Tag Archive for: Paula Rizzo

These Excuses Are Keeping You From Getting More Done

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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

Listful Thinking AUDIOBOOK is OUT TODAY!

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Just over a year ago my book Listful Thinking was released and now I’m excited to announce that it has been released as an audiobook!

I rarely have time to sit down and read a book, so I much prefer to listen to podcasts and books on the go. So it seems only fitting that my book about time management and productivity would be available in such an efficient format.

If you remember I posted a couple weeks back about how much fun I had recording the audiobook. Although it was a little stressful to be on the other side of the coin and find myself at the mercy of another producer. It was a long process and I was physically exhausted by the end of it. That’s a lot of talking!

However, reading my book out loud made me realize some of the difficulties that come with listening to a book instead of reading it. For example, when I talk about an app or website that I love it’s very easy to read about it in my book and then look it up online. Things start to get a little more tricky when you only hear it, how are you supposed to know how it’s spelled or remember to write it down?

To make things easier for all my audiobook fans I am giving away a FREE resources guide to everyone who purchases a copy of the audiobook. It lists all the apps, websites, books and articles that I mention in Listful Thinking.

To claim your resources guide forward a copy of your receipt to my assistant nicole@listproducer.com and she will send you the guide.

I hope you enjoy the audiobook as much as I enjoyed recording it!

What kind of List Maker are You?

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Since starting this blog and writing my book Listful Thinking — one of my favorite parts is meeting lots of people who love making lists. Even at my day job, working as a news producer, I encounter tons of fellow list makers who can’t wait to swap list tips!

Over time I’ve started to notice that list makers tend to fall into certain categories, all with their own styles of list making.

Check out the categories below to figure out what kind of a list maker you are:

Monkey List Maker

You might be this list maker if:

  1. You have a list for – literally – everything.
  2. All your lists have a place, like a notebook or in Evernote.
  3. You keep them in a certain order or they are color coded.

These list makers are just like me and for them lists are serious business! Monkey list makers are normally very organized, but they can fall into the trap of spending more time writing lists than crossing items off! To stop yourself from doing this make sure that every task has a deadline – even if it’s not urgent create a ‘fake’ deadline.

Monkeys are known for being very smart and efficient.  Though if you’re a monkey and you don’t set a deadline – you may never get around to doing that task. Read more

5 Money-Saving Apps to Try

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money-256319_640Making lists goes hand in hand with budgeting. Sometimes it’s not about how much you’re spending, but what you’re spending that money on. Lists help you keep track of that kind of detail.  Most people know how much they spend on groceries or gas a month, but how much do you spend at restaurants or on new clothes? Or how can you save a few dollars here or there to buy the stuff you really want?

Here are some of my favorite money-saving apps:

Mint.com – This website organizes all your accouts into one easy to view site. It has a savings tool, which allows you create a saving goal and lets you know if you’re on track to meet your goal. They also have a budgeting tool that tracks all your expenses and puts them into categories. It’s a free, easy to use service.

If you’re worried about security Mint has recently introduced a two-step verification process so your login is more secure. Read more

Could You be a Brave Entrepreneur too?

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When I first started ListProducer.com in April 2011 it was just a hobby. I didn’t think of myself as a business owner or an entrepreneur. I thought of myself as a writer and list maker who had a blog.

I would write blog posts when I felt like it, because planning and sticking to a schedule was something I did at my regular job and therefore it was not fun. So I didn’t have an editorial calendar at first.

Many new entrepreneurs do themselves a disservice by seeing their side business as a hobby. Once I started to treat my side gig as an actual business, that’s when I started to see results!

When I took my business seriously so did other people! I still enjoy working on it, it just that now it’s a slight more organized kind of fun!

It’s turned into so much more since Listful Thinking was published and I’ve created my online course Take Back Your Inbox and have others in the works. I’m a real entrepreneur.

This idea of turning a hobby into a business is something I discuss on the Brave Podcast where I was recently interviewed. So if you’re a new entrepreneur or thinking of starting up your own business do check it out!

I also delve into my mantra for 2016 ‘Rest is the new hustle’. With our increasingly busy lives we’re not taking any time to ourselves! On the podcast I discuss how to say no and prioritize your time (even though it feels unnatural at first).

Check it out!