Increase Productivity | List Producer

Grocery Lists Save Time and Money

December 20, 2011/14 Comments/in Benefits of List Making, Decision Making, Home, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, List Making, Reduce Stress, Saving Money, Saving Time, Shopping, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

Every Sunday my husband and I go grocery shopping. We don’t even think about going without a list so we can get in and out of the store as quickly as possible.

Every week we have these same staples on our list:

Milk
Bread
English Muffins
Strawberries
Bananas
Blueberries
Raspberries
Salad
Cranberry juice
Tomatoes

Every week without fail – these foods make the list. So why do we write them down? So we don’t have to remember to remember them. It’s a no-brainer. If you go grocery shopping without a plan – you will definitely spend more time and money. Read more

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

Some To-Do List Secrets

December 9, 2011/19 Comments/in Benefits of List Making, Boost Memory, Increase Productivity, List Making, Reduce Stress, Saving Money, Saving Time, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

I’ve been making to-do lists for as long as I can remember. Work stuff, personal stuff, blog stuff…you name it…I’ve made a to-do list about it. But I understand that not everyone does this and it may not come as easily to others. So I’m going to give you some of my list-making secrets.

It’s easy to be overwhelmed by your list and ignore it. But the benefits of a to-do list are vast. If you make a well-constructed list it will work to your advantage. Here’s how to make the ultimate to-do list and stick to it.

1. Just Write it Down: It’s easy to forget things that you don’t have right in front of you. So write down any task you need to do as soon as you think about it. It doesn’t matter if the list is in any particular order right now – just write it down. Read more