Case Study: Lisa Stirgus, Wells Fargo

“What I realized in working with Debbie was that when you make an investment in learning how to be most efficient and effective with organization and time management, it actually creates more time for you to do what you do best each day.”

~ Lisa Sturgis, Area President, Washington Region

The Problem

As a busy mom and Retail Banking Area President, Lisa Stirgus was looking for a way to be more efficient at work so she could spend more time with her family. Yet, with so many emails to process every day, she always felt behind and like she could never quite catch up. What’s more, her meetings often ran over time, and the constant pushing back of appointments created a snowball effect of being late.

The Solution

Lisa’s challenges brought on stress that kept her up at night. She was overwhelmed by the volume of her inbox and didn’t have a good system in place for staying on top of her daily to-do’s. She received over 250 emails per day, half of which required thoughtful review and response. For Lisa, the idea of building a system to improve how she calendars her time and follows up on email felt freeing.

Working together, we created a system for managing her emails and projects by using a tool she already had: Outlook Tasks. Having an electronic solution meant she could sync between devices and capture, track and prioritize things whether at work or on the go. Plus, she now has a good outline for making quick decisions on emails and delegating tasks to her team.

We also implemented a timer system that helps Lisa wrap up meetings on time and keeps her from having to reschedule appointments.

The Result

Where Lisa found the most relief was being able to stay on top of her work. We implemented a simple 15-minute routine to help her bring closure to her day and set herself up for success the next. Now when she leaves the office, she has peace of mind in knowing she’s taken care of what she needs to or has queued up any lingering tasks for another time.

“I feel the solutions that Debbie and I worked on have helped tremendously and given me additional tools to keep me on track. I forget less and don’t wake up as many times during the night with things I forgot or need to follow up on. With her experience in working as a business professional, she truly understands the challenges you face and provides a realistic view on how you can maximize and improve your productivity.”