Benefits of List Making | List Producer

List of Things to Say in Awkward Situations

July 24, 2012/1 Comment/in Benefits of List Making, Children, Decision Making, Holidays, Home, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, Reduce Stress, Relationships, Saving Time, Tool for Success, Weddings/by Paula Rizzo

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We’ve all been there — in a situation where we are fidgeting and searching for just the right thing to say. These awkward social encounters can make us anxious, stressed out and agitated.

Dinner Parties

For some people – dinner parties can be excruciating. Small talk, people you don’t know and awkward silences can really make you uneasy. If you go into social situations like dinner or cocktail parties prepared — you will have a much better time. Here’s some ideas to pull you out of this tough time: Read more

Keeping Track of Your Book Lists

July 16, 2012/3 Comments/in Benefits of List Making, Books, Boost Memory, Decision Making, Fellow List Producers, Learning With a List, Reduce Stress, Saving Money, Saving Time, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

A recent comment by fellow list producer, Katie C., on my blog about “Keeping a Book List” peaked my interest. Katie told me about a website called LibraryThing.com that she uses to list her favorite books. So I decided to check it out.

She’s right – it’s a great website. It’s a social cataloging site that lets you keep track of your favorite books, wish lists, etc. You can read other user’s reviews and it connects people who like the same types of books. It gives you suggestions about what to read next and can be accessed from anywhere – including your cell phone. So when people ask you “what should I read?” you’ll have all the information at your fingertips!

Basically it’s a social media site for book nerds. Well, I’m in! There are a bunch of other sites and even an application on Facebook that does similar things. But what I like about this site is that it searches the Library of Congress, Amazon sites and more than 80 libraries all over the world. It lets you organize your collection however you’d like – even by using the Dewey decimal system.

Signing up is free but it allows you to only catalog 200 books. That’s fine by me– I probably won’t need more than that. But if you’re a real bookworm you might want to get a paid account that costs $10 a year or $25 for a lifetime! Seems like a small price to pay to get your “nerd on.”

What other book sites do you like to use to keep track of all your reads?

Planning My Trip to Paris

July 12, 2012/4 Comments/in Benefits of List Making, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, List Making, Reduce Stress, Saving Money, Saving Time, Tool for Success, Travel/by Paula Rizzo

In just a few hours I’ll be taking off for Paris! Jay and I are visiting our fabulous friends Nicole and Peter who decided to move there for three months “just because.”

I know — they are a bit crazy — but this is why we love them. Oh, and also — they love to eat. And they love to plan! (Ok, Nicole and I love to plan…Jay and Peter love to eat more.) This trip has been months in the making.

Here’s a look at how we organized everything:

1. Plan out must-dos: Nicole and I traded email after email for months with lists about what we wanted to do on this trip.

Here’s what it boiled down to: Read more

Vote For Me If My Blog Makes You Smile!

July 11, 2012/13 Comments/in Benefits of List Making, Contest/by Paula Rizzo

I’ve entered a blogging contest and I’d love your help getting some votes. It’s for the 2012 BlogLux Smile Awards and it’s part of the festivities surrounding this year’s BlogHer12 conference in New York City in August. Voting runs from July 11 – 22 and you can vote once a day. Please do! There’s also a lot of other fabulous blogs on this list – so poke around and see what else you find too.

What’s BlogHer?

Haven’t heard of BlogHer? I hadn’t until a few months ago either. It’s a big conference for female bloggers to come together and learn, share and party.

Follow the Action

If you’re on twitter you can follow some of the madness by typing in the hashtag #BlogHer12. This year there are two keynote speakers — Martha Stewart (a list maker btw) and Katie Couric. I love Martha because every organization geek wishes she was like her! And of course Katie has been an amazing role model for me in my “other” profession as a TV news producer. Can’t wait!

(Disclaimer: I apologize in advance to anyone who isn’t interested in BlogHer12 — I promise not to post too often about it! I realize it’s like watching paint dry if you’re not into it :))

7 Tips to Get More Done at Work

July 10, 2012/3 Comments/in Benefits of List Making, Boost Memory, Increase Productivity, Reduce Stress, Saving Money, Saving Time, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

Taking notes during a shoot with Dr. Manny Alvarez

Everyone has had one of those days – where you feel like you didn’t get anything accomplished at work.I’ve been there myself. You went to work, you talked to people, you wrote emails — but you didn’t really get anything finished.

Here’s a list of ways to rethink your workday so you’ll be more productive:

1. Make a list: You saw this one coming, didn’t you? I sound like a broken record because it works. Everyday before I leave work I make a list. Even if I’m dying to get out of there or I’m running late – I make time to make my list for the next day.

I look at my calendar and run through the following day in my head. I write out everything that I need to do – emails I need to write, phone calls I need to return, appointments I need to keep, shoots I need to go on, etc. I usually make two columns – one for work and one for personal stuff. Then the next day when I come in – I don’t even have to think about what needs to get done – I just follow my list and cross out tasks as I finish them. Read more