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What Can You Stop Doing?

How To Eliminate Unnecessary Tasks From Your Life
Alexis Haselberger

Alexis Haselberger

3 Min Read

If you’ve been around here awhile, you’ve no doubt heard me talking about the power of task systems.  (Remember, a system is more than a list.)

And there’s actually a very simple tactic you can employ to make your task system more manageable.

Here’s what it is:

  • Try a “stop-doing list”. 
  • Or rather, take a look at your task system through the lens of “stop doing”.

Because I guarantee you that not everything on your list needs to be done by you. 

And it is very likely that there’s stuff on there that doesn’t need to be done AT ALL.

What is a stop-doing list (or lens)?

  • It’s a list of the things you’re going to stop doing, of course!

Here’s how to do it:

  1. Go to your task system and start looking for stuff that doesn’t actually need to be done.  (Seriously, be ruthless.)
    1. Look for the aspirational stuff.
    2. And for the “someday/maybe” stuff. 
    3. And put that all that stuff in its own bucket so that it doesn’t clog up the works of your actual task system.
  2. And then for what’s left, ask yourself if there’s ANYONE other than you to whom you could delegate and/or outsource any of your must-be-done tasks or projects.
  3. And then get to delegating, or outsourcing. (Trust me, it’s a little addictive once you start.)

Now, you might be thinking: “But I don’t WANT to remove all that stuff from my list! I want to do that stuff; I put it on my list for a reason.”

And, yes, I know! I get it. I also WANT to do all that stuff on my someday/maybe list.

And here’s the thing: You CAN do that stuff, if you want to, in good time. But I think you’re going to feel a lot better about it if you’re more intentional. (And if you’re not trying to fool yourself into thinking you can do it all right now, today, this week.)

So, every once an a while (heck, you can even put it on a regular schedule if you want!) look at those aspirational, someday/maybe, items, and you can pull one into your actual task list when you decide to actually devote time to it.

This will feel a lot better than looking at all this stuff, every day, and feeling bad that you’re not doing it. Or not doing it faster.

Look, you can’t do it all.

No one can.

But you CAN figure out a way to get done what needs to get done.  

So that you have more time to do what you WANT to do.

I promise.