to-do list | List Producer

Things You Always Do To Have a More Productive Day

October 14, 2015/0 Comments/in Benefits of List Making, Happiness, Increase Productivity, Tea, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

I’m a procrastinator by heart, so in order to make sure I get everything done I force myself into a routine. I like to always wake up at the same time and stand at the best part of the station platform for getting on the train quickly. All these little things help to make me my day more productive.

Yes – getting to know where the doors are going to stop on the platform only saves me one minute or so everyday. But it makes me feel like my commute is going faster. Which puts me in a good mood and helps to kick start my day.

Here are some other little ways you can ensure you’ll have a productive day:

Make Your Bed – I know, I know I sound like your Mom. But taking a few minutes in the morning to make your bed look nice doesn’t just give you that feel good – post clean up feeling. It gives you something to look forward to coming home to! 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

The Perfect Combo: Tea and Productivity

July 27, 2015/0 Comments/in Benefits of List Making, Food, Happiness, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, List Making, People, Tea, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

Last week I held the very first ever ProductiviTEA event at Podunk tea shop in New York City. I’m still beaming from the amazing energy in the room. (Maybe it was the boozy tea too?) The group was a mix from all different backgrounds. We had lawyers, fashion designers, personal trainers, financial services gurus, productivity coaches and branding experts.

Between sips of delicious tea and bites of yummy scones — it was clear that despite the differences in careers we all shared similar productivity issues. Some of the problems that popped up included:
1. Focusing on one task at a time (I suggested trying the Pomodoro technique where you work on a given task for a set amount of time — like 25 minutes.)

2. Dealing with email overwhelm (I’ve been there too – I love to sign up for newsletters newsletters,PDFs and free gifts of all kinds. If there’s a free promo code out there — I want it. All these goodies are delivered right to my inbox and I always have the best intentions to read them all but….the truth is I rarely do anything with that stuff. I created a system to Take Back My Inbox! For some tips and tricks on that front check out my new course.

3. Stopping your brain from going 100 MPH before bed (Reading a fiction book is a great cure for this. I used to read non-fiction all the time because I’m just so curious and always want to be learning something new. But about a month ago I realized it wasn’t working and switched to fiction. It’s amazing how much it settles you down before bed.)

We also talked about productivity styles and how you have to find out what works for you. I had so much fun helping people with their list and productivity problems and cheer on their successes. I created ListProducer.com to help those who where struggling to get organized – it feels really good to see the effect the blog has on people. Thanks so all who attended and hopefully we will have a repeat event sometime soon. I’m even thinking of doing a virtual event so people from all over can participate.

How To Work Through Challenges And Get Stuff Done

May 20, 2015/2 Comments/in Benefits of List Making, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, List Making, Tool for Success/by Paula Rizzo

Can you imagine a day where you checked off everything on your to-do list without any problems or interruptions? Wouldn’t that be a nice change? But truthfully these days are quite rare. When we hit a roadblock it’s important to remember it happens to us all!

In fact problems are a normal part of the process. It’s all about how you deal with them.

Here are a few of the more common hang ups and how to move past them:

Denial: Do you ignore a problem when it arises? Me too!I I’m naturally a procrastinator, so I’m inclined tell myself “It’s nothing!” or “I’ll have time to address it down the road.” Especially if it’s a large task, or something I don’t want to do. Since I know these are my usual ways of ignoring a problem, I can recognize them and deal with them.

Make sure to pay attention to your own personal ‘tells’ so you can stop bad habits before they happen. If you are in denial, try writing a list of all the things you need to do to complete that day. You might surprise yourself and find that it’s easier than you think. Read more

What Santa Can Teach Us About Productivity

December 23, 2014/0 Comments/in Benefits of List Making, Holidays, Increase Productivity, Learning With a List, List Making, People, Saving Time/by Paula Rizzo

Every year Santa delivers presents to all the boys and girls around the world. It’s fair to say he’s a pretty busy guy. In order to keep Christmas magical Santa has to keep his time management skills in check. And if you’ve ever been delighted with the gift of your choice on Christmas morning…you know he’s good, real good at this!

Here are some ways you can be more like Santa and get more done: Read more

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