A colleague of mine recently sent me a link to an article written by Liz Massey of Creative Liberty on 7 Ways to Reduce Stress With a To-Don’t List. As a chronic To-DO list maker from waaaaayyyyy back, I was really intrigued by the title! As a coach who helps her clients focus on what’s most important and get it done, I thought I’d share some additional insights with you that I’ve learned.
I’m just soooo busy!Somehow in our culture, “being busy” has been elevated to a status symbol. However, busy does not equal productive! It’s easy to be unceasingly busy with the never ending to-do list. As one thing is checked off, three more are added on. But too often clients complain they just aren’t getting what they want accomplished or they aren’t hitting their goals. They are “busy” going nowhere.While the to-do list seems forever ongoing, in contrast, Massey describes the “to-don’t” list as “contractive, narrow, and boundary-defining.” She also shares that, “At the heart of the ‘to-don’t’ list is the Pareto principle, also known as the 80/20 rule.” The 80/20 rule states that 20% of our efforts produce 80% of our results. This means that 80% of our efforts aren’t even important! Enter the “to-don’t” list.Creating YoursWhile Liz Massey’s article focuses on the seven benefits you’ll get from implementing your own “to-don’t” list, I’d like to share three tactics you can use to create your own “to-don’t” list so you can attain those benefits!