Tool for Success | List Producer

Checklist for a Stress-Free Dinner Party

May 8, 2014/0 Comments/in Benefits of List Making, Decision Making, Decorating, Food, Happiness, Health, Home, Increase Productivity, List Making, Reduce Stress, Saving Money, Saving Time, Shopping, Tool for Success, Wine/by Paula Rizzo

Rhoihessewoi (Photo credit: Jay Vice)

Spring is the perfect time to throw a dinner party. As the weather warms up, it’s such a treat to gather family and friends outside onto your deck, rooftop or terrace for a nice meal. But we all know, party planning requires more than just sending out the invitations. Between the cooking and cleaning, entertaining can be a nightmare.

However, planning ahead will change your life. With a few preparation tricks, you’ll enjoy your time and be the hostess with the mostest.

1. Check your cupboards first. Make sure that you have the right amount of serving dishes, wine glasses, etc, so that you’re not rushing around the day of the event. If you don’t have wine glasses, you might want to look online for stemless wine glasses or more traditional wine glasses.

2. Start ahead of time. Nothing creates more stress than having a million things to do all at once. Rather than leave things until the last minute, start your cooking, cleaning, and planning in advance so you’re not left doing everything just hours before the party starts. Set the table the night before to leave time for any last-minute party preparations. I also like to make a list of all my to-dos for the days leading up to the party. That way everything is mapped out ahead of time so I can just grab my list and spring into action.

3. Go with what you know. Cooking under pressure can always be stressful, especially when you’re on a time frame and budget. Stick with the recipes that you know so you can spend the least amount of time in the kitchen to focus on other preparations.

4. Have everyone bring their own dish. Cooking can be a big ordeal, especially when you’re preparing for a large amount of people. If you ask each guest to bring a little something, it will take the stress off of you and allow guests to feel like part of the party planning.

5. Choose a signature drink. Buying large amounts of alcohol isn’t always the cost effective. Plus, who wants to play bartender, mixing all different drinks, all night long? I like to prepare a pitcher of sangria (or your drink of choice) in order to save time and money.

6. Clean as you go. It might seem like a pain in the moment, but it’s a relief when you don’t have a scary pile of dishes at the end of the night! After each course, move the plates inside the dishwasher, rather than just piling them up outside of the sink. You’ll thank yourself in the morning.

What are your tips for an efficient dinner party?

Use Your Five Senses to Get More Done

May 6, 2014/0 Comments/in Apps, Benefits of List Making, Boost Memory, Decision Making, Decorating, Fashion, Fellow List Producers, Food, Happiness, Health, Home, Increase Productivity, Reduce Stress, Tool for Success, Uncategorized/by Paula Rizzo

The five senses (Photo Credit: Onefleshmarriage.com

I’ve recently started meditating using the HeadSpace App and one of the exercises is to really pay attention to everything around you. Close your eyes and tap into what you’re hearing, how you feel, what you’re smelling and what your feet feel like on the floor. It’s a tedious practice at first but this attention can really do wonders in the long run. The same idea goes for your workspace.

We all have our favorite places to work, but have you ever thought about why? Whether you realize it or not, the five senses do more than just provide us with nice smells and pleasant tastes—they actually influence our productivity habits.
Next time you go to sit down in your office, here’s how you can use the five senses to impact your productivity:

1. Sight: Next time you paint your walls, remember that blue is the most productive color. Moredays.com says it stimulates a high work performance, which can keep you plugging along for long periods of time. Blue provides a calming and soothing effect, which helps to improve the mind too.Blue is even the recommended color to wear on a job interview because it symbolizes loyalty!

If you can’t change the color scheme in your office, add a small desk plant. While desk plants help to spruce up a workplace, two recent studies show that plants actually help to improve productivity, as well. Nature helps brighten moods and regain focus, but if you don’t have time in your schedule to go for a walk outside, a desk plant will do the trick.

