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Be More Productive with a 15-Minute Vacation

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photo credit: Nicole Rouyer Guillet

photo credit: Nicole Rouyer Guillet

BONUS FREEBIE: Want even more ways to stay organized, productive and less stressed? Click here to get access to my List-Making Starter Kit. It will boost your efficiency and get you back to doing more of the things you love.

The most productive people know the importance of taking a break. In fact studies show that brief diversions from a task can dramatically improve one’s ability to focus on that task for prolonged periods. This is a productivity tip I talk about in my book, Listful Living.

But what do you do with you break? Some go for a short walk, others make a cup of tea – but what about something a bit different? Today I’m going to show you how to take a 15-minute vacation and feel rejuvenated and re-energized.

Here’s how it’s done:

1. Go onto Google and choose the street view.
2. Type in your favorite city or a place you’ve always wanted to visit.
3. Use the Google navigation tools to take a stroll around and enjoy
4. Walk down the Champs-Élysées in Paris or relax on the beach in Bali!

Another great way to take a virtual vacation is to use the app Periscope.  If you haven’t heard it’s a new video streaming app that I’m totally obsessed with. Download it and you can watch people live streaming from their phones all over the world. Just recently I watched someone walk along the Great Wall of China. It’s so much fun and a great way to reward yourself after some hard work!

What do you like to do on your break?

BONUS FREEBIE: Want even more ways to stay organized, productive and less stressed? Click here to get access to my List-Making Starter Kit. It will boost your efficiency and get you back to doing more of the things you love.

6 Ways to Improve Your Life in Under a Minute

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 Goals like getting healthier and being more organized can sometimes seem quite big, daunting and worst of all time consuming. But it doesn’t have to be that way. There are little things you can do each day, that may not radically change your life, but they can make it a bit better.

Here are some little ways to improve your life and, since I know how time conscience you are, they’re all things that can be done in less than a minute:

1. Eat a blueberry – Blueberries are not only delicious, they’re also really good for you. They’re high in antioxidants, high in fiber and low on the glycemic index. Plus this study shows eating blueberries can help ward off degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease.

2. Stretch out – A minute is not enough time to go for a run, but you can still get a little workout while you sit at your desk. These desk exercises are a great way to get your blood flowing again. Or there’s a new book called Happy Go Yoga that gives you some quick yoga moves to do on the go.

3. Doodle – When you’re scribbling away on a piece of paper it may seem like a waste of time. But studies show that doodling helps you to focus and increase your memory. So feel free to doodle away at your next meeting.

4. Make a cup of tea – I love tea! I’m practically obsessed. And for a good reason. Tea can help to reduce stress, lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. So why not make yourself a cup today? Green is my favorite but darjeeling comes in close second.

5. Look at cute animals – Animals are adorable and they are also good for your productivity! Researchers at Hiroshima University have found that looking at cute pictures or videos of animals trigger care giving impulses, which can improve your work performance. That’s because you’re more likely to be attentive.  I suggest checking out CatsvsCancer.org because as you’re watching cute cat videos and increasing your productivity, you’re also helping to raise money to fight cancer.

6. Change your shirt – In a study from the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, adults reported feeling happier around the colors green and yellow. So put on something brightly colored to help lift your spirits.  It just takes a few seconds.

What are some little things that you do to improve your life in under a minute?

What’s the Best Planner To Make You More Productive?

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image1 (1)Last Thursday I went back to Long Island, to the town I grew up in to attend a Listful Thinking event. It was at the library I went to as a child, where I first developed my love of reading. I remember joining a summer reading group there when I was a kid and getting a sticker for each book I completed. What a thrill!  So being there to speak about my book felt very much like an Oprah full circle moment.

My very first friend and neighbor Jackie is a librarian there and set up this event for me. While I was there I spoke to a women who was having issues with buying too many planners and not using them. (Sound familiar?)

image5Her friends all raved about how helpful the planners had been for them, but she just couldn’t get into them. So she assumed the problem was with her.

I asked her if she was having any organizational troubles, besides not using the planners, which she didn’t.

