- Stuff I need to do
- Stuff I want to do
- Stuff I should do
- More stuff
- Extra stuff
- Bonus stuff
- Too much stuff
Is this what your to-do list looks like? Do you add more items on your list than you can possibly do? How many times do you make these lists only to end up with nothing crossed off at the end of the day?
We plan to do a lot of stuffs, but inevitably waste our time checking Facebook, tweeting, replying to the numerous e-mails (and don’t even receive replies). In this world of technology, every app on your phone is just another distraction, drawing you towards itself and not letting you focus on the important tasks at hand.
In fact, there are several reasons as to why you should avoid a to-do list. Allow me to point out the top three.
First, it doesn’t take time into consideration. Planned out a lot of stuffs for the day, but do not have enough time to do it? Not your fault.
Second, there’s no distinction between urgent and important. Our basic human tendency is to run away from the most urgent things and to probably ignore the important stuffs. We end up spending more time on things that need lesser attention.
Third, to-do lists increase stress levels. An average office-going person today has as much stress and anxiety as a mental health patient in the 1950s. Unfinished tasks lead to even more stress by sending out intrusive, uncontrolled tasks. (And if are an OCD patient obsessed about unfinished tasks, then god bless you.)
These reasons should be enough to give up on to-do lists and switch to not-to-lists.
Also Read: How to get over failure!
But what’s a not-to-do list?
A not-to-do list is a list of all things that you need to consciously avoid and inculcate in your daily routine to make yourself more productive in life.
Now, you might be wondering how a not-to-do list can be useful at all if it just lists stuff that you’re not supposed to do. Here are 5 reasons why a not-to-do list is about to become your next best buddy.
One, your priorities become more clear. Juggling between your true priorities, social niceties, favors and other actions that have societal merit, is not always the best of feelings. The not-to-do list helps you distinguish between actions that you value for your own good and actions taken mostly to please others, to save your reputation, etc.
Two, maintaining a not-to-do list helps you cope with crisis situations more easily. When faced with a sudden challenge or a new opportunity, your life could change dramatically – including how you spend your time. Knowing exactly what you want and need when faced with such situations may make it easier to survive it.
Three, you can say ‘no’ more confidently. Having a clear idea of what you want to do or don’t want to do, you become more confident that the items you said no to can wait, or left for someone else to do.
Four, you can do more in lesser time. By following your not-do list, you get more time and energy to concentrate on things that really matter. Now you have abundant time to focus on the more important things. Your to-do list also becomes much more useful.
Five, you can devise ways to resolve conflicts more easily. Often in conflicts, we all have an idea of what shouldn’t be done, but not a mutual understanding of what should be done. With a not-to-do list, you can draft a mutually satisfying and agreed upon result.
Also Read: Here’s how you can turn your boring job interesting!
Now that I have interested you in switching to not-do-lists, here are some ideas for your list.
Do not reply to e-mails or texts instantly
Replying to an e-mail or text instantly might seem like the most important thing, but it’s not. Instead set a time schedule and check your mails at those times only. This way you save time and also increase your productivity. Furthermore, by not replying to e-mails or texts right away, you know how urgent it was. If it was actually urgent, they’ll call you in case of a non-reply.
Do not check your phone while in bed
Is checking your phone the first thing that you do after waking up? Or is it the last thing? If yes, you need to stop doing this right away. Studies say that checking your phone right before sleeping, in the middle of the night or just after waking up kills productivity and reduces sleep time.
Do not answer calls from unknown numbers
Answering calls from unknown numbers is probably the worst thing ever. More often than not, they are prank calls or wrong numbers. And all you do by answering that call is, waste your minute – which you could have used in other ways, get annoyed by the caller – and waste some more time thinking about it.
Do not spend time thinking about stuff out of your control
The past is the past, and agonizing over past mistakes and lost opportunities is nothing but a waste of your most precious possession – time. Furthermore, the future is yet to come. So, don’t spend time troubled about events in the future that you can’t influence.
Having a list of not-to-dos doesn’t mean that you won’t have a to-do list. We obviously need a to-do list to prioritize our work, but not to add more stuff to the list only to avoid the important tasks. Here is a list of things every entrepreneur must have on their to-do list.
Always make eye contact
Doesn’t it make you furious that in the middle of a conversation the other person just turns his gaze away and starts looking elsewhere? Eye contact is one of the key aspects of a great conversation. One, the other person feels like you’re actually listening to them, and two, maintaining eye contact makes you look more confident.
Spend quality time with your family
Whether you’re just starting up or you’ve been working in the industry for long, your family can always feel ignored because of the long hours you put in at work. Take occasional weekends off and go on a trip with your family. Or just come in early from work someday, and take your wife out for a nice romantic dinner.
Eat right and exercise
With all the late hours at work, you might not get time to eat healthy meals, and you may end up eating a lot of junk food. Junk food with a lack of exercise can lead to weight gain and several health issues. Eat right, exercise daily, and save yourself a lot of trips to the doctors and numerous work days at home.
Just making lists is not the final thing, you have to follow them through. Both to-do and not-to-do lists have their benefits, it just depends on how you use them to your benefit.
