A Summer To-Do List

Get ready for vacations, home improvements and lots and lots of parties. These are all part of summer for most of us. A new season – a new to-do list. Summer is sacred – make the most of it with a well planned out list. A friend of mine is already way ahead on her list!

Setting an intention, whether big or small, aids in reaching your goal. As my girl Oprah always says – “You Become What You Believe.” This goes for summer to-do lists too. Here’s a look at mine so far:

1. Go to Paris (we are visiting friends there in July! Can’t wait! Planning list post coming…)

2. Have a picnic

3. Clean out my closet and garage

4. Clean out my home office drawers and bookshelf

5. Read Wild, No Reservations, On the Island, The House at Riverton

6. Plan beach vacation for November

7. Go wine tasting

I’ll keep adding as the months pass but so far I’m off to a good start. What’s on your summer to-do list?

Which Professions Are Most Productive?

Speaking from experience – I’d say most journalists are pretty productive. We have deadlines to keep and strong personalities to deal with – so it’s kind of inevitable. However – my profession didn’t top the list of the most productive. Actually – if you’re a farmer or work in the agriculture area – you win the prize.

WHO?

LinkedIn did a survey of more than 6500 people throughout the world and found that 63% of all professionals frequently create to-do lists. Some 83% of farmers (and the like) said they regularly fulfill most or all of their planned tasks. Lawyers fell to the bottom of the list – with just 66 percent accomplishing all or most of their tasks.

Women were the biggest list makers in the study with 71% saying they used them regularly. Only 60% of men did the same. That doesn’t surprise me – ladies tend to have their stuff together more of the time too! ☺

WHERE?

Turns out 50% of list makers do it by hand, while 45% keep their to-dos electronically. The other 5% do a bunch of different things like use whiteboards, chalkboards or keep their lists in their minds.

How about you? What’s your industry and where do you make your lists?

 

The To-Do List of a Genius

The Thomas Edison Papers at Rutgers University

What’s on your to-do list today? Pick up groceries? Get your car washed? Go to a few meetings?  Get ready to be “one upped” by a genius.  Enter…Thomas Edison’s to-do list.

On his list of “things doing and to be done,” the 41-year-old wrote:

  • Deaf apparatus
  • Electrical piano
  • Artificial silk
  • Phonographic clock
  • Ink for Blind

Just a few things to get done before lunch…really…

This list was created around 1888 and can be seen in The Papers of Thomas A. Edison: Losses and Loyalties — the seventh volume of Rutgers University’s digitized Edison papers.

Add Edison to the long list of famous and successful list-makers like John Lennon, Johnny Cash and Ronald Reagan.  They’ve proved that keeping to-do lists will make you successful.  Keep listing!

6 Productivity To-Don’ts

Some of my favorite productivity tips include:

  • Making a to-do list
  • Taking breaks
  • Bribing yourself with manicures and ice cream

But sometimes the secret to being more efficient is knowing what NOT to do. I’ve compiled a few productivity to-don’ts that will help you get more done. Read more

Checklist for Moving With Your Pet

Moving is always a pain – no matter how you slice it.

Help your Pet Adjust to a New Home

by Aaron Hill

Before the big day

Site survey. If it’s a local move, take your pup over to the new place a few times before you officially move in. Let them sniff their new digs and get the lay of the land before changing addresses. Read more