Stop Saying “Remind Me”
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Have you ever had this happen? You ask someone for help or for a favor — and they say, “Sure, I’ll do that — just remind me.”
This is one of my biggest pet peeves. I know this doesn’t usually come from a bad place — it mostly comes from being overwhelmed, disorganized, or not having a system to manage your tasks.
In the Name of Productivity, Be Clear
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I’ve realized over the years that we all have our own definitions of common terms like “EOD” and “ASAP.” And that can cause miscommunication and serious productivity hiccups!
I was a TV producer for many years, so I have a specific definition of ASAP — to me it means “in the next few minutes.” Because when you’re on a deadline things move fast and you have to move quickly too.
But… that’s not everyone’s definition of ASAP. For some people it means by the end of the morning, or by the end of the week, or just whenever they can get to it. If your job relies on communicating with lots of people from different industries, their definition (and yours!) will probably vary a lot.
Productivity can be really hampered when we’re working with different assumptions. People can easily get frustrated when you’re not aligned on a timeline. Things go much more smoothly when there’s clarity in communication.
Here are some common productivity communication challenges and how to combat them:
1) ASAP
This is a big one — we all say it all the time, so it’s a hard habit to break. But it’s worth the effort. Instead of saying ASAP, it’s better to just share a specific day or time, even if it’s a range. And if someone says they’ll “get it done ASAP” but you don’t know when they mean, just ask politely if they can give more details about their timeline.
2) EOD
“End of day” seems like it would be straightforward enough. It can cause confusion when you don’t know someone’s work day! I once worked with someone whose workday ended at midnight and I didn’t realize it, so at 5 o’clock I was always left wondering what was going on. But she was thinking of her EOD, not mine! Since you never know when someone’s workday starts or ends, giving specific times is better.
3) Time zone
It’s super common now to work with people across different time zones. So it’s extra important to give time zone information when you’re scheduling meetings or deadlines. If you regularly work with someone in another time zone, it’s great if you can get in the habit of giving both your time zone and theirs (11am PST/2pm EST, for instance) when you’re communicating. That way there’s less room for error. I’ve been using an app to help with this – it’s called SavvyTime and you put in the time zones you need to know and it shows you all the times on screen. Very convenient!
These all seem like small changes but they really add up! You might be surprised how much these communication pitfalls are impacting your productivity.
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What’s Your Legacy Work?
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What comes to mind when someone says the word “legacy”?
For many people, it’s probably material things, like clothes, jewelry, or even money. Or some people might think about kids or family. And that’s all true. But I think there’s a lot more to it than that.
This has been on my mind ever since my best friend Nicole Feldman died in October 2025. She was 46 years old.
Nicole fought various cancers for more than five years. She beat each one time and again. Even the doctors were stunned. Until she couldn’t anymore. She battled breast (2020), cervical (2022), pancreatic (2023), and finally metastasized pancreatic cancer to the abdominal wall (2024 – 2025).
I was able to be there at the very end with her and her husband. She was hurting and struggling but we still managed to have fun in between. We captured some “cotton candy moments” that were so sweet and fleeted too quickly.
In the time since Nicole died, I’ve been reflecting on her legacy. What she left behind was how she made people feel. Those lessons are a bigger legacy than anyone could ever imagine.
That’s what got me thinking about how we can all do “legacy work” right now. What are the ideas, feelings or sentiments you’ll leave behind? And what are you doing right now to build that positive legacy?
Nicole always taught me to take the trip. Make the call. Do the thing. And she’s right. You never know what tomorrow will bring. Now is the time to do your legacy work.
Before Nicole died, I asked her how I would know she’s visiting me. She said she’ll come back as a butterfly. And wouldn’t you believe it…I see them everywhere! I know she’s with me. I feel her presence every day no matter where I am or what I’m doing. I still joke with her in my mind and smile when I see something she would have loved. The connection is still there in how I live my life every day – whether it’s how I pack my bag when I go on vacation (she was a master packer! And even wrote about it in my first book Listful Thinking,) or always reading the fortune in a fortune cookie.
Nicole taught me so much about how to take advantage of every moment and spend it with the people you love. In honor of her, I want to share some of the wisdom Nicole lived by.
Live large! Nicole planned tons of corporate events in Las Vegas and spent more time there than anywhere else. I used to call her “Mrs. Las Vegas”! There was a little bit of Vegas in everything she did. A special something to make it memorable. In 2024 she got us tickets to a concert at the Sphere and then surprised us with a helicopter ride INTO the Grand Canyon. It was on her bucket list. It was not on mine. I was terrified. Then, there was prosecco waiting in the Grand Canyon somehow. Nicole always knew to play to her audience!
Squeeze every moment out of life. She lived this way even before she knew she was dying. We traveled all over the world and she and I would create itineraries together. She’d always pack in just one more thing that I often tried to remove for timing or something. And in the end it was always a highlight. Like the time I got spit on by an alpaca! That was not on my itinerary.
You’ll never regret doing something nice. She always said this and meant it. When talking to her friends and family I heard so many stories about Nicole sending a gift for no reason at all. It sometimes came in the form of a pizza stone, heating pad or even laundry detergent that you just “had to try!” But whatever the gift, big or small, it came with lots of love.
Encouragement is a superpower – become a mentor. I can still hear her encouraging me for every move in my career and life. “You got this! You can do it! You’ll be great!” Before she died, we asked anyone who wanted to share a video message for us to show her. We got lots of them and the common theme was thank you. Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for showing me I could do it. Thank you for nurturing me.
People will enter your life for a reason, a season or lifetime. Another Nicoleism. And so true. I remind myself of this all the time. There are people who will surprise you in your life for good and for bad that is for sure. But when you look at it in Nicole’s way it makes it much more impactful and sometimes less painful.
People often think of legacy as being something tangible — a big goal to work towards. But legacy is often the little things that remain after we’re gone. Legacy work begins now, in the way we live day to day and how we treat the people around us.
I invite you to think about your legacy this way. What are you doing now that will continue to have a positive impact far into the future?
I’d like to leave you with a poem I wrote while I was with Nicole in her last few weeks. I don’t think I’ve ever written a poem before this! Maybe for a class project or something but it’s not my usual thing. I shared it with her and I felt compelled to do it and to remember everything about her.
Live Forever
In every marg I mix
Rosé I sip
Charcuterie board I eat
Rick Steves episode I watch
Plane surface I wipe
Eminem song I hear
Wrinkle I iron (in a panic)
Packing cube I fill
True crime I solve
Fitted sheet I fold
Dirty Dancing move I make
Eataly I visit
Trip I plan
Goat I try to hug
Perfect avocado I open
Cotton candy moment I savor
Butterfly I admire
And pair of little old ladies I see
I know you’re here with me
Always.
For Nicole — with love, Paula
September 27, 2025
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