productivity tips | List Producer

The Productivity Hangup You Probably Have Too

October 12, 2015/1 Comment/in Children, Decision Making, Happiness, Home, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, List Making, People, Reduce Stress, Saving Time, Tea/by Paula Rizzo

A 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

August 26, 2015/0 Comments/in Benefits of List Making, Learning With a List, List Making, People, Technology/by Paula Rizzo

It’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

Eliminate Small Annoyances to Boost Productivity

August 3, 2015/3 Comments/in Apps, Decision Making, Decorating, Happiness, Health, Increase Productivity, Reduce Stress, Saving Time, Tea, Technology, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

We all experience them, those little everyday things that get in our way.

But you deal with them even when they set you back. I do it too.

I’m sent tons of magazines and books at work and they are good resources for story ideas. However they take up so much space.

I keep them on my desk because I always plan on looking at them. But in the end they just get in my way and slow me down and create clutter.

They topple over onto my keyboard.

They spill onto my notes and pencil and often I can’t find what I’m looking for — but there they are…under that stack of magazines.

So why don’t I just move them! Right? We’ll it’s a lot easier said than done. These types of irritants are only slightly annoying so we let them slide. Read more

The Most Productive 15 Minutes of Your Work Day

July 29, 2015/2 Comments/in Benefits of List Making, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, List Making, Reduce Stress, Saving Time, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

For those of you who work a typical 9 to 5 job, looking at the clock and seeing it’s 4:45pm can be quite a relief. Only a quarter of an hour and you’re out of there! Yay!

For others it can be quite stressful – only 15 minutes to get everything done!

But would you believe the way you spend those final 15 minutes could completely change what happens the next day?

Every day, when I’m nearly finished with work I create a “roadmap” for the following day. I’ve stolen the idea from my time as a live news producer. We always have a rundown to keep us on track during a live show. Your work day should run the same way. Read more

What Google Headquarters Taught Me About Productivity

July 13, 2015/4 Comments/in Happiness, Health, Increase Productivity, People, Reduce Stress, Technology, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

Paula & Jay with Gopi at Google

Last week I decided to use the 4th of July weekend as an excuse to go on vacation. I have always wanted to go to San Francisco and figured now was the time. My husband Jay and I toured around the city — saw the Golden Gate Bridge, walked up Lombard Street, strolled along Fisherman’s Wharf and even tasted some amazing wine in Napa and Sonoma Valleys.

While there – we were amazingly lucky to get a tour of the Google headquarters in Mountain View, CA. That’s about 50 minutes south of San Francisco. Anyone can check out the grounds but to get a real look inside the buildings an employee has to take you around. I was lucky to be introduced to Gopi Kallayil by a mutual friend and he was our very gracious host. He’s the Chief Evangelist at Google for Brand Marketing — isn’t that the coolest title ever? Read more

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