Paula Rizzo's Blog, page 24

Rest is the New Hustle

I’m back in action! Well mostly…and moreslowly but I’m back.

Thank you for your patience while I disappeared from my blog and social media and basically the world to recuperate after my appendix burst.

Ever have one of those experiences where you know it’s changing your life — right as it’s happening?

But you’re just not totally clear on how it will alter you in the end?

I guess that happens with big life experiences like getting married and having kids. But turns out — it also happens when...

4 Ways To Free Up 1 Hour of Your Day

Do 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 wr...

Marie Kondo Sparks Joy in Person

Paula Rizzo & Marie Kondo

Who knew watching someone fold clothes could be so mesmerizing?

I sat with a packed audience at the 92nd Street Y in New York City on a Friday night as Marie Kondo folded oddly-shaped clothing carefully and slowly.

She’s the author of “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing.” Her newest book and the reason for this gathering is called, “Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up.”

W...

When It’s Bad To Be Good At Something

Last month my husband and I were in Florida to celebrate his grandmother’s 90th birthday. What a milestone! The whole family flew there from all over to celebrate together.

In between trips to the pool and cocktail hours…we found ourselves decorating the house for the festivities.

Everyone was given a job: Balloon blowing, hat making, ribbon twirling…oh and there was a list to be made too!

And guess who was called to make said list. That’s right — yours truly.

It always feels nice when you...

Get a Stopwatch — You Need It!

The most common excuse for not being more productive is saying that you have too much going on.

“I’m too busy.” — you often say.

Am I right?

I’m going to let you in on a little secret — no you aren’t!

The thing with productivity is that it’s not how much you do, but how you do it. Do you get the most out of the time you have? Or are you so busy because you fill your day with stuff you don’t really need to be doing. That’s precious time you could be wasting!

The easiest way to find out is...

What’s Happening in 2016

2015 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 Americaplus 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 youfeel lessoverwhelmed by youremail. Something I strug...

The Payoff of Being Anti-Social for a Month

At the beginning of December I took a stand and took the month off from networking and going to events.

I was drained.

I normally really enjoy going to these kinds of events, so when I started to dread them — I realized it was time for a break.

As part of my anti-social plan, my husband Jay and I went to Puerto Rico, back to the resort where we got married 7 years ago for a little relaxation.

I set myself the challenge of doing absolutely no work while I was there. It was amazing to just...

Listful Thinking is Published in Dutch

In September, I was excited to discover that my book Listful Thinking had been published in Spanish and Chinese. It’s so interesting to me how a love of lists can translate into different cultures.

Well it’s happened again.

My book is now available in Dutch, under the title ‘Everything at a Glance‘. That titlemakes the book sound so much more philosophical!

As part of the release in the Netherlands I was interviewed by one of their largest newspapers this week calledAlgemeen Dagblad.

During t...

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

Remember 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”...

Get Your Idea Off to a Running Start

A question I’m often asked is how did I go from having the idea for ListProducer.com and my book Listful Thinking to what they’ve become today?

The short answer is a lot of work.

Making an idea a reality takes a lot of research and planning. When you’re first starting out all this extra work can be a tough hurdle for people.

Especially as it can take a while before you start to see the fruits of your labor.

If you are trying to start your own business or discover your next big thing, then I h...