New Way of Making Lists That Entrepreneurs Will Love

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Three months ago I took the plunge, I quit my day job and started working for myself full time media training and coaching experts, authors and entrepreneurs and producing videos and podcasts with them. I’ve had a  great time since I left Fox News — I spoke at the PRSA Tri-State Conference for PR professionals, been interviewed by Peter Shankman about listmaking and started a radio show (more on that later!)

But since I’ve made the crossover to becoming self employed, I’ve had to make a few adjustments. My productivity style that had worked so well for me before just wasn’t quite fitting in with my new lifestyle.

The key to productivity is all about finding what works for you, and as our lives change, so must our lists! Read more

Is My Meeting Scheduler Making Me Rude?

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Since I quit my job and went out on my own as a media trainer and coach helping experts, authors and entrepreneurs create videos and podcasts  there’s one productivity site I’ve been using all the time. It’s called Schedule Once. It’s connected to my calendar and allows clients to schedule time to chat with me. It’s brilliant!

Old fashioned scheduling involves a lot of back and forth, Schedule Once makes everything much more streamlined. Clients can quickly go to my page, see when I’m free and pick a time that works best for them.

When it works, it’s great – the thing is, a lot of people don’t want to use it! Read more

5 Productive Gifts to Give a List Maker

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It’s sort of a point of pride for me that I don’t like to just buy people gifts for the sake of buying gifts. I like to find presents that will really mean something to a person. It’s why I keep a list of gift ideas for people throughout the year, to make sure I’m giving them the best gift possible.

But sometimes, I still get stuck!

Some people can be very difficult to buy for or they don’t give you much inspiration for gift ideas. Christmas is nearly upon us so if you haven’t got someone a gift yet, you’re probably about to go into panic mode, but there’s no need. Read more

Holiday Lists to Make Right Now to Keep Your Sanity

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When it comes to preparing for the holidays I’m a firm believer that it’s never too early to start. Usually I start in August. This year though, I’ve been feeling more disorganized than usual. I’ve realized that when I was working at Fox News  I had settled into a pretty good routine. Now that I’m out on my own I’ve been struggling to find that balance again. When you work a job with a set finish time it’s much easier to check out mentally and compartmentalize your tasks.  As I get my footing as an entrepreneur it’s not as easy because I find myself doing everything all the time!

Luckily for me there’s still time to get organized – all I need is a list. If you’re in the same boat as me it’s fine, but we need to get started. Here’s a list of all the things to consider before the end of the year:

Presents Lists – This is the most obvious list to start with and maybe the one that requires the most thought. This year I’m taking a more essentialist approach to gifts. Instead of going overboard I’m thinking about what the people I care about could really use this year. In the new Bad Mom’s Christmas movie Mila Kunis’s character jokes how she’s bought so many unnecessary presents this year, going so far as to buy her barista a scented candle. We laugh – but who hasn’t gone overboard on gift shopping at least once? Look over your list and have a good think about who really belongs there! I like to keep ideas in my Evernote notebook throughout the year for times just like this when I can’t think of what to get. In that folder I keep ideas that I’ve found and notes on what people have told me through the year that they would like or need. Read more

Talking Lists With Peter Shankman

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Anyone who’s a follower of productivity and organizational tools knows that the productivity world has it’s own celebrities, like Marie Kondo and Julie Morgenstern (who wrote the foreword for my book Listful Thinking btw). The entrepreneurial world is not that different, there are the big hitters like Richard Branson and Oprah Winfrey. There are a select few that are known in both worlds and overlap! One of whom is Peter Shankman.

I’ve written about Peter before on the blog  on how to be productive when you have ADHD, which is a personal issue that he has overcome. I quickly discovered that many of the tools he suggest are similar to some of my classic productivity tips. They’re just extra effective for people with ADHD.

As a a public relations and marketing expert Peter has also been an inspiration to me as an entrepreneur.  It’s why I joined his online mastermind group Shankminds, which has been especially helpful since I left my day job as a TV producer to branch out on my own.

He recently wrote a book called “Faster Than Normal: Turbocharge Your Focus, Productivity and Success with the Secrets of the ADHD Brain,” and I’m quoted in it! Yay!

Check out this on-camera interview Peter and I did together talking about lists and his new book!

In the video I discuss:

  • How to use lists to stay organized
  • Finding what works for you so you can stay productive