Tag Archive for: productivity tips

What Google Headquarters Taught Me About Productivity

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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

Join Me For Tea!

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ProductiviTEA social media (1)People often assume that coffee is the most productive drink as it helps keeps you going. However while coffee makes you feel more awake, it doesn’t really help you think any better. If you want to get more out of your day I would recommend switching to tea. The lower caffeine content in tea keeps you alert but doesn’t make you jittery. Tea can really start off your whole day in the best way, there are so many different types out there for people to try such as black, green, herbal, matcha, the list is endless!

I also find that making a cup of tea perfectly fills a five-minute break, and gives you a chance to reflect on your work. There have even been studies that show drinking tea will make you more productive.

Join me for ProductiviTEA

To celebrate tea�s contribution to productivity – I am hosting a ProductiviTEA event in New York.

Get it? Tea plus productivity equals ProductiviTEA!

It will be held at Podunk Tea Room in the East Village. We will have a discussion and workshop on how to boost your efficiency, hone your own productivity style and harness the power of downtime.

There will also be a chance to relax and enjoy hot tea, iced tea and boozy tea with scones & jam too!

Tickets to the event are $25 each or $40 for two people. I�m excited to see you there and share a nice cup of tea!

Why Quitters Always Win

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Quitting-credit-iStock-450515949-630x418

Photo credit: iStock

It’s a common misconception that quitting is easy.

In fact, quitting can be quite difficult due to how we view our investment of time. The more we put into something, the less likely we are to quit. Because if we quit then we feel as though those resources have been wasted.

It’s why people keep playing the lottery week after week, despite the fact that you’re more likely to be struck by lightning twice than win! Quitting comes with the constant paranoia that once you stop playing your numbers will come up. Isn’t that the worst feeling ever?

All that said — not only am I telling you it’s OK to quit, I’m also going to give you some tips on how to do it right: Read more

News Anchor Tamsen Fadal Lives by Lists

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Tamsen-1002Like me Tamsen Fadal works in the news business, so she knows the importance of a good list. She currently co-anchors the PIX11 News at 5, 6 and 10 in New York City. I used to work at PIX11 too, as a copyeditor/producer for the News at 10.

It’s always good to catch up with people there.  So I was excited to hear that Tamsen just released a new book called, “The New Single.”  And guess what she talks about in it?

Her love of list making!  So I asked her a few more questions about how she does it all.

Why do you call yourself a compulsive list producer?

There is no question about it. In fact, this interview was part of my Monday To Do List to make sure that I got it done. I love having a plan in place. It keeps me organized, efficient and it allows me to focus on the task at hand versus trying to do 10 different things and not accomplish any of them.

What do you make lists about?

I make lists about anything and everything.

  • Tasks I need to do.
  • Websites and apps I want to check out.
  • Foods I want to incorporate in my diet.
  • My workouts.
  • Long term goals and short term goals.
  • Pros and cons of a topic.

Read more

Meeting “Listful Thinkers” at Book Expo America

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BEA1Sometimes it’s important to look back in order to move ahead.  That happened to me last week when I attended my fourth Book Expo America conference.  I go every year for my day job as a senior health producer at Fox News.  I meet with publishers to talk about their new health, wellness and medical books that are coming out in the next year.

But this year I also attended as an author.  What a thrill!  I met with some list makers during two signings that my publisher set up.  One woman took out her huge binder to show me all her lists.  I couldn’t believe that she lugged it around with her everywhere, but she said she wouldn’t think of writing lists anywhere else.   Read more