Increase Productivity | List Producer

Madonna is a List Maker Too

September 6, 2012/0 Comments/in Benefits of List Making, Decision Making, Fellow List Producers, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, List Making, Reduce Stress, Saving Time, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

Madonna (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When I was in Paris this summer — there were reports that Madonna was staying at the Ritz Carlton hotel. So me, my friends and hubby did what any sensible traveler would do — we stood in the rain outside the hotel hoping to get a glimpse. That never happened. Oh well — thanks to my hubby Jay I will be going to see her perform live tonight at Yankee Stadium! Yay!

Madonna Makes Lists

But the real reason for this post — is that Madonna is just like you and me — she’s a list maker! Yep — it’s true. There have been several reports of her listing away in her limo while trekking off to events and concerts.

There’s even this to-do list that I found on my new favorite site “Lists of Note” — check it out — it’s a list she wrote in the 1990s:

Our Love Of Lists Makes the New York Times

September 5, 2012/0 Comments/in Benefits of List Making, Fellow List Producers, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, List Making, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

Just the Grocery List (Photo credit: Krissy.Venosdale)

Lists have officially made it! Did you see the opinion piece in this Sundays New York Times? (such a New Yorker thing to say btw.) It’s basically all about why we all love lists so much. Two friends and my mother-in-law sent me the article.

Here’s some of the highlights from the New York Times piece:

The web makes lists the easiest way to consume information. (If you’ve ever read an article with a headline like “9 Ways to Make Someone Fall in Love With You” you know what I mean.)
We have short attention spans.
We are competative — even in our list making. (Whose bucket list is cooler, who has read the most books?)
Lists tell stories about your life (What’s in your Netflix cue? It says something about you!)
Atul Gawande is the man when it comes to checklists. These are very sophisticated list making techniques that surgeons, pilots and construction workers use daily.
The Roget’s Thesaurus was created by compulsive list maker Peter Roget — from just a little list of words.

Make These Changes and Be Happier

September 4, 2012/4 Comments/in Benefits of List Making, Decision Making, Fellow List Producers, Guest Posts, Health, Holidays, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, Reduce Stress, Relationships, Saving Money, Saving Time, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

Brett Blumenthal

I’m a creature of habit — in grade school I would hate having to move desks! It seems like such a small thing but I remember having such an issue with this. But sometimes change is good and can present you with opportunities you wouldn’t necessarily come across (like sitting next to a cute boy in class!)

I’m fortunate enough to be acquainted with author and health expert Brett Blumenthal — she’s shared a list of small changes that will give big returns in the happiness department! Read more

Flipboard: A Must-Have App

August 30, 2012/4 Comments/in Apps, Benefits of List Making, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, List Making, Saving Time, Technology, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

Flipboard (Photo credit: DavidErickson)

Magazine reading is my guilty little pleasure. I absolutely love it. Flipping through the pages and looking at all the photos and blurbs makes me so happy. Really — it’s the little things in life 🙂

Anyway — I was talking with a few people during my virtual “Lists & Libations” meetup and one of the women mentioned that she’d love to have one place to read all her news, blogs and favorite sites daily. I told her about Flipboard and realized I’ve never mentioned it here on this blog. It’s my #1 absolutely most favorite app of all time because it’s just like reading a magazine — except you pick the content.

As a news junkie — I like to see what’s going on in the world when I drink my green tea in the morning but I don’t have much time to do it. With Flipboard you can choose to include different feeds or channels depending on your interests. I have a feed set up for my Facebook page, Twitter page, Oprah’s website, this blog, and a bunch of news sites. And as I sip — I flip.

Flipboard is available for iPhone and Android but I really love the iPad version best because it feels like a real magazine. It’s a much easier way to scan through Twitter because you can see all the photos that people post instead of having to click on a link. Everything is laid out perfectly and makes it fun and quick to zip through all your feeds.

Whatever your interest you can find a feed for it — travel, style, cooking, etc. And the beautiful design has won this app all sorts of accolades. I should also mention that Flipboard just hit a milestone — 20 million users! Plus they just added video as a feature. Whoa. So if you haven’t used it already — definitely put Flipboard on your must-have app list!

Join My Virtual Meetup

August 28, 2012/0 Comments/in Benefits of List Making, Fellow List Producers, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, List Making, Reduce Stress, Relationships, Saving Time, Technology, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

L is for Lists (Photo credit: Swiv)

Since starting my Meetup group Lists & Libations in NYC I’ve gotten a lot of requests to organize a virtual Meetup. So I’m hosting one tonight for all the people who aren’t in NYC or can’t make our in-person Meetups.

There are 3 spots left in our Google+ Hangout tonight. If you’re interested in tonight’s theme: “Common List-Making Mistakes,” please signup and join us!

If there’s interest — I’d be happy to host more of these virtual Meetups so we can chat face to face! Hope to see you tonight.