Technology | List Producer

Get More Done By Speed Reading

March 18, 2014/1 Comment/in Apps, Increase Productivity, Saving Time, Technology, Tool for Success, Uncategorized/by Paula Rizzo

Photo credit: iBjorn)

With only 24 hours in a day, finding time to get everything done in our hectic lives is really a challenge. Each day I find new articles, books, or little tidbits that I am dying to read but they just end up collecting dust in a pile on my counter or get lost in one of my cyber folders – what a waste! I’ve started using a new system to capture some of the tweets and articles I want to read later but it’s not enough. It’s hard enough to read what I need to (especially now that I am attending B-School) and it’s frustrating that I have no time to read for fun. But recently, I thought… “What if I could speed read?” that would solve this problem, right?

Speed reading is a technique that allows you to obtain the material you are reading in half the time as normal by reading groups of words at once. It may seem strange and it’s a little intimidating at first, but it really works !

Here are two tools that I found for quick and easy speed reading:

ReadQuickApp: This app displays an article (no books) of your choice one word at a time at the pace you are comfortable with. You can start at the slowest speed and gradually move on to get used to the technique! It will also tell you how long an article will take you to read based on your words per minute. (Cost $9.99 and is available for the iPhone)

Spritz: Want to read a whole novel in 90 minutes or less? Well now you can with Spritz. This app works by displaying one word at a time with a “fixation point.” One letter of the word is a different color and that is where you focus your eye. This allows you to focus on the word individually and obtain it, rather then moving your eyes side to side – this leads to distraction. This app can train you to read up to 1,000 words a minute – that is some serious speed reading! (Comes out around March 21st for Android, Javascript for web, and iOS. Test it out on their site here.)

If you can’t get into the speed reading that’s okay- it’s not for everyone! There are other ways to cut down reading time by using some old fashioned skimming techniques:

Yahoo News Digest (formerly Summly): No time to read lengthy news articles? This app will summarize them for you. Each story is created from multiple news sources that way you are consuming the essential information. You get all the important stuff without wasting your time! And it’s free!

Need 2 Know: This awesome free newsletter gives you “Need 2 Know” news coverage! It’s one of the first things I read in the morning. They consider themselves the CliffsNotes for news. In each news category they sum up everything you need in 1-2 sentences. Want to know more details later – no worries, they provide the links for the full coverage.

How do you get all your reading done? Let me know which reading techniques you like best – I’m always looking for new ideas.

Easiest Way to Battle Junk Mail

March 13, 2014/0 Comments/in Apps, Decision Making, Increase Productivity, Reduce Stress, Saving Time, Technology/by Paula Rizzo

Image via Parprogram

We’ve all done it — sign up for newsletter after newsletter because we were promised a coupon code or some kind of discount. We got the discount, got the product or service and never canceled our subscription. No matter how many times you delete that newsletter without even looking — you are just too lazy to unsubscribe. I get it — I’ve done it on the regular!

But now I found an amazing app that will unsubscribe for you! All you have to do is go to Unroll.me* and it will go through your email account and locate each and every newsletter you’re signed up to receive. Some you won’t even remember! I figured i might have 50 or 60. I had close to 300! EEEK!

Unroll.me lets you do two things. 1. You can “roll up” your subscriptions so they arrive in a single email instead of separate ones. 2. You can unsubscribe all together with one click. I opted to unsubscribe from 159 newsletters. Wow! Think of all the time I’ll save. Read more

It’s Tax Time! Are You Ready?

March 11, 2014/0 Comments/in Apps, Increase Productivity, Reduce Stress, Saving Money, Saving Time, Shopping, Technology, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

Image via TaxGeeks

It’s one of my least favorite subjects but I’m forcing myself to talk about it because it’s important. It’s tax season and the deadline is creeping up. I know that this is a stressful time for people, and a lot of people worry that they might be accused of having unfiled tax returns or owing back taxes.

Just do it — and get it over with! Then we can make lists of things to do with your refund!!
Here are a few ways to get your taxes in order this year:

Evernote: You know how I love it. I use it every year to organize all the expenses that I want to keep track of and everything is easy to find when it’s time. Then you can scan or email your finished return right into Evernote to keep track of for years to come. It’s really the easiest method. Read more

Automate Your Life

March 4, 2014/0 Comments/in Apps, Benefits of List Making, Decision Making, Increase Productivity, Reduce Stress, Saving Time, Technology, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

Daily to-do’s can get tedious and overwhelming. I get it! Between responding to work emails, deciding what to do for dinner, paying bills, managing social media accounts, and running endless errands– when is there any time to just relax? That’s why you should let technology work for you and automate your life!

When I interviewed Ari Meisel, master automator and the author of the book Less Doing, More Living:Making Everything In Life Easier (Check out his site here), he told me:

“First of all, people have this false notion that all the things they do in their life, only they can do. You know, like you’re the only person who could possibly schedule appointments for yourself. And it’s kind of a weird thing, people like hoard this. No – it’s because they don’t think about what’s required to do it.

This couldn’t be more true! So I made a list of 5 ways to cut down your to-do list and have your tasks automatically disappear!”

Apps To The Rescue

February 27, 2014/0 Comments/in Apps, Decision Making, Reduce Stress, Technology, Tool for Success, Travel, Uncategorized/by Paula Rizzo

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This week I have been all about apps!! Yesterday, I hosted a “Productivity Apps” webinar. In case you missed it check it out here! Today I want to introduce you to a whole new category – emergency apps! (I know, I know, I can’t get enough!)

1. iTriage
If you have any health questions this app will have the answer. You can find medications, diseases, and medical locations instantly! In the app’s new verison 5.9, members of select insurance providers will be able to find medical facilities that are In-Network for your plan. (FREE)