I imagine this may sound like something many of you can relate to, so I thought I would share with you what I told her – If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! Don’t try to force yourself into a system that doesn’t work for you. You have to find your own unique productivity style and be true to it.

image4It’s almost a psychological thing where we feel the act of buying a new planner/notepad/pen will make us more productive. But the truth is there isn’t any special planner or notepad that will change your life and make you more productive. There is a only the planner or notepad that suits you.

If that’s a simple steno pad or Post-It note then so be it. It’s more important to have a system that works for you. I write my work to-dos for the following day before I leave the office everyday. I do it on a simple steno pad. Where you write the to-dos matters less than the actual system you have for capturing them.

What planners have you tried that worked or didn’t work for you?

The Unusual Hobbies of Successful People

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Sir_Richard_Branson_photo_by_Priory_StudiosSome people think you have to give up your hobbies to be productive – but that’s not the case. In fact, hobbies can help become even more productive, as I’ve written about before.

Did you know that many successful people have a hobby of some kind? I have a whole pinboard dedicated to celebrities who enjoy list making just like me. Other celebrities have some more unusual hobbies, here are some of my favorites:

Meryl Streep – She’s known for playing a wide variety of characters, but at home Meryl likes things a little more mundane. Rather than going out to fancy parties, she prefers to stay at home and knit. In an interview with The Record she explained – “I live a very unspectacular life. I love to sit on my chair in the living room and knit. Or I cook or read a book. I’m a very frugal person.” Knitting can be a very repetitive task, but that gives your mind a chance to wander and be more creative.

Stanley Kubrik – I’m always on the lookout for a good note pad, which is something Stanley and I have in common. Those who were closest to him often mentioned his love of stationery. He once apparently bought 100 bottles of brown ink because he heard they where going to discontinue the line. Collectors are often very organized people, they also understand the importance of research.

Sir Richard Branson – This famous entrepreneur is an avid list maker just like me. Many entrepreneurs like to unwind through exercise, but for most this is normally with a round of golf. Branson prefers a little more adventure and is often spotted kite-surfing. He enjoys it so much he has broken a couple of world records. Branson is the oldest person to kite-surf across the English channel in fact. Also in 2013, he organized the largest parade of kite-surfers to complete a one-mile course. Sports are a great hobby for keeping you healthy and helping you to understand the importance of perseverance.

What are some of your hobbies?

My Latest Productivity Killer: Periscope

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periscope-logo-1920-800x450Smartphones are in many ways a productivity blessing. They provide you with instant access to hundreds of apps designed to help you get more out of your day. However, smartphones can also be a productivity curse. Because you also have access to hundreds of apps designed to get you addicted and take up all your time!

As much as I write about the importance of not being distracted – I too, sometimes get addicted to apps and get thrown off course.

The latest being Periscope.

The app allows you to live stream video from your phone from anywhere in the world. It’s very exciting for me, as a news producer, to think of all the possibilities. When I downloaded the app I had expected to watch a few videos of people going about their lives, but I quickly found myself becoming addicted.

Here are some of the things I’ve watched so far:

  • Pizza delivery guy arriving at a house in Utah
  • Kid playing super mario brothers for the first time
  • Pearl Jam tribute band
  • Guy hiking in Arizona
  • Person hanging out near the Golden Gate Bridge
  • Guy walking through the mall in NJ
  • Little girl learning to ride her bike for the first time
  • Guy who couldn’t sleep in the UK drawing
  • Newsroom tours in Waco, TX, Lexington, KY, Las Vegas, CNN
  • A puppy that is afraid of a cat in Alabama
  • Mother daughter dance at wedding
  • Malibu Beach sunset
  • Some nascar race
  • A firehandler on the beach in Florida
  • A cat yawning
  • A puppy eating
  • The MTV Movie Awards red carpet
  • Cherry blossoms in DC
  • Behind the scenes tour at The View

You can download the app here. Follow me — I’m @listproducer of course. Remember it is seriously addictive – so consider yourself warned!  So use is as a reward when you get something checked off your to-do list.  Then you can check out someone walking through Times Square or a Disney parade in real time.  Let me know what you think if you check it out.