When Too Much Productivity is Bad

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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

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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

My Radio Interview About The Power Of No

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I used to be a yes person. I would agree to every meeting, networking event, guest blog post opportunity – everything.

I truly believe that the more you said yes to things the more good it can bring to your life.

Which it does in a way, I’ve had many positive things come from all those opportunities.

But saying yes comes at a price.

Last year my appendix burst and I was so convinced that it was just food poisoning. I was so determined to keep going with my life that I left seeking proper medical help until it was too late.

So to balance out my eager ‘yes’ lifestyle – I started saying no to things. Unless I really really like the sound of something I say no. Read more

Want to meet me & Gretchen Rubin in Chicago?

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I used to be the queen of networking and go to lots of events every week. That’s when I was first building this blog and also launching my book Listful Thinking. I wanted to get the word out! But after my appendix ruptured over a year ago and I vowed to slow things down a bit.

And I quickly I realized essentially every networking event is the same.

Think about it, how many networking events have you been to that take place in hotel banquet halls filled with clammy handshakes, and awkward conversations punctuated with the exchange of business cards? And those cards usually end up in the garbage.

So how do you stand out?

How do you make your mark in the short amount of time that you have with someone new?

Well it’s all about your pitch! That’s how. Read more

So What’s the Big Deal Over Dot Journaling?

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Thanks to listproducer.com I’ve met a lot of people in the productivity community and the more people I meet the more I find we have in common. We tend to be stationary nerds, who love Marie Kondo and are always looking out for the best way to get organized. So it’s no surprise that the latest to-do trend, that combines a to-do list with a planner and a diary, has become a big success in the productivity community. I’m talking, of course, about dot journaling.

If you don’t know what that is, dot journaling is, simply put, making a lot of bullet point lists. (You’ll quickly find with dot journaling that there’s a lot of overly complex names for simple things.) While I normally think it’s better to keep your lists separate, dot journaling allows you to put all your long and short term goals, as well as daily tasks, into one notebook. And you use a code-type system to keep everything from getting muddled together. Read more