Tool for Success | List Producer

5 Productivity Tips For Black Friday Shopping

November 26, 2013/0 Comments/in Apps, Benefits of List Making, Holidays, Increase Productivity, List Making, Saving Money, Saving Time, Shopping, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

Even with some stores opening as early as 6 pm on Thanksgiving night, time is of the essence when it comes to Black Friday shopping if you want to score the best deals before time or inventory run out. I’ve personally given up Black Friday shopping all together in exchange for shopping early and scoring deals while still in my slippers on Cyber Monday. However you do your holiday shopping – it’s important to remember a few rules to shop smart:

1. One stop shopping. Stores like Amazon.com, Overstock.com, Target, and Walmart all carry a range of products from home goods to clothing to electronics. When you pick one store and do the bulk of your shopping there you’ll save time waiting in lines, money on multiple shipping costs, and the headache of tracking your “Black Friday Budget.” Read more

20 Apps To Beat Holiday Stress

November 24, 2013/2 Comments/in Apps, Benefits of List Making, Fitness, Food, Health, Holidays, Home, Increase Productivity, List Making, Reduce Stress, Relationships, Saving Money, Saving Time, Shopping, Technology, Tool for Success, Travel, Wine/by Paula Rizzo

The holidays are here! It’s easy to Install apps so if you need an app to beat the holiday stress, it’s easy to do. But not this year! I’m still making lists, but I’ve learned to simplify my holiday season with a few great apps that do everything from finding the best deals to preparing the perfect meal for all of your guests.

If the holiday season is overwhelming you, download a few of these apps to help you stay sane:

1. Food 52: Is a vegan coming to your Thanksgiving dinner? Do you want to learn how to set a holiday table? Or brine a turkey? This app features recipes, advice, and products to teach you how to become a “smarter, better, happier cook.” It’s a great, quick reference for all things food.

2. TaskRabbit: I love this app so much! Think about all the things you could be outsourcing this holiday season: writing out holiday cards, waiting in line for the new “it” gift, shopping for all the items on your holiday grocery list…the list just goes on and on! Have someone else run your holiday errands for you!

Fab Find: TalkTo App Is A Free Assistant

November 21, 2013/0 Comments/in Apps, Fab Find, Increase Productivity, Shopping, Technology, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

A lot of people think that in order to save time they need to completely reorganize their schedule or give up doing one thing to make time to do another. What most people don’t realize, though, is how much time is wasted each week on hold with a customer service rep, searching for your size at the shoe store, and figuring out if the convenience store down the street sells your favorite paper soap. Add that up over the course of a week or a month, and suddenly you’ll realize that you do have time to clean your apartment or take a yoga class. Read more

3 Times Procrastination Is Good For You

November 19, 2013/0 Comments/in Increase Productivity, Reduce Stress, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

The Passage of Time (Photo credit: ToniVC)

Believe it or not, I’m a huge procrastinator. I’m better these days than I used to be, but I believe the idea of a pending deadline looming over your head is real motivation. List making is about reducing stress by helping us remember what we need to do, but it’s like that old saying, you can lead a list-maker to a Post-it, but you can’t make her complete a task.

1. Write creatively.

Writer’s block often comes from over-thinking. When I have an entire day to write a post, I always struggle to come up with the perfect first line. But if I wait until later in the day, it forces me to just write anything and that usually gets the creative juices flowing – just make sure to leave enough time for an edit!

2. Making tough personal choices.

I’ve heard that when you can’t decide something you should toss a coin in the air – not to decide for you, but because the second the coin takes flight you’ll realize what you really wanted. When we have the time to sit with a difficult decision, we can second guess our gut. While you can still take time early on to think things through, waiting until the last minute to actually decide will allow you to be more instinctive.

3. Saying you’re sorry.

Some mistakes require immediate reconciliation, but in a situation where you may have hurt a friend’s feelings or get in an argument with a loved out, take a day before you apologize. Even if you realize you messed up right away, waiting will take the emotion out of the situation and allow you to reflect in an unbiased way. The more able you are to see from the other person’s perspective, the more genuine your apology is likely to be.

Your Favorite Characters Are Probably List Makers

November 14, 2013/0 Comments/in Benefits of List Making, Home, Increase Productivity, List Making, Tool for Success, TV/by Paula Rizzo

Bert (right) and Ernie (left) with his rubber duckie . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I spend my days trying to come up with interesting content for this blog and find list makers in unsuspecting places.

While watching TV one day it occurred to me that some of our favorite characters must be list-makers too! I’ve talked about celebs like Madonna and John Lennon making lists but what about some of the people we invite into our homes every day?

I wonder what’s on the to-do lists of my top 5 “probable” list makers:

1. Ned Flanders (The Simpsons)