Practically everyone I know has a to-do list.  We all know it’s good to plan and prioritise, and it makes for a much more productive day if you know what you’ve got to do and when.  But sometimes we’re so focused on what we should be doing, we don’t take the time to think about the stuff we need to STOP.  If you want to create more time in your day here’s one easy way how…

Do this, do that, focus on what you need to achieve, set goals, get clear on your priorities …. I’ve written about them all, and I stand by the importance of focusing on what you want and going after it.  BUT there’s another important list that most people don’t spend time on which can make a huge difference to your day.  It’s the ‘To-Don’t List’.

Ralph Keyes wrote in his book ‘TimeLock – How Life Got So Hectic and What You Can Do About It’: –

“Reducing the volume of our activities makes it possible not only to ease time pressure but to get more out of life overall.”

So what things do you need to STOP doing personally and professionally to ease the pressure and create more time for what’s really important?

Here are some ideas…

• Don’t stay up late watching trashy TV – get to bed early, get up early and hit the gym!
• Don’t say yes to social invitations that you don’t really want to go to – learn to say No
• Don’t waste time at work on social media, gossiping and ‘easing’ in to your day –  get productive early on and then you won’t have to stay late
• Don’t answer the phone in the middle of an important conversation with someone
• Don’t check email constantly – pick certain times of the day and only log on then (batching)
• Don’t agree to meetings with no agenda
• Don’t keep doing everything yourself – learn to delegate and let go of control
• Don’t keep putting everyone else before yourself – you are a priority so look after yourself
• Don’t try to change others – you can only change yourself so choose to focus on your own attitude and mindset

Just like a to-do list, the options are endless and I’m sure we ALL have a collection of things that we would benefit from stopping doing.

So what are yours? Write your ‘To Don’t’ list now and work your way through it systematically – you’ll ease the burden and free up more time in your day to focus on what you DO want.