Stop Doing Stuff that Doesn’t Serve
168 hours in a week. 24 hours in a day. I haven’t done the math to work out how many in a year or a lifetime, but however large the number, it is still finite. It is limited. We get so much, and no more. This leaves you with a choice. My friend Verne Harnish is fond of saying “we can do anything we want, but not everything”. He is in great company:
- “The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.” Warren Buffett
- “What you don’t do determines what you can do.” Tim Ferriss, author of the best-seller ‘The 4-Hour Workweek’
- “Prioritization is as much about what we choose not to do as what we do.” Jonathan Becher, Chief Marketing Officer at SAP
Creating Your Not-To-Do List
You already have a to-do list (Come on, you are reading this blog… you must have a list somewhere in front of you?) It may not be enough. In my workshops I ask people to create a do more and do less page. Big sheet of paper, top of the left side write: “Do More” and top of the right side write: “Do Less”. What tends to go on “do less”? TV, facebook, attending meetings with no agenda. What tends to go on “do more”? Lots of great stuff. It is a powerful exercise.
Tim Ferriss argues that there are 9 habits we must eliminate to free up time for more important activities:
- Do not answer phone calls from people you don’t know
- Do not e-mail first thing in the morning or last thing at night
- Do not agree to meetings or calls with no clear agenda or end time
- Do not let people ramble: “Small talk takes up big time.”
- Do not check email constantly
- Do not over-communicate with low profit, high maintenance customers
- Do not work more to fix being too busy
- Do not carry a cellphone or Crackberry 24/7
- Do not expect work to fill a void that non-work relationships and activities should
Check out the original list by Tim here.
What’s on your “Do Less” list? Any clear “Do More” ideas?
