How to Break Down Your Goals

Whatever project you have in mind, whether it’s writing a book, planning a big dinner party or starting your own side hustle, these big ideas can quickly become overwhelming. Thinking about all the work you have left to do can make you feel like giving up before you even begin..

To help me feel less overwhelmed I use a little trick called “backtiming.” This is a concept I picked up from my day job as a TV news producer. If your show finishes at 11pm, that’s it, you can’t over run. So to make the news work on time we start with the end in mind and work backwards. This guarantees that you’ll finish on time.

This method has multiple real world applications, if you’re a whiz in the kitchen you probably use this method to ensure all the various elements of your dish will finish at the same time. You can also use backtiming to plan out your future goals. For more on how backtiming works check this out.

It also helps to break up your goals into smaller, more manageable pieces. You can focus on one of these lists at a time to prevent yourself from getting distracted by all the other pieces of the puzzle. Read more

A Scientifically-Proven Recipe For Achieving More

Think back to your most productive day this past week. Now ask yourself: On that morning, what did you do differently?

What did you eat for lunch that afternoon? What strategies did you use to silence distractions, eliminate procrastination, and stay focused all day long?

The truth is, most of us don’t pay nearly enough attention to our daily routine.

But what if you knew precisely the right formula? What if you had a scientifically-proven recipe for achieving top performance? What if you could bottle that one perfect day, and uncork it at will?

If you’ve ever wondered how you can take your performance to the next level, I have something that I know you’re going to love. It’s an incredible event called the Peak Work Performance Summit, and I’ve been excited about it for months. Read more

Bringing Back “Old School” Productivity Hacks

As technology gets more and more advanced, we tend to forget how we used to do things.

Think of how shocked kids are when they hear how you did homework before the internet. (No one appreciates the dewey decimal system anymore!)

But are we becoming too reliant on technology? While it certainly makes our lives more convenient, we now bypass certain steps that helped us to stay on top of our organizational game.

Here are some ways kickin’ it “old school” will make you more productive:

Remember the Typewriter – This old piece of tech is symbolic of a whole generation, you’d be hard pressed to find a black and white movie that doesn’t include a typewriter. One of the downsides to the typewriter was that if you made a mistake you had to start over again. As much of a pain as this may be it made you more conscious of what you were typing. Read more

Guide to Getting Last-Minute Tasks Done Right

Whether you make a regular habit of it, or you get caught unexpectedly and have to change plans – at some point we will all have a project or tasks that get left to the last minute. So how do you deal with these last minute changes? If you’re a person who’s used to having everything planned out well in advance, (like me) something like this can really throw you off your game.

But it doesn’t have to.

Even when it feels like it’s impossible to get everything done in time, you can still manage your  time most effectively.

So what do you do? Read more

Listful Thinking Turns Two!

Do you ever get one of those Timehop things on Facebook where a picture pops up that you could’ve sworn you posted not that long ago, when it turns out it’s from two years ago!! I’m having one of those moments today as it’s been two years since my book Listful Thinking came out.

Where has that time gone?

I had to make a list:

  • There was that time I met  Marie Kondo and it sparked joy.
  • My appendix exploded.
  • Then I developed an online course with my friend Terri Trespicio called Lights Camera Expert to help entrepreneurs, experts and authors get and keep media attention.  
  • I continued to hear great feedback about a keynote speech for New York Women in Communications.
  • Listful Thinking has been translated into 10 languages! The different titles and covers of the various international versions of my book all give me a small insight into the cultures they represent. A prime example of this is the Japanese cover which features an adorable robot. Plus there’s now a new language to add to the ongoing list – Korean!

I’m excited to announce the next step in the Listful Thinking journey. I’m launching a brand new course called Listful Thinking Masterclass. It’s designed to help you set up a real system to get more done than ever.

I’ll be personally leading the course each week to give you guidance and tackle the big issues that are stifling your productivity like distractions and procrastination.  Check it out here. I can help you make this your most productive year yet!