishwasher only when it is fully loaded, and turn off the dry cycle and air dry dishes instead. (Save: 1 percent)

You've said yes, slipped on the ring, and called your family and best friends to share the news. But come Monday morning, it's time to tell the people you spend 40-plus hours a week with about your newly-engaged status. Sharing the news with your closest work buddies is a no-brainer; they'll be excited for you, and may even be invited to the wedding. But even co-workers you're not close to will need to know at least the bare minimum about your impending nuptials. Getting married involves taking time off, leaving during the day for fittings and appointments, and often changing your name and address - all developments your co-workers and boss should be aware of. To find out five things you should take into consideration when deciding how to announce your engagement at work, read more.

1. The size of your office: In a smaller office, it's important that you fill everyone in on your news right away. If you only work with 10 people, and two of them find out a day later than everyone else,

As we grow older it's hard not to giggle over the passing of time and realization that most of us are just taller, grown up versions of that little girl in tapered jeans who felt shy presenting in front of her class. Sure, our fashion sense, skin, self-confidence and business savvy have improved over the years, but the major rules and coping tools for daily life are still very much the same. I recently leafed through the Girls' Life Ultimate Guide to Surviving Middle School and flat out LOLed over the fact that the advice for today's pre-teens mirrors the career advice I share with friends and SavvySugar readers. Maybe it's true what they say: the more things change, the more they stay the same. To see how, keep on reading.

• Timing Is Everything -
• Girls' Life Ultimate Guide to Surviving Middle School says: "Never before has time management been so mega-important in your life. Planning ahead, spacing out assignments, making the most of very hour in your day will