Plan Ahead for a Stress-Free Vacation

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BONUS FREEBIE: Want even more ways to stay organized, productive and less stressed? Click here to get access to my List-Making Starter Kit. It will boost your efficiency and get you back to doing more of the things you love.

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How many times has this happened to you?

You plan an amazing vacation to de-stress. But then the week leading up to your trip you’re overwhelmed with tasks, you’re checking your emails during your trip, and somehow still overwhelmed with work when you return.

Sound familiar? It happens to all of us. Which is why PIX 11 News in New York City recently interviewed me for my top tips on how to have a stress-free vacation. (Also check out my interview with PIX 11 for my healthy summer travel  checklist.)

Here are my top three tips from my segment with Tamsen Fadal and Arrainee LeBeau.

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How to Travel Productively

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BONUS FREEBIE: Want even more ways to stay organized, productive and less stressed? Click here to get access to my List-Making Starter Kit. It will boost your efficiency and get you back to doing more of the things you love.

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Spontaneous trips are fun but productive trips are better!

Having a plan allows you to save money, travel safely, and enjoy a stress-free trip to a beautiful destination! And there’s a perfect amount of planning to prepare for your vacation.

Founder & CEO of Tripscout, Konrad Waliszewski joined me on Inside Scoop to teach how to travel productively.

Here are his top tips for an organized (but not too organized trip)!

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Standing Out in a Hybrid World

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BONUS FREEBIE: Want even more ways to stay organized, productive and less stressed? Click here to get access to my List-Making Starter Kit. It will boost your efficiency and get you back to doing more of the things you love.

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Remote work is great. No commute. Working in pajamas. Chat boxes instead of people popping by your desk. But it can also be challenging.

It’s easy for your boss to see your hard work when you’re in the same place, but how do you set yourself apart when working from home?

President of Social Intel, Bianca Calhoun Lager, joined me on my live-streaming show Inside Scoop to teach us how to stand out in a hybrid world.

Here are three of her top tips about standing out in a hybrid world.

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Live Boldly to Reinvent Your Life

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BONUS FREEBIE: Want even more ways to stay organized, productive and less stressed? Click here to get access to my List-Making Starter Kit. It will boost your efficiency and get you back to doing more of the things you love.
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“New year, new you.” It gets thrown around a lot, but it’s time to really think about it.

Is it time for a new you?

What steps have you taken recently towards living the life you’ve always dreamed of? Have you been thinking about making a career change? Or have you been taking the steps to make it change?

My friend, author, journalist, and podcaster, Tamsen Fadal, joined me on my live-streaming show Inside Scoop, to chat about living boldly and the art of reinvention.

Here are four ways to get started reinventing yourself.

1) Declutter Your Life

You need organization to make major changes. And organization starts with my favorite thing…

Lists!

Tamsen uses lists to get her thoughts out and her priorities straight. “I really write down everything in my head and do a brain dump. I block out time every single day so I can declutter my head a little bit and then prioritize what’s the most important thing” Tamsen said.

If you don’t know your priorities (more on that here during my recent WPIX interview) and what you want, you won’t be moving in the right direction. If you’re not sure how to get started using lists to figure that out, I have a LinkedIn Learning Course “The Power of Lists to Get Stuff Done” that will guide you through using lists to improve your life.

Once you’ve decluttered and you know your priorities, you have to…

2) Be Honest with Yourself About Your Goals.

It’s easy to throw yourself into things and start working just to feel productive. “The scariest thing is to stop and really think about and assess what you want,” Tamsen added.

Ask yourself, where do you want to be a year from now? Don’t worry about what other people think. Where do you want to be?

Don’t start working until you have specific and exciting answers to those questions. “I think you really have to be honest with your goals and what it is that you want in the end because  sometimes we find ourselves working toward one goal, only to realize that wasn’t the end game,” Tamsen explained.

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3) Be Honest About Your Reinvention Timeline.

Once you’ve aligned yourself with the right goals, be realistic about how long it will take to achieve them. Be honest about how long tasks will actually take. You’re not going to launch a new content channel in a week. But you can decide what kind of content you want to be regularly creating in that long.

I asked Tamsen what your reinvention timeline should be. “Three months,” she said without having to think about it. “That’s a real established time to get a habit started or at least to achieve something and then go back and look at what you’ve achieved,” she added.

Taking the time to applaud your small accomplishments is important!,” she said without having to think about it. “That’s a real established time to get a habit started or at least to achieve something and then go back and look at what you’ve achieved,” she added.

Taking the time to applaud your small accomplishments is important!

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4) Celebrate Yourself to “Unlock Your Bold.”

Living boldly is something we’re all capable of doing. But that doesn’t mean it won’t be hard at times. Keeping a list (Yay more lists!) of your wins will help you stay motivated.

Even professionals as successful as Tamsen keep a list of their accomplishments. “Not only am I looking forward, but I’m looking back at what those achievements are. When you start building those blocks on top of each other, I think you can unlock that bold part of you,” Tamsen said about keeping her list.

Tracking your accomplishments will help you feel proud of your progress and encouraged to keep going.

For more tips on reinvention, check out Tamsen’s guide to “Unlocking Your Bold” and watch our entire conversation here.

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BONUS FREEBIE: Want even more ways to stay organized, productive and less stressed? Click here to get access to my List-Making Starter Kit. It will boost your efficiency and get you back to doing more of the things you love.
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The Productive Power of Lists

The simple to-do list can be a mighty productivity tool. Lists can help you approach goals in a more intentional way, set the right priorities, and hold yourself accountable. Which can help you achieve more at work and in your career.

And you’re 33 percent more likely to do something if you write it down!

And my new Audible masterclass “The Productive Power of Lists” is here to help you get started!

This class will help you use lists to your maximum advantage. In this masterclass, you’ll learn to assess the work you have in front of you and identify how to best spend your time. You’ll figure out what to work on versus what to delegate, what’s important versus what can wait. From evaluating tasks through the lens of your top priorities to embracing your own productivity rhythm and scheduling free time to recharge, my Audible masterclass will empower you to accomplish more of what’s meaningful.

Some highlights of the class are:

  • My four-step formula for creating a list-making system.
  • What a “distraction placeholder” is and how to use it.
  • How to find your personal productivity style (and how to use that to effectively schedule your days).
  • Why an accountability buddy can be the secret to getting things done.
  • How to stay productive when working in a group.
  • What a “to become” list is and how it helps you envision your dream life.

To hear a sample of “The Productive Power of Lists” click here.