Apps | List Producer

How to Schedule Meetings in a Snap

April 27, 2015/in Apps, Increase Productivity, Reduce Stress, Saving Time, Technology, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

Sometimes it feels like there just aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done, and in spite of making and maintaining a list to help us streamline our lives, some things still end up causing unneeded stress.

For me, I get a bit anxious whenever I need to schedule a meeting. It seems silly but the thought of having to look at my calendar and come up with several options stops me in my tracks. I usually end up putting off those types of emails for a while and they take up valuable space in my in-box for too long.
There are a number of online programs and apps that can alleviate stress and streamline the process of scheduling meetings:

YouCanBook.Me— With a simple setup, you can connect your Google calendar to your YCBM profile. What’s really nice is it allows you to embed your YCBM account directly on your website. This way your clients can quickly schedule an appointment without having to waste time creating an account themselves. It can be a little inflexible, but it’s worth a try.

Calendly— Calendly is another program that connects directly to Google calendar. Similarly to the other programs on this list, it is rather easy to use and takes the burden of scheduling (often through bothersome phone tag!) off your shoulders. Read more

Be More Productive with a 15-Minute Vacation

April 23, 2015/in Apps, Happiness, Increase Productivity, Reduce Stress/by Paula Rizzo

photo credit: Nicole Rouyer Guillet

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.

The most productive people know the importance of taking a break. In fact studies show that brief diversions from a task can dramatically improve one’s ability to focus on that task for prolonged periods. This is a productivity tip I talk about in my book, Listful Living.

But what do you do with you break? Some go for a short walk, others make a cup of tea – but what about something a bit different? Today I’m going to show you how to take a 15-minute vacation and feel rejuvenated and re-energized.

Here’s how it’s done:

1. Go onto Google and choose the street view.
2. Type in your favorite city or a place you’ve always wanted to visit.
3. Use the Google navigation tools to take a stroll around and enjoy
4. Walk down the Champs-Élysées in Paris or relax on the beach in Bali!

Another great way to take a virtual vacation is to use the app Periscope. If you haven’t heard it’s a new video streaming app that I’m totally obsessed with. Download it and you can watch people live streaming from their phones all over the world. Just recently I watched someone walk along the Great Wall of China. It’s so much fun and a great way to reward yourself after some hard work!

What do you like to do on your break?

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.

My Latest Productivity Killer: Periscope

April 14, 2015/in Apps, Technology/by Paula Rizzo

Smartphones are in many ways a productivity blessing. They provide you with instant access to hundreds of apps designed to help you get more out of your day. However, smartphones can also be a productivity curse. Because you also have access to hundreds of apps designed to get you addicted and take up all your time!

As much as I write about the importance of not being distracted – I too, sometimes get addicted to apps and get thrown off course.

The latest being Periscope.

The app allows you to live stream video from your phone from anywhere in the world. It’s very exciting for me, as a news producer, to think of all the possibilities. When I downloaded the app I had expected to watch a few videos of people going about their lives, but I quickly found myself becoming addicted.

Here are some of the things I’ve watched so far:

Pizza delivery guy arriving at a house in Utah
Kid playing super mario brothers for the first time
Pearl Jam tribute band
Guy hiking in Arizona
Person hanging out near the Golden Gate Bridge
Guy walking through the mall in NJ
Little girl learning to ride her bike for the first time
Guy who couldn’t sleep in the UK drawing
Newsroom tours in Waco, TX, Lexington, KY, Las Vegas, CNN
A puppy that is afraid of a cat in Alabama
Mother daughter dance at wedding
Malibu Beach sunset
Some nascar race
A firehandler on the beach in Florida
A cat yawning
A puppy eating
The MTV Movie Awards red carpet
Cherry blossoms in DC
Behind the scenes tour at The View

You can download the app here. Follow me — I’m @listproducer of course. Remember it is seriously addictive – so consider yourself warned! So use is as a reward when you get something checked off your to-do list. Then you can check out someone walking through Times Square or a Disney parade in real time. Let me know what you think if you check it out.

Get Control of Your Calendars

April 8, 2015/in Apps, Fab Find, Technology/by Paula Rizzo

I often hear a common complaint from productivity seekers like yourself — “I wish I had a better way to keep track of all my calendars.”

I get it – I have the same problem.

I have an Outlook calendar for work and I use Google Calendar for my personal and book stuff. And sometimes iCal gets thrown in the mix too. But sometimes they don’t cross pollinate and I forget stuff. I never like feeling like I’m missing out or not hitting a deadline.

Not to worry — I’ve found a pretty cool solution. I was a guest a book club last week (yes, they read my book Listful Thinking and asked me questions about it!) — and we started talking about apps of course. And one popped up that I’d never heard of — the Sunrise App.

So I took a closer look and it’s basically amazing. It allows you to connect multiple Google Calendar, iCloud, Exchange and Facebook events all in one place. So you’ll be able to keep track of your appointments, work meetings and social events.

Pros:

It’s really pretty. In my book a gorgeous design goes a long way.
It can be used on your desktop, iPhone and Android.
It’s smart and uses appropriate icons for your entries. For example, if you enter “Lunch with Ali” it will instantly assign the knife and fork icon for quick reference.
It includes the weather forecast and any holidays or sports schedules you’d like to add.

Cons:

You’ll need to rework your alert system. I still had my Google Calendar alerts on when I started using Sunrise and I was getting double notifications. So that’s really annoying but totally fixable.
I’ve had a friend (Ok, so it’s my friend Terri, who you all know by now as the host of Solopreneur on the Whatever It Takes Network) tell me that it doesn’t update quickly enough and changes made outside of the app take a while to show up on Sunrise. This hasn’t happened to me but don’t say we didn’t warn you!

See How I Detox a To-Do List on TV

March 8, 2015/in Apps, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, List Making, Tool for Success, TV/by Paula Rizzo

Last week I shared with you the exciting news that I was going to be on The Better Show. If you didn’t have to chance to catch it when it was on TV, here are the clips from the show:

Detox Your To Do List

There’s a right way and a wrong way to make a list. Watch this clip to make sure your doing it the right way to set yourself up for success.

Make A List That Works!

In this clip I show you how to make our lists work for you, not against you. Plus there’s a round-up of gadgets that can help you. Do your best ideas come to you in the shower? Watch this!

Appy Listing

In this clip I give a rundown for the best apps to keep you organized while you shop and travel.