Book Review: Listful Thinking by Paula Rizzo

When it comes to staying organized, the number one tool in my bag is a LIST. I first read the book Listful Thinking: Using Lists to Be More Productive, Successful and Less Stressed by Paula Rizzo many years ago and it is the one book that I keep coming back to whenever I feel that I am getting a bit off track with my daily organization.

No matter where you are in your journey to getting organized, this book is a quick read that can give you some ideas on how to use lists to stay in control of not only the things that you need to do but also things that you want to keep track of or just remember.

Paula wrote Listful Thinking back in 2015 – in fact that is when I bought it for my Kindle – so some of the information within may feel a little dated. But the concept of using lists (and not just “to-do” lists!) to declutter your mind is timeless. You can still purchase this book here but it is also available on Kindle Unlimited if you have a subscription.

So today I am writing this book review as a jump start to a series of posts that I am doing to walk you through my own organization process.

Left Brain or Right Brain: Lists Can Work for You

Even if it is a myth, people who operate on logic, math, and facts tend to be described as left brained, whereas people who are more artistic and imaginative are said to be more right brain dominant. Regardless of which side of the brain you operate from, using lists can be beneficial.

In Listful Thinking, the book begins with a foreword by organizing guru Julie Morgenstern (author of Organizing from the Inside Out). Julie talks about how she always operated from her artistic side and never made lists before her daughter was born – she felt the structure would limit her creativity. But when she found she was missing out on life’s precious moments – she knew something had to change. So, she started making lists and the result was that she actually had more time to do the things that she loves to do.

Paula Rizzo – the author of this book, Listful Thinking – on the other hand has always operated from her left brain, and has used lists throughout her life to keep things in order. As a result, her stress levels stay low and she gets things done.

Benefits of Making Lists

Using lists effectively will help you to

• relieve stress,
• achieve goals,
• save time and money, and
• become a more organized thinker.

And putting your thoughts on paper – actually writing them down – is powerful in and of itself. Because of this, I have always been a “paper person” – although I now use an app to keep my lists and have found a way to both paper planning and electronic planning together (which I will outline in a different post).

Why is this the case? How can a simple list have such a big impact on your life?

Think about it this way – think about the room in your house where you spend the most time. When this room is a complete mess, it is really hard to stay focused and get things done.

Similarly, your mind can get cluttered too.

You have things to do for work, for home, kids activities, birthdays to remember, groceries to buy, errands to run – after a while it all becomes too much and you start to forget things.

Creating lists gets all the thoughts out of your mind and onto paper or into an app where you can move things around and organize them in a way that makes sense. You no longer need to remember it all – you just need to check your list.

Types of Lists: Beyond the Standard To Do List

When you think of using a list to get organized, the mind often conjures up the standard To Do List. You make a list of things you need to get done, and check them off as you do them.

It’s simple and it works.

But lists can do much more than that.

Certainly, having a list for things you need to get done is important – but Paula provides ideas for different types of lists that she uses to keep track of other things. Here are some examples:

• Pro/Con List
• Research List
• Catalog List
• Life List
• Gratitude List

Basically, if you need to keep track of it – you can make a list for it.

I personally use lists to keep track of things like due dates of bills (even if I have them on autopay), movies I want to watch, books I want to read, a packing list for travel, tasks that I do daily or monthly, and so much more.

In fact, when I purchase something new – I like to make a list of it’s features so that I make sure I take advantage of everything it can do.

Try out the quick list making exercise that I outline in this post: Are you making full use of the things you already own?. You might just find some new, cool ways to use a gadget or appliance that is already in your possession.

Using Lists Effectively

The thing to remember is that making a list only gets you half way there.

The key to using lists is to, well, actually use them.

If you write it down but never check, review, and do – then they will stop working for you.

The purpose of your list is to help you get things done – so when you assign yourself something to do, you should have a reasonable expectation of being able to do it, and hold yourself accountable to working on the task to get it done.

Summary

Overall, I really enjoyed the book Listful Thinking: Using Lists to Be More Productive, Successful and Less Stressed by Paula Rizzo. She does a great job of describing how you can benefit from list making. She also provides many examples of how she has personally used lists at home in her career to achieve her goals.

I do find some of the content a little dated but I like to use the book as a reference tool. Whenever I find myself straying from using my lists regularly, I like to refer back for some ideas and inpiration.

Enjoy your list making!