Increase Productivity | List Producer

Getting to Your Forgotten To-Dos

February 1, 2015/0 Comments/in Benefits of List Making, Decision Making, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

We all have that one thing at the bottom of our list. The thing that keeps popping up over and over again and getting copied from list to list. My friend Karen Rizzo, author of “Things to Bring, S#!t to Do.” – an autobiography in lists, had ‘learn Italian’ written on the bottom of her list for years. Other people have different goals like learning a musical instrument or running a marathon.

Well now it’s crunch time.

The first thing you have to think about is – Do I actually want this? It’s fun to dream about learning a new language, but the reality is — it takes a lot of time and work. Do you have that free time? It’s okay to let it go if you don’t. We can’t do everything.

Productivity Tips You Learn on the Job

January 27, 2015/0 Comments/in Benefits of List Making, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, People, Reduce Stress, Saving Time, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

I have often credited my job as a news producer for honing my time management skills. Working in television has not only taught me the value of a minute, but also how to stick to a strict deadline. That’s because the news happens with or without you and you better be ready as a producer.

But what about other professions? Here are some example of jobs and the productivity tips we can learn from them.

Firefighters – These guys and gals are known for being ready to go at a moment’s notice. All their equipment is laid out, the tanks are filled, the whole process is geared to take as little time as possible. Because a couple of minutes can make all the difference when it comes to a fire — preparation is key. While your day to day might not be as important it’s still a good idea to do as much as you can in advance.

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Get a List-Making Makeover

January 25, 2015/0 Comments/in Benefits of List Making, Increase Productivity, Tool for Success, Webinar/by Paula Rizzo

I’m a sucker for the makeovers on morning TV shows. I just get so excited and I love watching the transformations. I always think “Will she keep up with that look? Her hair looks so cute!”

When I did my very first book signing last week it was a great opportunity to meet some of the readers of this blog and give them a little makeover of their own. A few people brought me their lists to take a look at and help rework their list making techniques. Read more

3 Ways Short Deadlines Help You Do More

January 11, 2015/1 Comment/in Apps, Increase Productivity, Reduce Stress, Saving Time, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The problem with time management is that humans are, in genera, fairly bad at judging time and how long things take. For example, five minutes seems like a short amount of time, but try holding a heavy box for five minutes and it’ll seem like an eternity.

So when we say we’re going to work on a project for an hour, we’re often setting ourselves up to fail. That’s why I believe splitting up your task into manageable chunks is actually the fastest way to get it done.

As a TV producer I’ve had years of practice so I know what 45 seconds vs. two minutes and 45 seconds feels like. It takes a while to get the feel just right. But when you do — it can be an amazing productivity tool.

Here’s some easy ways to break tasks into bite-sized pieces: Read more

Get Your Sh*t Together

January 8, 2015/1 Comment/in Benefits of List Making, Boost Memory, Fellow List Producers, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, List Making, People, Reduce Stress, Tool for Success, Video/by Paula Rizzo

My good friend Terri Trespicio recently wrote a post for me full of relationship advice for the New Year. She invited me to be on her show “Solopreneur,” which is all about sharing success strategies when you work for yourself. We talked all about lists and my book Listful Thinking in this episode titled “Get Your Sh*t Together”! In the video we ride the bus, we clear clutter, we drink tea….it’s a good time. As you can see from the picture, this guy was very interested to hear more about my productivity tips! If you’re just as interested do check it out!