Decision Making | List Producer

Checklist for the Perfect Pet

December 19, 2011/2 Comments/in Benefits of List Making, Children, Decision Making, Guest Posts, Holidays, Home, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, Pets, Reduce Stress, Relationships, Saving Time, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

I’ll never forget when I was in third grade and we got a puppy for Christmas! I had basically been asking for one everyday for over a year. Finally my parents gave in and surprised me — it was one of the best holiday gifts I’ve ever gotten (aside from my engagement ring 🙂 ) Buttons was my best friend and partner in crime for sure!

But not everyone should become puppy parents over the holidays — it’s a stressful time and because a pet is going to become a member of your family…it’s an important decision. I’ve asked Aaron Hill, a certified professional animal trainer and the owner of Pets in the City, to give us some tips on picking the perfect pet. For my own personal choice, I’d highly recommend using a dog walking service. When I was in Seattle, I used PugetPets as a way to make sure my doggie got some much-needed exercise each and everyday. Read more

Be Less Overwhelmed by Email

December 14, 2011/3 Comments/in Benefits of List Making, Decision Making, Home, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, Reduce Stress, Saving Time, Technology, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

There are days when I’m drowning in email. I get tons of pitches at work for health segments ranging from fitness classes to surgeries. Then my personal emails from friends and family pile up and of course there are messages about ListProducer.com. Here are some amazing websites to help you come up for air when you’re over your head in emails:

1. NudgeMail.com: This website will remind you of important emails you need to respond to. You simply forward the email to an address they give you and then when you’d like to be reminded about it — and you’ll get a follow up email about it. Brilliant and free!

2. Followup.cc: Here you can also forward an email or blind carbon copy (bcc) an address given to you by followup.cc. If you write “1day@followup.com” then you’ll be reminded in 1 day. You can also email yourself reminders by emailing a specific time like “6pm@followup.com” and you can write an email to tell you to do a task you need to do then. You can even snooze the reminder if want to.

3. Boomerang for Gmail: You need to have gmail email set up to use this one. This will allow you to follow up with people who haven’t written you back. So if you send an email to someone on Tuesday — you have the email sent back to you in any time you specify if that person hasn’t written you back. Yes — it seems like a good nagging tool but it’s also a good “on top of your game” tool. You can also schedule emails to go out at a certain time with this service.

Everyone can use a little help managing overflowing in-boxes — but you can also make a difference by being mindful of the amount of email you send. You don’t always need to write back. Before you hit “send” on your next message — think about if it really needs to be sent or if it will just clog up someone else’s in-box. Good email karma is a wonderful thing! (so is email etiquette)

Still feeling overwhelmed by your email? Check out my course Take Back Your Inbox.

Have a Mental List for Emergencies

December 12, 2011/2 Comments/in Benefits of List Making, Boost Memory, Decision Making, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, Reduce Stress, Saving Time, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

This past Saturday afternoon my husband Jay and I were getting ready to run some errands when we heard lots of fire trucks zooming by our apartment building. Living in New York City – this isn’t a big deal – it happens all the time and you learn to ignore it. But the sirens were constant and extremely loud this time. I looked out the window and there were firefighters rushing into our building! I started to smell smoke and yelled out to Jay that I thought something was on fire. I opened our apartment door and the hallway was filling with smoke. Read more

Check Off Your List With Gifts That Give Back

December 8, 2011/0 Comments/in Art, Beauty, Benefits of List Making, Decision Making, Decorating, Fashion, Fitness, Food, Guest Posts, Health, Holidays, Home, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, Reduce Stress, Relationships, Saving Money, Saving Time, Shopping, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

OrganicBouquet.com

One of the great pleasures of my job is working with Chris Kilham, Medicine Hunter. Chris is an alternative medicine expert who travels all over the world and has changed the way I think about medicine. In the three years that we’ve been working together on video segments I’ve also become friends with his fabulously savvy wife Zoe Helene. Like Chris she loves the outdoors and has a real respect for our environment. I thought she’d be the perfect person to help us find gifts that will give back this year.

Gifts That Give Back

by Zoe Helene

When Paula suggested I come up with a list of Gifts That Give Back, I knew the challenge would be to keep that list short. After collecting pages and pages of great stuff, I decided to keep this one focused on high quality traditional Christmas gifts that are also earth-friendly.

In the natural products industry we call that category ‘premium sustainable’. You might have heard it called ‘Luxury Eco,’ which is basically the thing. In a nutshell, these are high-end products that have produced in ways that are healthy for all parties along the chain of trade; and not just people, but planet, plants and critters too. Now that’s what I call true Christmas spirit. Read more

You Need A Wish List!

December 7, 2011/4 Comments/in Benefits of List Making, Boost Memory, Decision Making, Holidays, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, Reduce Stress, Saving Money, Saving Time, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

When people get married or have a baby they register for items they want or need. You don’t want mis-matched plates or decorations that don’t really go with your theme – so you tell people exactly what you need. It’s also smart because this way people won’t buy items that you already own. I think the same attention should be paid to holiday gift giving.

Why not make a wish list of all the things you’d like to receive so your friends and family have a guide? It will save time and money. Some etiquette experts might disagree but I think everyone could use a little help with their holiday shopping. Read more