5 Things to Say to A Celebrity

English: Gayle King at the Vanity Fair kickoff...

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In my career, I’m fortunate to have a ton of opportunities to meet interesting and influential people. Every once in a while, this includes a celebrity! When I knew I would be meeting Betty White, I was so excited because I’ve always been a huge “Golden Girls” fan.  I actually got the chance to chat with her and even appear in a segment with her quickly.  It was lovely and she was fantastic.

However, I don’t always keep it so cool when I meet famous people. I’ve been a fan of Oprah my entire life but when I saw Gayle King in an elevator, I completely froze! I didn’t want to blurt out, “I love Oprah too!” so I said nothing.

It can just be so awkward! When you meet a celebrity, you know so much about their career and their personal lives but you are a complete stranger to them. No one wants to be asked about their divorce or have someone they don’t give them career advice, and I imagine celebrities feel the same way.

So what do you say? I made a list of specific questions to ask Oprah in the past, but now I realize I needed a more general list in case I ever run into Stedman or Gayle!  To avoid being rude, embarrassing myself, or saying nothing, I came up with this list of things to say when meeting a celebrity: Read more

Your Favorite Characters Are Probably List Makers

Bert (right) and Ernie (left) with his rubber ...

Bert (right) and Ernie (left) with his rubber duckie . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I spend my days trying to come up with interesting content for this blog and find list makers in unsuspecting places.

While watching TV one day it occurred to me that some of our favorite characters must be list-makers too!  I’ve talked about celebs like Madonna and John Lennon making lists but what about some of the people we invite into our homes every day? 

 

I wonder what’s on the to-do lists of my top 5 “probable” list makers:

1. Ned Flanders (The Simpsons)ned

  • Ask Homer if he is done with my lawn mower
  • Come up with a more efficient way to iron
  • Sign up for church bake-sale

2. Claire Dunphy (Modern Family)claire

  • Call a professional to fix “the step”
  • Figure out the perfect anniversary present for Phil
  • Bail Hailey out of jail

3. Bert (Sesame Street)bert

  • Count the bottle caps in my collection
  • Feed Bernice (his pet pigeon)
  • Meet Ernie at Hoopers Store

4. Monica Geller (Friends)monica

  • Clean the vacuum with the dust buster
  • Learn the rules of football so you can beat Ross in the “Geller Cup”
  • Go out to the stores and get mayonnaise (NOT light mayo)

5. Sheldon Cooper (The Big Bang Theory)sheldon

  • Buy more hand sanitizer
  • Engineer perfect Spock costume for Halloween 2014
  • Prove to Penny and Leonard that I have perfect pitch

What characters do you think are natural-born list makers?

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5 Reasons to Give Evernote a Second Chance

Evernote

Evernote (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I should get a commission from Evernote because I literally tell everyone I meet about it. It’s one of the top-rated productivity apps in the iTunes App Store and I couldn’t live without it. But people tell me all the time that they’ve downloaded it but could just “never get into it,” or make it work for them.

I get that – Evernote does require a little bit of a commitment at first to be really useful. Usually, I pass along some great advice from LifeHacker.com about how to use Evernote effectively, but sometimes people just want the basics.

Here is my own list of Tips and Tricks to help make Evernote work for you:

1.  Use it Often: The more you use it the more useful it becomes. Believe me. Notes in Evernote last forever, unlike that post-it stuck to your cell phone. When you can go back through weeks of to-do lists and can breathe easy that you didn’t miss a single thing, you’ll know what I mean. Read more

5 Ways To Stay Productive While Sick

Woman with tissue and hot drinkWith winter cold season just beginning, it’s important to be proactive and boost your immune system with extra vitamins and get your flu shot. I got my flu shot last month but there’s always a chance that you’ll catch a bug at some point this season. Most of the time, it’s nothing a few wellness products and some concealer can’t take care of, but there have definitely been times when a cold takes me completely out of commission.

Here are a few ideas to boost your efficiency even when you’re feeling under the weather:

1. Sleep! Even when you’re not sick, it’s important to get enough sleep at night, but when you’re sick and your body needs to recover, sleep is even more important. Think it’s overrated? I was recently at an event with Arianna Huffington and she revealed that she’s crazy about maintaining her sleep schedule. She attributes a ton of her success to getting enough sleep so that she can be more focused and productive.

2. Outsource. With services like TaskRabbit and Wun-Wun, someone else can stock your medicine cabinet and pick up chicken soup for you. Simply send them your wellness list and wait, health is on its way.

3. Maintain your To-Do list. It’s always a good idea to keep a notebook next to your bed for late-night bursts of inspiration. When you’re sick, keep your to-do list bedside so you can easily add tasks you’ll need to accomplish when you’re better. This will allow you to easily prioritize these tasks and head back to work as if you had never been gone!

4. Delegate. Whether it’s your co-workers or family members, most of us have a team we “work” with every day. Delegating tasks to others allows us to stay super-productive while personally only focused on a few tasks. People understand if you lean a little more on them when you’re sick, especially if you’re someone who always makes sure to do a good job.

5. Use the buddy system. I once asked a co-worker to keep an eye on my email as well as hers when I was out sick and to call me if anything needed to be urgently addressed. I could sleep soundly knowing that not every ping of my cell phone meant I had to get up and attend to some task. Later, I was able to return the favor when she took a personal day!

Remember: the most productive thing you can do when you’re sick is focus on getting better. Take care of yourself and try a few of these tips and the rest will follow. Stay well!

Fab Find: Cross Off To-Dos with HandyBook

Handybook LogoIf you’ve ever hosted Thanksgiving, you know how much has to get done before the turkey gets served. This year, many will be celebrating the first night of Hanukkah on Thanksgiving as well, and that means double the prep! This is the time of year for long to-do lists, so it’s important to remember to get help to avoid getting burnt out and stay cheerful! Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. Get outsourcing! Read more