Signs of Summer

This Week’s Book = Listful Thinking: Using Lists to be More Productive, Highly Successful and Less Stressed (by Paula Rizzo)

There are several ways that I can tell it’s almost summer. The sun is out, people on the street seem infinitely more cheerful, patios are filling up at the end of the work day….ok, those are all pretty obvious signs. What’s the biggest sign of summer for me? My motivation seems to practically disappear in the summer months…and I can feel it already starting. I’m not a huge fan of the sun (not a popular statement usually) and putting effort into things in during the hot summer months often feels ridiculously exhausting. Breaking down tasks into small, manageable steps is the only thing that usually saves me and makes me a functional and productive person in the summer.

So this week, I put aside all of my other books and read a book purely for my own self-interest. In Listful Thinking, Paula Rizzo discusses the use of lists in our daily lives. She describes how to make better use of lists in your personal life, for work purposes, during event planning, and when moving, just to name a few. Rizzo is really open about her love for lists. Not only does she describe her own success stories with lists, but she also discusses the successes of friends, family, colleagues and other professionals.

I love lists. I frequently use lists (in their varying forms) as a tool in my counselling sessions with clients – they just have so many benefits, even if it is only being able to see a visual representation of what is being discussed. They can also be super helpful for externalizing information, productivity, organization, motivation, and task breakdown. I’ll admit it – this book produced no major revelations for me. Yet, it was still an easy and entertaining read. It was a nice reminder for me of some ways to get my motivation rolling again. I would recommend this book to anyone who is in need of some simple strategies for when their motivation is stalled or they are feeling overwhelmingly disorganized.

Interested in buying the book? Click here.