What's on your 'not to do' list?
My desk lays cluttered with interesting documents and books to read, post-it notes, open notebooks, literature about tempting events and lists of things to be done yesterday.
Today I reminded myself that the most critical list on my desk is my ‘not to do’ one. This is the list that I turn every few months when I’m feeling overwhelmed, overtired or distracted. It reminds me of critical boundaries that keep my energy entact: those topics, events, people and behaviours that are best avoided as they take me off course and hold me back from where I want to go.
And just so you get the idea of a ‘not to do’ list, let me share with you five of my favourite ‘not to do’s:’
- Don’t get over-tired. Go to bed rather than burning midnight oil. My productivity slumps after 9pm at night.
- Don’t waste time living someone else’s life for them or being more motivated about their agenda than yours. (I took that advice from Steve Jobs as a poignant reminder that life is horribly short.)
- Don’t drink coffee after dinner. (The only exception is when I really, really want to stay awake late, like when I go to the movies.)
- Don’t accept invitations for meetings/events/calls that you wouldn’t have wanted to initiate yourself. Otherwise you have never have time for those things on your own priority lists: you’re so busy fulfilling someone else’s.
- Don’t compromise on your values. Not living your values is a sure route to unhappiness, and if you want to know more about values check out one of my books such as ‘Live Life. Love Work’ or talk to me about a coaching session.
What would you put as the top ‘not to do’s’ on your own list? Let me know!
