5 List-Making Tricks

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81tRJpB37MLLists can be useful to people in lots of different ways. I use lists to help me be more organized and more productive, but that’s not their only purpose. Lists can be an investigation into your ideas or priorities. They can be a way to help you de-stress at the end of the day.

That’s how my friend author Brett Blumenthal uses her lists. She goes into detail about this in her book 52 Small Changes For The Mind.  When you’re feeling overwhelmed by a seemingly endless number of tasks, writing a list can give you a sense of control over the situation.

Here are some of Brett’s top list-making tips from her book, which I urge you to check out:

Keep It Simple – The more complicated you make lists, the less likely you are to follow it. Overstuffing lists causes stress and confusion and may even sabotage your efforts to get things done. Of course it’s important not to go the other way and be to vague about your tasks. For larger issues it’s important to to break it down into smaller tasks. For example ‘lose weight’ isn’t a task, it’s a goal that can be broken down into tasks. As you make progress with each smaller task, you will stay motivated to keep forging ahead to complete your goal. Read more

The Best Way To Prioritize

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cards-1076921_640Having taken more than a month off work after my appendix burst, I’ve had a lot of time to think about my priorities.

I used to think prioritizing was the order I’d assign to my to-do list items.  Or maybe what I’d be doing in the next five minutes or later that day.  

But really we should all be taking time to think about our priorities in a broader sense.  

Zoom out to see the big picture.  

Before my medical ordeal — I was going to several networking events a week. Most evenings I would go straight from work and not get home until late.  At the time, building new connections and leaving no stone unturned for new opportunities was my priority.

After my illness I’ve realized it’s crucial for me to slow down a bit. I’m still planning on attending networking events here and there, but nowhere near on the scale that I used to.  I’m much more picky about how I spend my time. 

Right now my health is my priority. Read more

Talking Lists with MORE Magazine

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I love meeting fellow list makers wherever I go.  

Many of the journalists I’ve worked with share my affinity for the list.  Tamsen Fadal — an anchor at WPIX in NYC, where I used to work is one of those list makers!  I even featured her list making abilities here.  

When she reached out to me about sharing some insights about ways to make better lists and be more organized I jumped at the opportunity.

The interview is for her video series on MORE magazine’s website. As a side note — I LOVE MORE magazine and I’m so sorry to hear that it won’t be published anymore.  I thought it was a really quality publication and I will miss it.    

In the video Tamsen and I chat about everything we love about lists, where to write them, how to make them and when to make them!

As Tamsen says, you could write a list of everything!  Here is the video, if you enjoy watching it, check out my YouTube channel.

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4 Ways To Free Up 1 Hour of Your Day

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clock-407101_640Do you wish you had an extra hour in your day? Some time to finally get to all those things at the bottom of your to-do list or start working on that personal project?

There’s no need to wish for longer days, instead you can just make better use of the time you have.

The first thing you need to do is stop making excuses. It’s easy to put something off, claiming you’re too busy to get around to it. If you feel that way it’s probably because you aren’t using your time efficiently.

I recently wrote a blog post on how being aware of how much time you spend on various tasks can help increase your efficiency. I like to use RescueTime.com as it tracks how much time I spend on websites and applications. This helps me to pin point my biggest ‘time-wasters’ which I can then cut down on, or eliminate completely in future. Read more

Get a Stopwatch — You Need It!

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clock-782536_640The most common excuse for not being more productive is saying that you have too much going on.

“I’m too busy.” — you often say.  

Am I right?

I’m going to let you in on a little secret — no you aren’t!  

The thing with productivity is that it’s not how much you do, but how you do it. Do you get the most out of the time you have?  Or are you so busy because you fill your day with stuff you don’t really need to be doing.  That’s precious time you could be wasting!

The easiest way to find out is to track your time.

When I started making a note of how I spent my day I had a few surprises. For example, that thing I thought took only five minutes, actually took way longer than that.  It’s never just five minutes in the end.

There are a few apps and techniques to help you track your time. You can find them in the Entrepreneur.com article I wrote on time management.

Also if you want to know more about tracking your time, my friend and fellow author Laura Vanderkam is giving away her time tracking guide for free! Laura’s written several books including What The Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast and I Know How She Does It: How Successful Women Make the Most of Their Time.  If anyone knows how to manage time it’s her!