Five Ways to Simplify Your Life in Five Minutes

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

Alarm Clock Redux (Photo credit: Gnu2000)

We’ve all heard it before, “I’ll be there in five minutes.” or “just give me five more minutes.” Everyone always throws around five minutes even if it’s going to take them 10 or 15 minutes. Throwing five minutes around annoys me. Maybe it’s the producer in me because I’m used to being very precise with time. I’ve been known to have meetings at odd times like 4:37 or 12:23 because I know exactly how long it will take me to get somewhere and every minute counts.

But if you’re smart enough, you can spend those “five minutes” actually doing something really productive. Five minutes is a very valuable chunk of time — if you know how to use it correctly. Here’s a list of things you should use those extra five minutes doing:

1. Prioritize and prepare: Before you go to bed each night, take five minutes to jot down the most important activities that you need to get done tomorrow. This will help you schedule your time appropriately and be productive from the start of your day. Once you have created your list, look through it and identify any ways you can make each task a little easier. If you’re planning on going for a run in the morning, lay out your workout clothes the night before to save you time when you wake up. Not only will this be time efficient, but this will also encourage you to follow through with your workout plans!

2. Refine your list: It’s easy to get caught up in miscellaneous tasks throughout the course of the day. If you find yourself straying from your ‘to-do list’, take five minutes to rework your list. Keep it as simple as possible—if you take on a new task; replace it with a different task on your list. This way, you won’t be taking on more than you can handle. And don’t be afraid to say no when necessary!

3. Limit your media consumption: From cell phones, to social media, to e-mail, it’s easy to get distracted. In order to ensure that you do not stray from your priorities, take five minutes to download apps, such as “AwayFind”, which will send an auto-reply text message stating that you are currently busy. It will also provide emergency contact information just incase. This eliminates the social distractions in your life and allows you to focus on what’s important so you can check another thing off your ‘to-do list’.

4. Clean out your closet: If your clothes drawers are so stuffed that you can’t close them, take a five minutes to give one drawer a once over. Pull everything out, set a timer and get rid of any items you do not use.

5. Eliminate any junk mail: If your email inbox is overflowing with messages, it becomes difficult to find that important email from a few days or weeks ago. Take five minutes to clear out any unneeded messages or spam from your inbox in order to make your account easier to manage. Next time you go to look for an old e-mail, it will be much quicker to find.

Hopefully, the five minutes you took to read these steps will buy you five extra minutes in the future!

Waterproof Sticky Notes? (And More Gifts for Grads)

May 1, 2014/0 Comments/in Apps, Benefits of List Making, College, Holidays, School, Shopping, Technology, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

Graduation (Photo credit: uonottingham)

It’s graduation season and although it’s been quite some time since my own college graduation, I still get excited. Thousands of fresh minds head out into the world to create the next best thing, make lives better and change the world. How inspiring!

If you’re heading to a graduation party and stumped on what to get the new grad — why not opt for something that will help boost productivity? I know it sounds nerdy but — even though money and gift cards always seem like a good option — there are many practical and productive gifts to create a long road of success!

Courtesy: Aquanotes.com

1. Aquanotes: Never miss out on a brilliant idea again. Jot down ideas before they are washed down the drain! This waterproof notepad allows you to make lists in your shower without worrying about the paper getting crumpled or soggy. ($7 for 40 sheets) Read more

Checklist for Overcoming Pre-Speech Jitters

April 29, 2014/0 Comments/in Boost Memory, Guest Posts, Increase Productivity, List Making, Reduce Stress, Tool for Success, Uncategorized, Weddings/by Paula Rizzo

Public speaking is one of those things that leaves some people weak in the knees. With wedding season and graduation on the horizon it may be time to start preparing that special speech. I know how stressful it can be to give a speech packed with humor, excitement and memories, all while shaking in your own heels. I was a maid of honor once and I wrote and rewrote my speech over and over again. I even practiced in front of the mirror! In the end it was fine but what an ordeal!

If you are tasked with giving a speech at a wedding, at work or even in front of the PTA — do not fear. Bill McGowan, author of “Pitch Perfect: How to Say It Right the First Time, Every time” has created this checklist just for us to help calm nerves and deliver a stellar speech. Read more