Productivity Tips You Learn on the Job

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Productive ProfessionsI have often credited my job as a news producer for honing my time management skills. Working in television has not only taught me the value of a minute, but also how to stick to a strict deadline. That’s because the news happens with or without you and you better be ready as a producer.

But what about other professions? Here are some example of jobs and the productivity tips we can learn from them.

Firefighters – These guys and gals are known for being ready to go at a moment’s notice. All their equipment is laid out, the tanks are filled, the whole process is geared to take as little time as possible. Because a couple of minutes can make all the difference when it comes to a fire — preparation is key. While your day to day might not be as important it’s still a good idea to do as much as you can in advance.

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Get a List-Making Makeover

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makeoverI’m a sucker for the makeovers on morning TV shows.  I just get so excited and I love watching the transformations.  I always think “Will she keep up with that look? Her hair looks so cute!”

When I did my very first book signing last week it was a great opportunity to meet some of the readers of this blog and give them a little makeover of their own.  A few people brought me their lists to take a look at and help rework their list making techniques. Read more

List Rehab at My Book Signing

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Photo Jan 16, 7 13 24 AMOn Thursday I had my first ever book signing for Listful Thinking in a brand-new indie bookstore here in NYC. Earlier in the week I was pretty nervous about the whole event. I couldn’t stop worrying about who might show up and what questions they might ask.

But when Thursday night came around I actually ended up having a lot of fun. Nearly 60 people showed up and at one point it was standing room only! It was so great to talk with everyone.

Some people even brought their lists for me to check!

I also got asked some great questions that I thought I would share with you: Read more

Stop Googling Yourself

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mentionI have a confession — I’ve been known to casually Google myself every now and again. Come on…we’ve all done it! I even have Google alerts set up for my name, and a few keywords like list making and to-do lists. But there’s a better way!

I’ve discovered the app and website Mention. It’s amazing and acts like your own personal Internet trolling system. I started using it just before my book Listful Thinking launched because I want to know who is talking about it on the Internet. It can be hard to track them down using Google alerts only.  Infact, Google alerts hasn’t alerted me at all about the book. What’s up with that? Read more

3 Ways Short Deadlines Help You Do More

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Italiano: Autore: Francesco Cirillo rilasciata...

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The problem with time management is that humans are, in genera, fairly bad at judging time and how long things take. For example, five minutes seems like a short amount of time, but try holding a heavy box for five minutes and it’ll seem like an eternity.

So when we say we’re going to work on a project for an hour, we’re often setting ourselves up to fail. That’s why I believe splitting up your task into manageable chunks is actually the fastest way to get it done.

As a TV producer I’ve had years of practice so I know what 45 seconds vs. two minutes and 45 seconds feels like.  It takes a while to get the feel just right.  But when you do — it can be an amazing productivity tool.

Here’s some easy ways to break tasks into bite-sized pieces: Read more