The Productive Power of Lists

by Paula Rizzo, Joniece Abbott-Pratt (Narrator)

The simple to-do list can be a mighty productivity tool - after all, you’re 33 percent more likely to do something if you write it down. A list of tasks can help you approach goals in a more intentional way, set the right priorities, and hold yourself accountable. And that can help you achieve more at work and in your career.

Productivity expert Paula Rizzo shows how you can use lists to your maximum advantage. She helps you assess the work you have in front of you and identify how to best spend your time - figuring out what to work on versus what to delegate, what’s important versus what can wait. From evaluating tasks through the lens of your top priorities to embracing your own productivity rhythm and scheduling free time to recharge, her tips will empower you to accomplish more of what’s meaningful.

Key takeaways:

The four-step formula for creating a list-making system that will work for your life
What a “distraction placeholder” is and how to use it
How to find your personal productivity style and use it to schedule your days more effectively
Why an accountability buddy can be the secret to getting things done
How to stay productive when working in a group
What a “to become” list is and how it helps you envision your dream life
Paula Rizzo is the best-selling author of Listful Living: A List-Making Journey to a Less Stressed You and Listful Thinking: Using Lists to Be More Productive, Successful, and Less Stressed. She is an Emmy Award-winning television producer of more than 20 years and a media strategist and trainer. She also founded the productivity site ListProducer.com and cocreated Lights Camera Expert, an online course geared toward helping entrepreneurs, authors, and experts get media attention.

Genres: Audiobook, Business

Audiobook

About the author

Paula Rizzo is an Emmy-award winning television producer, best-selling author and a media trainer, LinkedIn Learning Instructor, a columnist for Writer's Digest and contributor to WPIX in New York City. She coaches authors, experts and executives to perform better on camera and produce their own videos.

She's the founder of ListProducer.com and author of Listful Thinking: Using Lists to be More Productive, Highly Successful and Less Stressed, as well as Listful Living: A List-Making Journey to a Less Stressed You.

Paula is working on fiction. She’s a frequent speaker and media contributor - see more at PaulaRizzo.com

Reviews

[Swateek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Been a list guy all my life, just wanted to see if this book offered something different. But it's alright, probably good for someone who wants to get into the habit of list making for their productivity.

[Aliha Nasrullah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good rudimentary guide to starting lists - got me intrigued enough to start reading her book to learn more.

[Mervi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Paula Rizzo is also the author of “Listful Thinking” and “Listful Living”.

In this book she advises you to:
1. Carry out a brain dump.
2. Break the brain dump list into categories, e.g. home, work, family, friends, etc. Then group the tasks, e.g. calls, to do at your computer, errands, etc.
3. Prioritise according to when the things need to be done, e.g. today/tomorrow, this/next week, this/next month etc.? Then stick to it!
4. Rewrite it as you are more likely to follow an easy-to-read list.

Other points:
- You’re 33% more likely to do something if you write it down.
- Can you outsource something or delegate it to someone else?
- Learn to say No.
- Set boundaries between work and home.
- Find your personal productive style, e.g. when you are most productive and what types of things you can/like to do and when.
- Use a “distraction placeholder”, i.e. write where you leave off before you leave something, facilitating proceeding with the task.
- Use an accountability buddy.

The information here is so basic that I’d be amazed if there’s anyone who doesn’t already know it. There was absolutely nothing new for me.

The author also presumes that if you write it once on a list, it’ll get done although she herself gave the study’s results that you’re only 33% more likely to do something if you write it down. What about the other 67%? When the interviewer asked her about this, i.e. if you don’t get something done although you’ve written it down, she doesn’t answer the actual question.

Let’s face it, most people’s problems/challenges are not the writing of lists but other issues, the biggest one being procrastination. Others include lack of time, or demands vs resources available in general.

[punit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book. Recently I started making a To-Do list and following that and found that these are really very very helpful for me. then I found this audiobook and I thought, what extra is it going to teach me that I already do not know. And after listening, found that it doesn't teach me anything new. BUT what does it gives you an insight on how she did it and that way you can also try to improve your day to day timetable and to-do list and improve your productivity.

It's like a small chit-chat with you friend where you discuss about something which you are trying to do and she has already done it. So, she tells you u her experiences and now it's up to you to take or leave lessons from her experiences.

[Anthony Lees · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very short read. Interview style, and like hearing a cosy chat over coffee. The whole is so short that the various ideas around productive use of different lists are therefore concisely introduced with warmth and the human touch that some productivity robots lack. There is little here for those that are already well read around the subject but for the newly interested in list making and organisation it is a gentle and warm introduction. It may also be a good route to judging if you would like to read any of Paula Rizzo's longer books on the same subject.

[Lunatica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked it ✨✨✨

In conclusion, the lists I got pumped to make:
1. To do list (which I usually make)
2. Not todo list (remove tasks you don't want to do but are repeating and thus making you feel guilty)
3. Things that spark joy list (things I can do when I get some spare time in the moment of scheduled time)
4. To become list (the biggest picture, what I want from life)

It was cut short and useful. Great listen!!!

[Biggest Little Book Talker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though it is a fact that you get more done when you write it down, I’m not sure this is the most effective way to get it done is stated in this book.
It does make you think about making some lists but it leaves a lot open to interpretations. So you would be wondering I’m the most effective way to do so and what tasks you should put on it.

[S.A. Krishnan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The right way to write it down
Paulo Rizzo shares her own experiences about how making lists stopped her from getting overwhelmed with the tasks and how it helped her achieve better. The audio story offered good insights into the author’s idea of managing time better with lists of to-do including how to handle distractions.

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the key points made in this short audiobook, are things that I've learned a long time ago in my career. Making lists to cover things to do, ideas, ways to do better, etc have been a big help to me.

[Devanshi Mehta · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you are someone who already make lists, this book will not give you any new knowledge. I think even for someone who has never made a to-do list, they would figure out everything in this book on their own if they just started. But I like lists so I will give it 2 stars instead of 1

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the concept of the distraction place holder!

[AttackGirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Make a list to read the list….. before I go to bed….

[Nia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this short listen. It was a great reminder for me to get back to “brain dump” lists and a refresher on sorting/prioritizing tasks.

[Jude · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paula Rizzo shares some excellent insight into the power you can harness through making lists, how to say no effectively, and how to find what she calls your "productivity style." I've been using lists for years and am glad to see that more influencers are sharing how lists have changed their lives. If you like this book, you should check out "The Checklist Manifesto" by Atul Gawande.

[Rebee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this even better the second time I read it.