The Power of Not Doing
I write a lot about to-do lists.
Love them. Use them daily. Can’t get enough of that sweet sweet satisfaction of checking things off of them.
Now, what about a to-don’t list…
When you’re trying to achieve big goals to create a life on your own terms, time is your most valuable commodity. Making a list of small actions you can take every day is a great way to set you off on the right path.
But are there things you’re doing that are actually making it harder to accomplish what’s on your to-do list? Things that if you stopped doing could allow you to reclaim HOURS in your week and supercharge your progress?
This could look like daily activities consuming your precious time or bad habits sabotaging you without you even realizing it. These are places where acting less could actually help you do more.
This is your to-don’t list.
Activities That Could Be Outsourced
Let’s start with activities.
Look for activities that are on your to-do list each day, week, month. Activities that take hours and hours of your time. But… that aren’t driving you toward your biggest goals and dreams.
Get them off your plate!
Free up those hours to spend your time where you really want to like working on that side hustle, spending more time with friends, or spending hours lost in the latest thriller novel craze.
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
House cleaning
Mopping. Dusting. Toilet scrubbing. You know the list. But is any of that actually making you more successful or fulfilled or passionate?
Yeah…I didn’t think so.
Molly Maids to the rescue! (Or, whatever local cleaning service Google serves up.) Not quite ready to hire out? Delegate these household tasks to a spouse every other week and focus your attention on what else you could do with that time.
Yard work
I think it took me all of one round mowing our lawn to realize it was not for me. Someone take my money. This is not worth an entire Saturday afternoon.
Hire the neighbor kid looking to make a few bucks or find a lawn care company to take this one on. Bonus, in addition to weekly mowing, outsource your fall/spring yard clean-up. Leave this one to the pros.
Meal prep
Cook. Eat. Clean. Repeat.
Three times a day?!
So, I guess when we entered adulthood, our full-time job was going to mainly revolve around feeding ourselves. I guess not much has changed from the scavenging and hunting days.
But, nah, I’ve got other interests.
Find a company that can ship you premade meals. Some even provide all the makings of DIY meal prep (pre-made meats, veggies, starches…etc.) Or better yet, I outsource this to Costco. I buy their frozen veggies and pre-made meats. Grab some meal prep containers and within 10 minutes I have dinners prepped for multiple weeks. Talk about a time saver.
Grocery shopping
If you’re not already ordering your groceries ahead for pick up at your go-to grocery store, please start now.
This alone can save hours of wandering the grocery store aisles getting the same food and products you buy every damn week. You have people for that now. And it’s FREE!
Holiday “traditions”
So, I know this one only comes around once per year, but it’s still worth mentioning.
I used to spend DAYS creating exquisite delicacies and creations to ship around to family and neighbors: homemade fudge and truffles and candies galore. And for a time, I loved it.
Then, one year I found myself dreading the holidays. I had so much I wanted to get done and now I needed to dedicate multiple weekends to making…fudge… Wait, I don’t actually HAVE to do that. So I stopped.
I now buy useful non-perishable neighbor gifts. And if I want to throw in a sweet treat, hello V Chocolates. You make more delicious creations than I ever could.
Maybe it’s not baking for you. Maybe it’s the dreaded task of sending those holiday cards, family newsletter, or something else. Skip it. It’s okay. Shift that time to enjoying your family and friends. That’s what the holidays are really about.
Bad Habits Sabotaging Your Progress
Activities are easy to spot. They’re already probably lurking on your to-do list as key candidates to delegate to your to-don’t list.
Bad habits, on the other hand, can be a little more hidden.
They can be sabotaging you behind the scenes. Making you forfeit time questioning yourself or throwing off your well-thought-out plans.
Here are a few you can keep an eye out for:
Saying “yes” or “no” immediately
When a new opportunity or request comes your way, do you feel obligated to give an immediate response?
Instead, take a pause. Respond with “I’ll think about it” and really evaluate how doing or not doing this will affect what you already have planned or help drive you towards your goals. Taking even a few minutes to reflect can save you a ton of misused time down the road.
Responding to emails/texts/IMs immediately
This can be a tough habit to break. “But, they neeeeed me!”
Emails, texts, and IMs are all other people’s priorities. And while you may want to take some level of action against these requests, they don’t need to take center stage.
Schedule time to check and respond. Batching your focus on this type of work will help you be more efficient to roll through them in no time. And this will reduce interruptions throughout your day.
And, you know what, people can be pretty resourceful. Often, if you give it a few minutes or a couple of hours, people will find the answer to their own questions. So, not only did the world not crash and burn from a slightly delayed response, but, you may have saved yourself some future interruptions as people “learn to fish” on their own.
Saying “can’t”
“I can’t do this.” “I can’t figure it out…” etc.
These types of thoughts can slow your progress. Cause you to resist taking action.
And, girl, let’s be honest, YOU CAN and YOU WILL. You’ve done hard things before and you can do it again. You’ve done things you didn’t know how to and you learned. You did it.
And if you aren’t able to convince yourself of this just yet, take business coach Marie Forleo’s advice and replace “can’t” with “won’t”.
This puts your back in the driver’s seat.
“I won’t do this.” “I won’t figure this out.” Because I have other priorities right now. And that’s okay.
Downplaying yourself or your achievements
When you get a compliment, do you immediately respond with a self-deprecating comment? Or try to explain it really wasn’t that big of a deal?
Instead, own your badass self. “Hell yeah, I’m great! Thank you for noticing!”
Believing in yourself can make you more productive with less time wasted questioning your every move. When you believe you are competent and capable, you’ll be less afraid of taking action.
If you’re getting into a rut making progress against your to-do list, maybe it’s time to reverse-engineer things.
What’s standing in your way?
Flip the script and make a to-don’t list.
See how much time you can free up by helping yourself to avoid getting sidetracked or overwhelmed by unnecessary tasks or self-sabotaging behaviors. Set boundaries for yourself and those around you to alleviate unnecessary stress and obligation.
Make those to-don’t lists and blow your mind with how much you can get done!
Are you tired of feeling overwhelmed? Do you feel like there are always important tasks left undone, hanging over your head? It's time to take control of your productivity and prove to yourself you can accomplish anything you put your mind to.
Check out the 7 Days: Consider it Done! guide to transform the way you approach your to-do list.
Say goodbye to procrastination and unfulfilled goals and hello to a sense of control and reignited passion for life. Consider it done!
