Tag Archive for: productivity tips

4 Ways To Free Up 1 Hour of Your Day

/0 Comments/in , , , , , /by

clock-407101_640Do you wish you had an extra hour in your day? Some time to finally get to all those things at the bottom of your to-do list or start working on that personal project?

There’s no need to wish for longer days, instead you can just make better use of the time you have.

The first thing you need to do is stop making excuses. It’s easy to put something off, claiming you’re too busy to get around to it. If you feel that way it’s probably because you aren’t using your time efficiently.

I recently wrote a blog post on how being aware of how much time you spend on various tasks can help increase your efficiency. I like to use RescueTime.com as it tracks how much time I spend on websites and applications. This helps me to pin point my biggest ‘time-wasters’ which I can then cut down on, or eliminate completely in future. Read more

What’s Happening in 2016

/1 Comment/in , /by

sylvester-1097596_6402015 was a very exciting year for me. In January my book Listful Thinking came out!  I got to meet so many interesting new people at book signings and at Book Expo America plus I got to meet some of you — the readers of this blog!  What an incredible opportunity.

In 2015 I also created my first online course, Take Back Your Inbox: Stop Drowning in Unread Messages, Respond Quicker and Finally Achieve Inbox Zero. I designed the course to help you feel less overwhelmed by your email. Something I struggled with big time but found some smart solutions to fix!

I also took some exciting vacations to Florida, Puerto Rico, Mexico and San Francisco — with a visit to the Google headquarters!

I have a lot of exciting plans in mind for ListProducer.com in 2016. I made a video to share them with you. Hopefully this is the start of a new trend and I’ll be sharing more videos this year!

Click here to watch it.

Don’t Micromanage – Make This List to Work With Others

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , , , , /by

team-386673_640Remember in high school when you’d have to do a group project and get paired up with a bunch of other kids?

I was always the one who was trying organize things and make sure we hit our deadlines.  (Nerd Alert!)

But no matter the project — there was always that one kid who said she would be responsible for a crucial element…and then not deliver.  

Nothing would make me more annoyed, but I was always happy when the project was over and we didn’t have to work together again.

In the “real world” the same thing can happen.  But the downside is you can’t trade in your team members as often.  

You’re forced to work with the same team and figure out a way to make it work.

This is where lists can really come to the rescue.    Read more

The Productivity Hangup You Probably Have Too

/1 Comment/in , , , , , , , , , , /by

lady drinksA 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

The Most Productive Tricks Learned Over Drinks

/0 Comments/in , , , , /by

11855811_1688011314762569_3730399941978373230_nIt’s amazing what you can learn over drinks.  Really.

What was it that Ernest Hemingway said? “Write drunk, edit sober.”  Ok so that doesn’t perfectly make my point but it’s a good saying nevertheless.  

Recently I was invited as a guest at the LadyDrinks Author Series Dinner in New York City for my book Listful Thinking. My friend and fellow newswoman Joya Dass runs the events and I’m thankful she asked me to participate.  The room was filled with entrepreneurs, doctors, teachers, journalists and coaches. It was an excellent opportunity to discuss and share thoughts on productivity with other professionals.  Even though I’m a “productivity expert” and I’m constantly seeking out new information to share. Read more