NEW YORK — Paula Rizzo became known as the “Queen of Lists” when she made the move from TV producer to “The List Producer.” Rizzo became an expert in using lists to help people improve their productivity and effectiveness at work and home.
Now, the new normal combines those worlds, so she shared some tips on how lists can help people working from home, and how to handle the daily distractions from your new “co-workers.”
Rizzo’s first book, “Listful Thinking,” focused on showing people how lists can help make them more productive and reduce their stress in life. Her new book, “Listful Living,” adds to that with exercises and a journaling format so that people can see how lists are making them their most productive selves.
Rizzo said people who are new to working from home are now realizing what is their best productivity style.
“That’s a lot of what I talk about in my book, is how you hone in on how you work best, and really lean into that, “ said Rizzo, “I think for people right now it’s noticing how productive or unproductive they are and making changes.”
Rizzo said making a list at the end of every night can help you create a structure for the following day.
“Have that be the last thing you do for the day, so you run through everything you have to do, every single thing. Be super specific, the emails you have to write… whatever you have to do, write it down be super specific. And you should only put things on that list that you have the time and resources to do.”
Rizzo said that it’s also important to learn how to manage distractions at the new home office.
“Being able to communicate with the people that you live with and saying, ‘Hey, it’s really important that I have this thirty-minute block to just work on this,’” explained Rizzo.
Rizzo advised that if you do get distracted, instead of just jumping into the next task, take a “pause” instead, and then write down what you were in the middle of doing when you got distracted.
“Because it takes over twenty minutes for you to get restarted again once you get distracted by something,” she explained, “so I like to keep a place holder so I know, ‘Oh I was actually doing this,’ so that when I come back, I know what I was doing.”
Rizzo said to think of your list as a road map to guide you through your day.
Another helpful tip: timing yourself when you do tasks to see how long it really takes to do the things you want to do. Rizzo said that will help you be realistic with your goals.
For more information on how lists can improve your productivity and reduce stress check out Paula’s website at www.listproducer.com or by clicking here
