how to be more productive | List Producer

5 Things Productive People Don’t Do

December 5, 2016/0 Comments/in Benefits of List Making, Decision Making, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, List Making, Reduce Stress, Saving Time, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

Being a productivity expert means people are often ask me for ways to get more done. Many people, I find, approach this from the wrong angle. They want to know how they can write their lists for maximum efficiency or what smartphone app is going to manage their busy schedule. While these things can help, being productive isn’t so much about what you do, it’s more about what you don’t do.

I am a big believer in doing less with my day. This may seem like it’s at odds with being productive, but it’s much better to do a few things really well then lots of things poorly. For example, if you do a rushed job when you vacuum, you will probably have to go over it again in a couple of days. However, if you try to reach into every nook and cranny you won’t have to worry about vacuuming again for a while. Read more

3 Ways to Have an Effective Lunch Meeting

November 28, 2016/0 Comments/in Apps, Increase Productivity, People, Relationships, Saving Time, Technology/by Paula Rizzo

I always look forward to a good lunch meeting, but it can be tricky to get it right because there are so many distractions. If the purpose of the meeting is to talk business you may have to plan ahead. There’s nothing worse than getting to the best part of your pitch when suddenly the waiter interrupts to take your order. Or when the food takes to long and makes you late to work.

The best way to ensure a successful lunch meeting is to put in a little planning beforehand. Here are some of my top tips.

Choose the location wisely – When I meet with my mastermind group for meals we have got them down to an exact science! When booking a place to meet we always ensure that we meet at a restaurant where you can go up and get your food and then sit down. This saves you getting distracted looking at the menu and dealing with the waiter. Plus once you’ve got your food you can sit down and get started quickly on whatever topics you’ve got on the agenda. Read more

How Doing Nothing Can Help You Get More Done

October 17, 2016/0 Comments/in Benefits of List Making, Fellow List Producers, Increase Productivity, List Making, People, Reduce Stress, Saving Money, Saving Time, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

I meet people all the time who struggle with their productivity because they believe that being efficient means doing as much as humanly possible, all day every day. Not true! Productivity is more about quality over quantity, as well as prioritizing your time to suit what is important to you.

I love finding other productivity nerds like myself who are just as passionate about this stuff. Like Chris Bailey author of The Productivity Project. Chris recently did a TEDx talk about the year he spent trying to hack his productivity. He found that the most important lesson he learned was how valuable meditation was in his day to day life.

While most people see meditation as doing ‘nothing’ Chris found that these quiet moments allowed him to reflect on his day and focus on the tasks ahead.

Being productive doesn’t mean you have to be physically doing something all the time!

Here are some of Chris’s top tips:

The Rule of Three – Keep it simple. Give yourself just three tasks that you want to have accomplished by the end of the day. By limiting how much you have to get done, you can be certain you’ll complete everything you set out to do! Once you’ve finished those three tasks you can move onto other smaller chores.

Quit Multitasking – I harp on about the perils of multitasking all the time so it’s good to see that someone else agrees with me! Chris points out that the more tasks you do at once, the less chance of success you have with any one task.

All Things in Moderation – You can’t be at your best if you haven’t slept well or had enough to eat. Balance your day and take care of yourself. Make sure to get a little exercise, as well as eat healthy meals. Chris is also a big believer in taking regularly breaks like me!

Disconnect – Technology is nice, but when we become reliant on it, it can really hamper our productivity. Treat the internet as a nice tool for occasional use instead of something you must have!

Let your Mind Wander – If you’re too busy rushing from one thing to another your mind never has a chance to relax. Downtime is often the best place for coming up with new ideas. It’s why I stopped reading articles at breakfast and just let myself have a peaceful moment! I’ve come up with so many ideas for my blog this way!

P.S. If you like TEDx talks you should check out my friend Terri’s! It’s about why you should stop searching for your passion and it has over 1,000,000 views!

These Excuses Are Keeping You From Getting More Done

July 11, 2016/0 Comments/in Apps, Benefits of List Making, Decision Making, Increase Productivity, Reduce Stress, Saving Money, Saving Time, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

Let’s be honest. We all hold ourselves back in some way or another.

When we start to fall into a bad habit, it’s so much easier to blame something or someone else than to get to the root of the problem. When it comes to poor productivity habits, I’ve heard all the excuses.

I’ve been over a few of them before, but there are so many I thought I’d go over a few that you might be telling yourself these days and help you get past them:

“I’d be more organized if I had more money”

This excuse differs from the others in the sense that it is – technically – true. If we all had the money to afford personal assistants of course we would be more organized!

But just because you’re on a budget doesn’t mean you have to give up on organization altogether. There are plenty of free apps to help you plan your day. If all else fails pen and paper is pretty cheap!

Fix: Stop focusing on what you don’t have and start thinking about what you do. Read more

How to get Inbox Zero by Friday

May 9, 2016/0 Comments/in Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, List Making, Reduce Stress, Saving Time, Technology, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

Are your emails haunting you?

With the big, fat “UNREAD” number staring you in the face – how are you supposed to get any work done?

It’s looming in the back of your mind.

You have to write back to this person or that person.

And then you end up doing nothing and missing deadlines and opportunities.

I understand! The swamp of the email inbox is maddening.

Wouldn’t it be a miracle to actually get to INBOX ZERO by Friday?

“Yeah, right!” you say in your most sarcastic voice.

“Yeah, right!” I say in my most positive voice.

It can happen and I’ll get you there in just 5 days.

Join me for my FREE 5-DAY EMAIL CHALLENGE and get Inbox Zero by Friday.

Sign up here.

Here’s what to expect:

Every day I’ll send an email with step-by-step instructions and an audio guide to wrangle your inbox.

Each day there will be a prompt to help you organize and manage your inbox.

And by Friday — you’ll have a handle on your inbox so you can stop drowning in unread messages, respond quicker and finally achieve inbox zero.

Let’s do this together!

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