We probably all have to-do lists, but very few of us have bothered to make a “stop doing” list.
Rather than think of a “stop doing” list as a collection of habits you want to break, things you want to avoid, etc., I suggest a different approach.
If a to-do list contains all the things you need to or want to do, each item comes with an opportunity cost. The opportunity cost is whatever else you could be (or can’t be) doing with that time.
Rather than drive a “stop doing” list with a bunch of wishful thinking content, drive it with the opportunity cost items that must be sacrificed to complete the items on your to-do list. Why is this different approach more effective and more valuable? Because it forces intentional thinking about what goes on both lists. “Do I really want to make the trade-off of NOT doing this in order TO do that?” That’s a powerful question that moves meaningful productivity forward.
What’s on your lists? What’s the opportunity cost of what you’re committed to, and do you need to make any changes?
“You can only feel good about what you’re not doing when you know what you’re not doing.” -David Allen
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