I’m Spoiling My New Boss Today

/2 Comments/in , , /by

Today is National Bosses Day! A chance for you to celebrate (or maybe commiserate!) about your boss. It’s a pretty interesting coincidence, given that today is my first day working for myself!!

It was my last day at Fox News on Friday, after over a decade. So while it feels like the end of an era. It’s also the start of a new beginning.

Over the years I have met many entrepreneurs and I’ve always encouraged people to go out on their own and start their own businesses. It’s why I’m such a huge fan of Marie Forleo’s B School. But I never thought that way of life would be for me completely.  I always thought I’d have one toe in the corporate world. Sometimes the pieces just fall it to place and it seems like the right decision at the right time.

I’m celebrating the holiday by really spoiling my favorite new boss – me!

As a lifelong 9 to 5 worker I’ve always been a bit jealous of those who had free time during the day! They could take advantage of all the lunchtime specials, the relaxing mid-morning yoga class or the cheaper movie tickets – now I get to be one of those people!

I’m beginning my day with a trip to the spa and then a relaxing lunch. Maybe I’ll get a blowout or a manicure too. It will all be followed by a dinner with my fellow speakers for the PRSA Tri-State Conference. (There’s still time to join the conference if you’re interested!)

What are you doing for yourself today?

How to Organize a Successful Workshop

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , , /by

I’m super pumped this week, because my friend and partner in crime Terri Trespicio and I recently hosted our first live event! It wasn’t hosted by an organization or a conference – it was hosted by us – it was our baby!

Many of you know I created an online course called Lights Camera Expert after being asked “How do I get on TV?” so many times by experts who were sick of seeing everyone else in their field snatch up the airtime.

So we took them behind the scenes of what it’s like to work at a TV show or magazine, how to get a producer or editor’s attention and continue to get asked back.  And we pushed the video course out into the world about a year ago.

What happened next is not something we expected. Read more

Start UnBatching Your Tasks

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , , /by

Every three months I do an accountability call with the students  from my Listful Thinking Masterclass. We discuss the ways they’ve implemented the course into their day to day lives, and we also talk about their latest ventures in productivity.

Recently, one of my students explained how, after being inspired by a LinkedIn article, he has started avoiding social media on Tuesday. Why Tuesdays? He just picked it and now Tuesdays  are his most productive day.

I really like this idea. I often promote the idea of batching tasks together. So the same way you wouldn’t do laundry one sock at a time you shouldn’t pay bills for instance one by one. Instead batching them together weekly is a much more effective use of your time! But I think the same principle can be applied to ‘unbatching’. Putting together tasks that you’re not going to do! Read more

When Too Much Productivity is Bad

/0 Comments/in , , , , /by

When it comes to productivity, I believe it’s important to find what works for you. There is no ultimate one size fits all solution. In fact just because something works for you, doesn’t mean it works all the time. What  you find helpful at work, might be too involved or overly complex for your family at home.

Everything in moderation, as the Greeks would say.

There are many examples I can think of where a good productivity practice can be pushed too far and become unhelpful.

Being too early – This sounds a like a good thing, but this is an absolute pet peeve of mine. In fact it’s gets a special mention in my course Lights Camera Expert, because I know how much producers dislike it when guests are early. There’s nothing wrong with being 5 minutes early to give yourself some time to settle, but I’ve had interviewees show up  over a hour early for a segment. As a producer we have our day factored in down to the minute so when someone shows up early it throws my whole schedule off. I know early arrivers will often say they are happy to wait, but it still creates a frantic energy and makes me feel like I’m trying to play catch up and then have to figure out what to do with you for all that time!   Read more

Be Lazy and Get More Done

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , /by

Laziness gets a bad rep. I may not be the kind of person to spend her entire day in her pajamas, but even I like to indulge in a bit of laziness every now and again.

“I will always choose a lazy person to do a hard job because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.”

You know who said that?

Bill Gates! Even he approves of a bit of laziness. Read more