Paula Rizzo | List Producer

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!

Sniff This to be More Productive

October 23, 2012/0 Comments/in Boost Memory, Fellow List Producers, Health, Home, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, List Making, Reduce Stress, Saving Time, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

Lavender (Photo credit: Iakobos)

Turns out certain scents will boost your productivity power. I’ve never tried it but it’s worth a shot especially because these smells are pleasant. Entrepreneur.com checked in with Beverley Hawkins, owner of the Vancouver-based West Coast Institute of Aromatherapy for her favorites:

Lemon
Lavender
Jasmine
Rosemary
Cinnamon
Peppermint

Aromatherapy is an ancient practice that can help relax, destress and empower, through the use of products such as a Scentsy Scent Circle, room sprays and essential oils.

There’s no need to go over the top and spray down the entire office. Just put a few drops of any of these essential oils on a cotton ball and sniff.

For more on why these scents will have you finishing up your work in no time — check out the original article here.

Track Packages and Spending With Slice

October 22, 2012/2 Comments/in Apps, Holidays, Increase Productivity, Reduce Stress, Saving Money, Saving Time, Shopping, Technology, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

Life just got so much easier for me. I’m constantly buying things online — especially now that I’m in full on holiday shopping mode. Sometimes its hard to keep track what I’ve bought and when the deliveries will be made. I don’t have a doorman and if there is alcohol in the package then an adult has to be home to sign for it. And that isn’t always possible so either my husband or I end up stalking the UPS or FedEx truck. But no more!

I’ve discovered Slice.com. It’s the perfect away to keep on top of all your shopping and save money too. You can link it up with your email so the website and app will find all of your recent purchases and organize them for you.

Slice will tell you when the package is expected to ship, when it actually ships, where it is currently and when it’s supposed to arrive at your door. There’s even customer service numbers and return policy information attached to each order.

Your history will show all the items that you’ve purchased and categorize them for you so you can track your spending. (This is useful eventho it’s a bit scary to see where all your money actually goes.) And the coolest feature of all — you will be alerted if an item you bought went on sale and that merchant will issue a price adjustment if you ask. That alone is worth signing up for Slice.com.

It’s free to sign up on the website and the app is also free. I’ve been singing it’s praises ever since I found it. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Best Places for Writing Lists?

October 16, 2012/13 Comments/in Benefits of List Making, Boost Memory, Decision Making, Fellow List Producers, Increase Productivity, Reduce Stress, Saving Money, Saving Time, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

Lists help to make you more efficient, save money and time, boost your memory and aid in decision making. But how do you make your lists? I’ve found that doing a combination of things has helped me to be more organized. Maybe it will work for you too.

1. Handwritten: For me, I feel like it’s not really a to-do list unless it’s written out. I also write out my packing lists and my pros v. cons lists. Read more

Making an Ignore List

October 15, 2012/4 Comments/in Uncategorized/by Paula Rizzo

L is for Lists (Photo credit: Swiv)

Sometimes even more important than a to-do list is an ignore list. I just made one this weekend actually. I wrote down all the to-dos that I wanted to accomplish. Then I reevaluated this list.

Sure I wanted to finish the slides for a presentation I’m doing in December…but it didn’t need to get done right now. Doing that task would push other more important tasks to the bottom of the pile. So I added it to my ignore list. This doesn’t mean I’ll never get to it – it just means that I don’t need to get to it right now. So I’m ignoring it this weekend.

Doing this will help you to prioritize and really look at each to-do individually. If you don’t have the drive, resources or time to complete that task right now — don’t. Put it on your ignore list. Eventually you can move it to your to-do list and get it done.

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