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

Listful Thinking is Published in Dutch

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2edd36a12109c37fa5c2542134911455_cache_In September, I was excited to discover that my book Listful Thinking had been published in Spanish and Chinese. It’s so interesting to me how a love of lists can translate into different cultures.

Well it’s happened again.

My book is now available in Dutch, under the title ‘Everything at a Glance‘. That title makes the book sound so much more philosophical!

As part of the release in the Netherlands I was interviewed by one of their largest newspapers this week called Algemeen Dagblad.

During the interview I discovered that lists where incredibility popular in the Netherlands. Clearly it’s a country I should visit!

For the Dutch, list making is seen as a way to keep your mind and your life in order. Isn’t that great?

Just had to share the exciting news with all of you.  Can’t wait to see where else my love of lists will go!

Guess Who Made It Onto Oprah’s List?

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Oprah-Winfrey-Desktop-Wallpapers9As regular readers of this blog will know I’m a huge fan of Oprah. So I was very excited to have my book featured at Oprah.com.  You can find the article here that is titled 6 Self Help Books That Actually Help.  Listful Thinking is number 3 on that list!

The article explains how you can use lists to find your true priorities. Everyone has made a pro/con list, but that doesn’t mean everyone has made a good list! As the article points out it’s important to factor every little detail into the decision making process.

Being featured in Oprah’s book club really feels like a full circle moment for me. Especially given that it’s almost exactly a year ago that I went to Oprah’s ‘The Life You Want Weekend‘ and I started this blog right as I went to one of the final tapings of The Oprah Winfrey Show in Chicago.

Now I can look back and smile knowing how far I have come and how far this blog and my book have come.  It’s true what Oprah says, “luck is where planning meets opportunity”.

I’ve Never Had So Much Fun Cleaning Out My Closet

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before

My closet before!

I truly believe I’ve found my spirit animal — it’s Marie Kondo.

I’ve written before about her book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. But this week I finally got around to listening to the entire audiobook and I have to admit I’m a convert (mostly.)

Now I understand why she’s such a rockstar in Japan and why there is a waiting list to work with her!

In her book, Marie explains that she started “tidying” when she was 5 years old. Like a classic middle child she did it to get attention and praise from her parents. Since then, for Marie, tidying has become a celebration. She even dresses up for the event.

Marie says everything you own wants to be of use to you. Isn’t that such a nice way of thinking about it? That was a huge mindset switch for me. Read more

Make This List to Get More Out of Your Day

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412+FUKrQdLFrom CEOs to janitors, we all have the same problem – we don’t have enough time.

In fact, when you think about it, time is an equalizer.  That’s because we all only get 24 hours.

Even the President is forced to squeeze all his tasks into that 24-hour time frame.

So how do we do it?

I recently visited the Google headquarters with my husband in Mountain View, CA.  Our gracious guide Gopi Kallayil discussed this conundrum with us as he showed us around the gorgeous campus.

At one point he asked us, “If you only had one hour what would be the next one thing you would do with it that would maximize the quality of joy, presence and life?”

It’s a great question for unveiling your true priorities.

Often you’ll be surprised by how little time you dedicate to the things you would put at the top of that list. Read more