how to be more organized | List Producer

Talking Lists with MORE Magazine

March 14, 2016/in Benefits of List Making, Fellow List Producers, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, List Making, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

I love meeting fellow list makers wherever I go.

Many of the journalists I’ve worked with share my affinity for the list. Tamsen Fadal — an anchor at WPIX in NYC, where I used to work is one of those list makers! I even featured her list making abilities here.

When she reached out to me about sharing some insights about ways to make better lists and be more organized I jumped at the opportunity.

The interview is for her video series on MORE magazine’s website. As a side note — I LOVE MORE magazine and I’m so sorry to hear that it won’t be published anymore. I thought it was a really quality publication and I will miss it.

In the video Tamsen and I chat about everything we love about lists, where to write them, how to make them and when to make them!

As Tamsen says, you could write a list of everything! Here is the video, if you enjoy watching it, check out my YouTube channel.

Marie Kondo Sparks Joy in Person

January 25, 2016/in Happiness, Home, Reduce Stress/by Paula Rizzo

Paula with Marie

Who knew watching someone fold clothes could be so mesmerizing?

I sat with a packed audience at the 92nd Street Y in New York City on a Friday night as Marie Kondo folded oddly-shaped clothing carefully and slowly.

She’s the author of “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing.” Her newest book and the reason for this gathering is called, “Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up.”

Watching her fold never got old. (I didn’t mean to rhyme there but I was just feeling that sentence and it’s true.) The whole room was in a collective trance — Marie had our full attention.

She folded up one side of a shirt and then the other and created a small origami-esque package again and again.

Everyone was fixated on the tiny woman, who was wearing a white top and skirt with black tights, work her magic.

It was like watching Michelangelo paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling.

A real craftsman at work. Read more

Tested Strategies to Get More Done

November 18, 2015/in Benefits of List Making, Boost Memory, Decision Making, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, List Making, People, Reduce Stress, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

I don’t have ADHD or ADD, but I know a lot about it. That’s because I cover health news for a living. Although having this blog has taught me a lot about it too. Turns out a lot of the tips that I’ve given through the years are particularly useful to people with ADHD and other attention issues and they’ve reached out to me about it. It’s true — I struggle with distractions too and have systems to cope.

Recently I listened to Peter Shankman’s webinar on how to be productive when you have ADD. If you don’t know of him, Shankman is a public relations and marketing expert who has written three books including “Nice Companies Finish First: Why Cutthroat Management Is Over–and Collaboration Is In.” He also created HARO (Help a Reporter Out) which is a journalism tool I use daily. And he also has ADHD and travels all over the world regularly. So there are a lot of amazing sights that catch his eye throughout the day! Read more

The Productivity Hangup You Probably Have Too

October 12, 2015/in Children, Decision Making, Happiness, Home, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, List Making, People, Reduce Stress, Saving Time, Tea/by Paula Rizzo

A few weeks ago I was invited to a dinner party to celebrate my book Listful Thinking. My friend and colleague Joya Dass runs a women’s networking group called LadyDrinks and hosted the event.

So I was thrilled when she asked me to recreate the magic with an afternoon tea theme in Princeton, NJ. (You know how much I love tea if you read this blog regularly! So I was all in on this.)

Most of the women at the tea were professional moms who juggle careers in industries ranging from technology to medicine. They all had one question – “How can you balance everything?”

It’s not easy, I struggle with this too and it’s only me and my husband at this point!

One of the pitfalls and mindset issues I noticed coming up time and time again as we went around the room chatting was the idea of setting boundaries. I think mothers who work outside of the home tend to feel guilty about not spending enough time with their families. And then they feel guilty about not working enough when they are with their families. That’s a recipe for overwhelm and disaster.

Taking time for yourself is super important for your productivity and for your sanity. Here’s the fix: boundaries. Read more

I’ve Never Had So Much Fun Cleaning Out My Closet

September 21, 2015/in Books, Decision Making, People, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

My closet before!

I truly believe I’ve found my spirit animal — it’s Marie Kondo.

I’ve written before about her book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. But this week I finally got around to listening to the entire audiobook and I have to admit I’m a convert (mostly.)

Now I understand why she’s such a rockstar in Japan and why there is a waiting list to work with her!

In her book, Marie explains that she started “tidying” when she was 5 years old. Like a classic middle child she did it to get attention and praise from her parents. Since then, for Marie, tidying has become a celebration. She even dresses up for the event.

Marie says everything you own wants to be of use to you. Isn’t that such a nice way of thinking about it? That was a huge mindset switch for me. Read more

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