Make These Two Lists Everyday to Boost Productivity

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Do you ever sit down to write your daily to do’s and the list just goes on and on? It can be really discouraging. But, just because your list seems never ending, it doesn’t mean it’s impossible to finish all your tasks that day.

Ruth Carter, a lawyer I met in a virtual mastermind group for entrepreneurs called ShankMinds, was having just this problem.  So I suggested a creative solution to this problem.  I told her to make two list per day.  A before lunch list and an after lunch list.  

Now each morning she divides her page in two and splits her to do lists into things to do in the morning and things to do in the afternoon. She wrote about how much it helped her here. It may seem simple, but splitting your list into two can make your day seem much more manageable. Read more

Listful Thinking AUDIOBOOK is OUT TODAY!

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Just over a year ago my book Listful Thinking was released and now I’m excited to announce that it has been released as an audiobook!

I rarely have time to sit down and read a book, so I much prefer to listen to podcasts and books on the go. So it seems only fitting that my book about time management and productivity would be available in such an efficient format.

If you remember I posted a couple weeks back about how much fun I had recording the audiobook. Although it was a little stressful to be on the other side of the coin and find myself at the mercy of another producer. It was a long process and I was physically exhausted by the end of it. That’s a lot of talking!

However, reading my book out loud made me realize some of the difficulties that come with listening to a book instead of reading it. For example, when I talk about an app or website that I love it’s very easy to read about it in my book and then look it up online. Things start to get a little more tricky when you only hear it, how are you supposed to know how it’s spelled or remember to write it down?

To make things easier for all my audiobook fans I am giving away a FREE resources guide to everyone who purchases a copy of the audiobook. It lists all the apps, websites, books and articles that I mention in Listful Thinking.

To claim your resources guide forward a copy of your receipt to my assistant nicole@listproducer.com and she will send you the guide.

I hope you enjoy the audiobook as much as I enjoyed recording it!

What kind of List Maker are You?

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Since starting this blog and writing my book Listful Thinking — one of my favorite parts is meeting lots of people who love making lists. Even at my day job, working as a news producer, I encounter tons of fellow list makers who can’t wait to swap list tips!

Over time I’ve started to notice that list makers tend to fall into certain categories, all with their own styles of list making.

Check out the categories below to figure out what kind of a list maker you are:

Monkey List Maker

You might be this list maker if:

  1. You have a list for – literally – everything.
  2. All your lists have a place, like a notebook or in Evernote.
  3. You keep them in a certain order or they are color coded.

These list makers are just like me and for them lists are serious business! Monkey list makers are normally very organized, but they can fall into the trap of spending more time writing lists than crossing items off! To stop yourself from doing this make sure that every task has a deadline – even if it’s not urgent create a ‘fake’ deadline.

Monkeys are known for being very smart and efficient.  Though if you’re a monkey and you don’t set a deadline – you may never get around to doing that task. Read more

Could You be a Brave Entrepreneur too?

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When I first started ListProducer.com in April 2011 it was just a hobby. I didn’t think of myself as a business owner or an entrepreneur. I thought of myself as a writer and list maker who had a blog.

I would write blog posts when I felt like it, because planning and sticking to a schedule was something I did at my regular job and therefore it was not fun. So I didn’t have an editorial calendar at first.

Many new entrepreneurs do themselves a disservice by seeing their side business as a hobby. Once I started to treat my side gig as an actual business, that’s when I started to see results!

When I took my business seriously so did other people! I still enjoy working on it, it just that now it’s a slight more organized kind of fun!

It’s turned into so much more since Listful Thinking was published and I’ve created my online course Take Back Your Inbox and have others in the works. I’m a real entrepreneur.

This idea of turning a hobby into a business is something I discuss on the Brave Podcast where I was recently interviewed. So if you’re a new entrepreneur or thinking of starting up your own business do check it out!

I also delve into my mantra for 2016 ‘Rest is the new hustle’. With our increasingly busy lives we’re not taking any time to ourselves! On the podcast I discuss how to say no and prioritize your time (even though it feels unnatural at first).

Check it out!

Coming soon: Listful Thinking Audio Book

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PaulaAudioI have some exciting news to share with you. I just recorded the audiobook version of Listful Thinking. I love listening to audiobooks, I find it to be so much more time effective. So it seems only natural that Listful Thinking would work in audio form.

However, actually reading my book out loud did lead me to think about some of the things that work on printed paper, but don’t really translate to the audio format.

For example when I talk about visiting Paris in my book, I mention some restaurants and what street they’re on. Now while I do love France, I know that my French isn’t particularly good. Read more