how to be more productive | List Producer

The Productivity Hangup You Probably Have Too

October 12, 2015/1 Comment/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

Eliminate Small Annoyances to Boost Productivity

August 3, 2015/3 Comments/in Apps, Decision Making, Decorating, Happiness, Health, Increase Productivity, Reduce Stress, Saving Time, Tea, Technology, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

We all experience them, those little everyday things that get in our way.

But you deal with them even when they set you back. I do it too.

I’m sent tons of magazines and books at work and they are good resources for story ideas. However they take up so much space.

I keep them on my desk because I always plan on looking at them. But in the end they just get in my way and slow me down and create clutter.

They topple over onto my keyboard.

They spill onto my notes and pencil and often I can’t find what I’m looking for — but there they are…under that stack of magazines.

So why don’t I just move them! Right? We’ll it’s a lot easier said than done. These types of irritants are only slightly annoying so we let them slide. Read more

What Google Headquarters Taught Me About Productivity

July 13, 2015/4 Comments/in Happiness, Health, Increase Productivity, People, Reduce Stress, Technology, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

Paula & Jay with Gopi at Google

Last week I decided to use the 4th of July weekend as an excuse to go on vacation. I have always wanted to go to San Francisco and figured now was the time. My husband Jay and I toured around the city — saw the Golden Gate Bridge, walked up Lombard Street, strolled along Fisherman’s Wharf and even tasted some amazing wine in Napa and Sonoma Valleys.

While there – we were amazingly lucky to get a tour of the Google headquarters in Mountain View, CA. That’s about 50 minutes south of San Francisco. Anyone can check out the grounds but to get a real look inside the buildings an employee has to take you around. I was lucky to be introduced to Gopi Kallayil by a mutual friend and he was our very gracious host. He’s the Chief Evangelist at Google for Brand Marketing — isn’t that the coolest title ever? Read more

Checklist to Finish What You Started

July 8, 2015/0 Comments/in Decision Making, Happiness, Health, Increase Productivity, List Making, Reduce Stress, Saving Time, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

I have loads of advice about how to get started with a big project on this blog. But what about finishing a task? Most people assume that when you’re in that final stretch it will all fall into place. However, sometimes finishing can be just as difficult! Especially if you’ve put all your motivation into getting started.

Here’s a checklist to help you finish what you started!

1. Stop asking for advice – My friend Terri wrote about this recently, she calls it an addiction to advice. When you’re addicted you become so wrapped up in getting all the best possible advice from the best people that you never get around to actually doing it. Sometimes you just have to get on with it! Plus once your project has started to take shape you will find yourself getting more specific feedback. Read more

Join Me For Tea!

July 6, 2015/0 Comments/in Happiness, Health, Increase Productivity, Tea/by Paula Rizzo

People often assume that coffee is the most productive drink as it helps keeps you going. However while coffee makes you feel more awake, it doesn’t really help you think any better. If you want to get more out of your day I would recommend switching to tea. The lower caffeine content in tea keeps you alert but doesn’t make you jittery. Tea can really start off your whole day in the best way, there are so many different types out there for people to try such as black, green, herbal, matcha, the list is endless!

I also find that making a cup of tea perfectly fills a five-minute break, and gives you a chance to reflect on your work. There have even been studies that show drinking tea will make you more productive.

Join me for ProductiviTEA

To celebrate tea�s contribution to productivity – I am hosting a ProductiviTEA event in New York.

Get it? Tea plus productivity equals ProductiviTEA!

It will be held at Podunk Tea Room in the East Village. We will have a discussion and workshop on how to boost your efficiency, hone your own productivity style and harness the power of downtime.

There will also be a chance to relax and enjoy hot tea, iced tea and boozy tea with scones & jam too!

Tickets to the event are $25 each or $40 for two people. I�m excited to see you there and share a nice cup of tea!

Tag Archive for: how to be more productive

Join me for ProductiviTEA