What NOT To Do – A Major Key to Success

May 30, 2012 in Success with 15 Comments

Stop - Key to Success

Many people create to-do lists, but the most successful people among us also create “NOT TO DO” lists. In fact, they create two types of ”NOT TO DO” lists:

A “NOT TO DO” List

A “STOP DOING” List

Why is developing a “NOT TO DO” list and a “STOP DOING” list such an important key to success?

If you demonstrate effectiveness in any area of your life, it’s almost a guarantee that more will be added to your plate. What this means is that the more effective you are, the more your To-Do list will grow. Before you know it, your work days will get longer, your volunteer commitments will expand, and extra things will pile up on your plate. This is not necessarily a bad thing unless these new commitments begin to crowd out important priorities in your life like family time, opportunities for personal development, and the time to build relationships with close friends.

Before any of this happens (or, when it starts to happen), the most successful people among us stop and evaluate how they are spending their time. Even more, they develop strategies that help them stop investing in time-wasters so they can focus on what matters most.

The way I avoid time-wasters is by leading my day from quiet and organizing my tasks around the big things in my life. Each of these practices has been a key to success for me.

Bottom line…when I plan my week or my day, I focus on giving both my best time and the majority of my time to high-value activities. Remember, it’s often not what we do that determines our level of success, but rather what we DO NOT do.

Question: How do you determine what TO DO and what NOT TO DO? What methods or systems do you use?

 

  • http://undistractedchristian.com/ Tyler Hess

    I have honestly never thought of making a not to do list, do you have a sample not to do list? I’d like to see how one is used in action

    • http://www.liveitforward.com/ Kent Julian

      Tyler…my “NOT TO DO” Lists end up being the things I cross off my “To-Do” List each week. In other words, after I put my To-Do List together, I take a few minutes to say, “Nope, not going do it.”

      I also think deeply before I say YES to anything. Whatever I do must fit my “Envision It Forward” Compass with is a tool I use with all my coaching clients. I review my compass every week during my “lead my life from quiet” time (the link is above), which is the best tool I use to help me determine what not to do.

      Hope this helps. Great question!

      • http://undistractedchristian.com/ Tyler Hess

        Ah, gotcha, thanks!

        • http://www.liveitforward.com/ Kent Julian

          Again, great question Tyler!

    • http://danblackonleadership.com/ Dan Black

       Tyler,

      Jim Collins in his book Good to Great also talks about a “stop doing” or “not to do” list.

      • http://www.liveitforward.com/ Kent Julian

        Dan, who knows, I might have picked up this idea from Jim Collins’ book. Read it several years ago. Good stuff. No, GREAT stuff (a little play on the title…couldn’t help myself :)

        • http://danblackonleadership.com/ Dan Black

           Nice, it’s the first time I really heard of the concept. Now I hear it more often in different ways. I really enjoyed reading your thoughts about it.

          • http://www.liveitforward.com/ Kent Julian

            Thanks Dan!

    • Tom Morrison

      Tyler,
       Hey Brother-Hope your weekend is off to a fantastic start! John Maxwell makes the statement that “In order to go up you have to give up”.  I think what he is saying is that we don’t get to move forwrd without making some sacrifices. A stop doing list for me looks like this: Stop watching TV; Stop reading fiction;Stop surfing the internet; Stop sleeping past a certain time in the morning. I am not perfect in all of these but because they are known negative behaviors in my life they act as warning signals whenever I start engaging in them.
      Tom

      • http://www.liveitforward.com/ Kent Julian

        Tom, I love that line: “In order to go up you have to give up.” Nice!

  • http://danblackonleadership.com/ Dan Black

    What a great reminder. I first heard of a “Not to Do” list from Jim Collins and having one is so important to staying focused on personal purpose and vision. Great post!

    • http://www.liveitforward.com/ Kent Julian

      Thanks Dan. And it’s true…success is often more about what we don’t do than what we do!

      • http://danblackonleadership.com/ Dan Black

         True.

  • http://christiannick.wordpress.com/ ChristianNick

    Kent, A great reminder to focus on the important things and tasks in life! As Dan Miller says, he tries to cut out 15% of what he is doing on a regular basis to make room for new initiatives and thinking. 

    • http://www.liveitforward.com/ Kent Julian

      Christian…one of the first lessons I learned from Dan Miller was to cut out 15% of my least productive activities from the previous year when setting my annual goals. This has been a major success factor for me in any positive progress I have made over the past 7-8 years. A big shout out to Dan Miller!