Sound the alarm for bride-to-be!

Of course you can plan a wedding and renovate your home while beating work deadlines and boardroom tussles. Or can you?

Tips to help you to pull off a major life event and still keep your job.

The frantic bride-to-be

Scenario: You have 45'/ days to your wedding day- and you still can't finalise your guest list. Everything else, including your deadlines for that year-end financial report and presentation to the CEO on Monday, seems like a much less important task.

Crisis alert:

Traps: For one, if you're a Bridezilla and want to hold the reins for your perfect day, keep in mind that you'll be bogged down by the nitty-gritty details (should the wedding favours be hazelnut pralines or dark chocolate?) that might eat into your work productivity. And in your excitement (or frazzled state), you could start - and invite - too much conversation with the co-workers, all about your big day.

Snap out of it: Take a few days off for necessary arrangements like shopping for the wedding gown and venue. If you're unable to take leave, consult a wedding planner who can perform the feat of getting you to the church and wedding banquet without hiccups within two months. But be prepared to fork out 20-50 per cent more for last-minute bookings and to compromise on your dream wedding.

Do what you can within your means and leave the other tasks to a trusted assistant. When you're comforted by the fact that someone else will take care of things, you'll not be distracted by it at work.

Also, speak to friends who got married recently (if they're hitched for more than three years, the information they provide would be outdated) and learn from their experiences (both good and bad) to save yourself from trial and error. A wiser alternative would be to plan things ahead - way ahead.

Planned the wedding one year ahead, which gave you plenty of times to think through all the details and even enjoy the whole process of organising the big day. Also strategized on how to hit your sales numbers in advance so that you wouldn't panic as you got busier and busier closer to your wedding clay. The formula for staying calm and collected the months before the wedding also included having a trusted colleague who could back you whenever you needed to take leave, and getting your partner just as involved in the wedding.

Home improvement

Scenario: Sandblasted, glossy or matte? With shiny granite bits or earthy pebbles? You never knew that choosing tiles for your toilet could be such a herculean task. Your contractors on your speed dial and he calls every hour to ask about the tiniest details - as you instructed him to - while you put your clients on hold on the other line.

Traps: If you're renovating your home for the first time, there's plenty to familiarise yourself with, to avoid incurring extra costs and being short changed. Plus, you have to make careful decisions because you'll be living with those mermaids swimming around your bathroom mirror every day until you decide to do the crazy thing and renovate again. You might also be tempted to surf the Net relentlessly for ideas and call every contractor uncle you know for more advice.

How to refurbish your new home over three months without skipping a beat at work? Prioritisation and compartmentalising your time is key. Concentrate on one thing at a time and get it going off the ground. Separated work and renovation time clearly (Don't even pick up the phone to tell your contractor you're not free) so that you wouldn't lose a concentration on either task and was able to leave work on time every day. At home, just spent two hours on the Web doing your research on interior decorations; drafting a to-do list - for work and renovations - every night also meant you have not leave anything out the next day. It also helpful to hire an experienced contractor who has initiative so he asks the right questions and makes the best decisions, without having to call further to ask about minor details.

Baby makes three

Scenario: You just found out that you're pregnant. And although you're ecstatic about being a mother, you're also worried about being responsible for another life. There's also the nausea...

Traps: Some woman would feel less enthusiastic about her job after getting pregnant four months ago. For starters, her morning sickness makes working in the earlier part of the day extremely difficult. The first-time mum also says that due to the hormonal changes that come with pregnancy, she is prone to mood swings and is beginning to procrastinate a little on the job - something she never used to do. Dozing off at her desk is also common especially after lunch.

Snap out of it: Work according to their temperament. You only feel better towards the later part of the day, organise your most important tasks to be done in the afternoon. Psyches yourself up to complete your work by setting your own deadlines and then communicating them to someone, like your boss, so you'll have to commit to it.

Taking short walks to nearby food centres for snacks to recharge yourself. At home, talks to your husband about your baby as often as possible, so that your insecurities about being a mother don't filter into your work.