November, 2011 | List Producer

These Lists are Shortcuts for Life

November 4, 2011/in Benefits of List Making, Boost Memory, Decision Making, Fellow List Producers, Food, Home, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, Reduce Stress, Relationships, Saving Money, Saving Time, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

I’m all for shortcuts — that’s why I make so many lists about whatever task I’m working on. Whether it be looking for an apartment or finding a new restaurant I like to work things out on paper and give myself a cheat sheet. I’ve written about my new favorite source for cheat sheets called SkinnyScoop.com. It’s a great website that gives visitors the “skinny” on all sorts of topics to make life easier.

I’ve compiled a couple of lists for the site about how to be more productive and the best websites for planning a vacation. It’s great fun to make lists using their software and to read some of the others on the site. You can comment on and add to any list you like. It’s a nice way to interact and find shortcuts for just about anything. You’ll find ways to declutter, the best subscription websites, amazing dessert recipes, etc.

I’m honored to be named as one of the SkinnyScoop Tastemakers. That means that I’m part of a group of 9 women who will actively contribute to the site and offer our expertise in our various fields. So I’ll be making lists about making lists! Perfect — I can do that! I hope you’ll check out the site, upload your own lists and read through some of mine and the other Tastemaker’s lists.

10 Ways to Create Free Time Out of Thin Air

November 3, 2011/in Benefits of List Making, Boost Memory, Decision Making, Fellow List Producers, Guest Posts, Health, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, Reduce Stress, Relationships, Saving Money, Saving Time, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

nuttakit / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Everyone I talk to complains about not having enough time for everything they want to do. What would you do with that time? Get more work done, write a blog, take a wine-tasting class, staring at the sky, sleep?

Whatever you decide to do with your new-found time…my guest blogger Dr. Shannon Reece says it’s possible! Dr. Reece trains women entrepreneurs to use their strengths to create successful businesses.

Creating Free Time Out of Thin Air

by Dr. Shannon Reece

Our lives are busy! You may be thinking that’s the understatement of the decade, as you try to read this post, while attending to three other things at the same time. But part of the reason our lives have become overwhelmingly full is because we have lost sight of the things that matter the most. Easy to do, amidst the noise and clutter you have to filter each day.

If you stop for a moment to think Read more

iPad App Compiles All Kinds of Lists

November 2, 2011/in Benefits of List Making, Learning With a List, Movies, Reduce Stress, Technology, TV/by Paula Rizzo

I found the coolest iPad app the other day. It’s called Time Populist and it’s an amazing time killer for pop culture lovers…and I mean that in the nicest possible way.

It’s broken up into categories: movies, books, music, TV, games and you can even make your own lists! It contains a photo view of lists like the “Top Books You Were Forced To Read in School,” or the “Top 10 Terrible TV Moms.”

You could literally spend hours flipping through all the fun lists they’ve compiled. It’s my new guilty pleasure. I’m always giving you tips on ways to be more productive…this isn’t one of them. I’ll admit it can be a time suck BUT having a little fun and relaxing should always have a place on your to-do list. Happy flipping!

Lists Will Organize Your Life

November 1, 2011/in Benefits of List Making, Boost Memory, Decision Making, Fellow List Producers, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, Movies, Reduce Stress, Relationships, Saving Money, Saving Time, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

I think I may have met my list-making match! Sarah Welch from GetButtonedup.com is a task master, productivity expert and organizing guru. Her site gives tools to get everything in your life in check. I’ve guest blogged for her and really admire the empire she’s built on being on top of your game!

She’s my featured list producer this month because she’s used her organizing ways to become a great success.

Q: Why do you call yourself a compulsive list producer?

A: If I don’t have a list to work from, the million-and-one to-do’s that I have buzzing around my head, make me feel dazed and confused. If I try to get through the day without a list, I lose my ability to concentrate. I feel overwhelmed because my short-term memory is trying to “remember” things on my list by endlessly looping tasks at random, which ultimately makes me feel I have more to do than I actually do. When I start the day or week with a master list (which I sync up to my calendar), I can crank through things like nobody’s business. I feel sane, productive, and never worry for a second that important things are falling through the cracks. Read more