Increase Productivity | List Producer

Being Organized Helps Beat Stress

March 12, 2012/0 Comments/in Benefits of List Making, Books, Boost Memory, Decision Making, Fellow List Producers, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, List Making, Reduce Stress, Relationships, Saving Money, Saving Time, Tool for Success, Video/by Paula Rizzo

One of the things I love about being a health producer is that I get to cover “news you can use.” From the newest super food to a cutting-edge surgery — we often learn about it first. Not only does this information help people but it makes me look really smart at cocktail parties.

That said — I had the opportunity to produce a segment with life coach and author Margaret Moore (a.k.a. Coach Meg) about her book “Organize Your Mind, Organize Your Life,” where she gave all kinds of tips and tricks for being less overwhelmed, less stressed and more productive. Love that!

Take a look at the video and accompanying article here for some ways to tame the frenzy in your own life. Here are some of my favorite Coach Meg tips:

Think about what puts you in a calm state and do it!
Set small goals to focus your attention (say to yourself for 30 minutes I’m only working on x)
Turn off your cell phone and/or email to get more done
Even super organized people can overload — build in breaks and time to relax
In the end you are the only one to hold accountable for your productivity

Online Calendar Makes Life Easier

March 9, 2012/2 Comments/in Apps, Benefits of List Making, Children, Home, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, List Making, Reduce Stress, Relationships, Saving Money, Saving Time, School, Technology, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

How do you keep track of everything going on in your life? Do you make lists? Keep a pocket calendar? Or track everything on your phone? Appointments, events, classes, your kid’s sports commitments and dance classes — can all fill up your lives but can be tough to organize in one place. I found a great solution — Hatchedit.com.

The online calendar is really smart — you can share it with several people and checkout what’s going on at all times. The site will help you keep track of upcoming events, invites, daily to-dos, favorite blogs, and groups you’re a part of. So if you want to plan an event with your book club or your child’s soccer team…all the information can be stored and shared on HatchedIt.com. When you sign up you get your own “dashboard” that you can easily make a part of your everyday routine.

If you’re drowning in paper calendars or want to ditch your dry-erase board – this is a great way to organize your life. HatchedIt is a free tool that will make your life simpler and more streamlined. You can even update the calendar when you’re out and about with their iPhone or Android apps. Let me know how you like using it.

How Not To Be Bored

March 7, 2012/2 Comments/in Benefits of List Making, Decision Making, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, Oprah, Reduce Stress, Saving Time, Tool for Success, TV, Wine/by Paula Rizzo

I’m almost never bored. I can always find something to do. Not because I’m a super busy person (some days I am) but because I like doing a lot of things. I have a lot of hobbies and I hardly ever tire of doing the laundry list of things that I enjoy doing:

Drink Tea
Watch the Golden Girls
Eat Guacamole
Write Blogs
Connect with Friends
Call My Mom
Watch Oprah
Paint My Nails
Drink Pinot Grigio
Read Magazines
Read Anything on my Kindle
Make Lists
Watch Chick Flicks Read more

Simple and Fun Productivity App

March 5, 2012/5 Comments/in Apps, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, List Making, Reduce Stress, Saving Money, Saving Time, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

I used to exclusively make my lists on paper but since I started using an iPhone — I’ve tried lots of apps. Some of my favorites are Astrid, Wunderlist and Ziplist. Most recently I downloaded Clear. It’s the newest breed of productivity app with an amazing design. It costs $1.99 in the Apple app store.

A List Between Friends

March 2, 2012/7 Comments/in Boost Memory, Food, Increase Productivity, Reduce Stress, Relationships, Saving Time/by Paula Rizzo

As we head into the weekend I’m reminded of one of my favorite things to do – get together with friends. Once a week my closest friends and I try to make time to get together for dinner and catch up. We’re all professionals in New York City with hectic schedules so some weeks are easier than others. But we always make an effort to meet up to enjoy some good conversation, delicious food and wine. (You guessed it – this is a Pinot Grigio crowd.)

We have a ritual every week, which I started, of making an agenda of all the topics we’d like to cover. I know it’s a bit neurotic but my friends have embraced my list making and it really works for us! Read more