New York City | List Producer

9 Ways to be Productive on a Snow Day

February 7, 2013/2 Comments/in Apps, Benefits of List Making, Decision Making, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, List Making, Relationships, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

SNOW DAY in TIMES SQUARE 2011 – Manhattan, New York City – 01/26/11 (Photo credit: asterix611)

The mention of extreme weather does a funny thing to people. It throws us into a total frenzy. No one wants to sit in a freezing home in the middle of winter. All you can think of is how much milk you have in the house and whether or not your car has gas. My office has been a buzz about the Nor’easter headed for New York City for days.

A snow day is a good excuse to do all the things you’ve been “meaning” to do but just haven’t gotten to do. If you do get snowed in — here’s my list of things you can do to be productive:

Clean out just ONE desk, junk or dresser drawer. Get to more if you can but start with just one.
Catch up on your saved DVR shows. (in your PJs)
Look up and try out a new workout on YouTube.
Start compiling all the paperwork you need to do your taxes. I recommend Evernote to keep track of it all.
Do some online shopping to cross off some birthday or holiday gifts from your to-do list.
Do research for an upcoming wedding, vacation or project.
Download the Next Issue app to browse all your favorite magazines in one spot.
Try out a new recipe. One of my favorite blogs Cooking With Books should give you some inspiration.
Begin a new book. Check Goodreads.com for fabulous recommendations from friends.

Post Hurricane Sandy List

November 4, 2012/4 Comments/in Benefits of List Making/by Paula Rizzo

Hurricane Sandy Flooding Avenue C 2012 (Photo credit: david_shankbone)

Remember me? I have to admit that I do feel very guilty for not updating this blog for over a week. But as a resident of New York City – Hurricane Sandy pretty much took over my life for a bit.

Here are a few updates on that front:

1. We just recently got power back to our building but still don’t have hot water or heat, which makes for pretty chilly nights! I have a hood pulled up over my head as I write this?

2. I was able to snag a hotel close to my job for a few days so I didn’t have to miss work and got a hot shower. But I know others weren’t as lucky because everyone and their mother (literary) has been looking for a room in NYC with power.

3. Our poor Mazda 3 was lost in the storm. We parked it in a garage in our neighborhood in the East Village and it was completely flooded. We haven’t been able to see the car yet because the garage is still flooded and dangerous because there is oil and gas in the water. But we heard at one point there was over 4 feet of water in the garage. The car wasn’t the only loss, though. My hubby’s golf clubs were in there too – guess I know what I’m getting him for the holidays!

4. Twitter is an amazing tool! I’ve been using it to stay posted on everything hurricane and restoration related. If you aren’t a Twitter user — you have to start. You can make lists of people to follow for different topics. For example — I have a Hurricane Sandy list with the Governor, Mayor, MTA, etc in there. So every time they tweet an update I can get it on that list. This is instead of wading through everyone’s tweets.

5. We are lucky that aside from the car and throwing out a fridge full of food – we didn’t have any other heartaches. Compared to the people in Breezy Point, NY and the Jersey Shore who lost everything – we are doing just fine! The amount of people from all over the country who called and emailed to check on us and/or offered a place to stay is really overwhelming. Thank you!

6. I’ll be back in business this week – because I was list making like crazy during the storm. I’ll let you know what worked and what didn’t!

Join Me to Talk Travel Lists

September 21, 2012/0 Comments/in Benefits of List Making, Fellow List Producers/by Paula Rizzo

Deutsch: Paris: Eiffelturm (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Everyone loves going on vacation. It’s great to be able to reconnect, recharge and relax! But all that fun takes some preparation and lots and lots of lists!

Pros & Cons lists for destinations
Research lists
Packing lists
Organizing your luggage
Sightseeing lists
Must-Eat Restaurant lists
Bucket lists of must-visit spots
etc.

I recently started a Meetup group called “Lists & Libations.” We meet once a month to talk about lists and enjoy libations! Our next meeting on October 24th will be all about travel lists. I would love for you to join us if you can. Click here for all the details.

If you don’t live in NYC or can’t make it — I’m also hosting Virtual Meetups. The next one is on October 2nd and is all about productivity apps!

Hope to see you there!

List of Great Restaurants in New York City

December 27, 2011/8 Comments/in Benefits of List Making, Decision Making, Food, Increase Productivity, Reduce Stress, Saving Money, Saving Time, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

Who doesn’t love a good meal? Food — cooking and eating it — is one of my favorite topics. I’m a Food Network junkie and I love watching Guy Fieri and Giada Di Laurentiis whip up easy meals. Sometimes I even try them out myself — but a lot of times I go out to eat. How lucky that I live in New York City and the best restaurants are all around me!

I’ve compiled my own NYC Restaurant Recommendation List but now New York Magazine has come out with it’s 101 Best NYC Restaurants List. Check it out — there are some really great selections on there. If you’re not from New York City — save some for your next visit. Read more

To-Do List After Hurricane Irene

August 29, 2011/2 Comments/in Benefits of List Making, Decision Making, Fellow List Producers, Home, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, Reduce Stress, Saving Money, Saving Time, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

We did it! We got through Hurricane Irene! I hope my checklists for preparation came in handy. Jay didn’t have to work after all (most sporting events were canceled because of Irene) so we got to wait out the storm together! Some trees were down in our Lower East Side neighborhood but nothing major. Our car survived in our garage even though it was in a flood zone. The subway system will be coming back to life slowly Monday morning so getting to work will be a task but hopefully not impossible.

Tag Archive for: New York City