Not to-do lists

Everyone has a to-do list. The projects, chores and activities that nag at the back of your mind whenever you’re engaged in something that doesn’t grab your attention. So you write them down, good thinking, and get to work, commendable.

But what’s just as important as what we spend our time and attention on is what we don’t spend it on. It’s amazing when you really pay attention, how many moments throughout the day we waste on busy work, inane gossip, meetings that go round in circles, TV, social media, the list goes on and on.

That’s where ‘not to-do’ lists come in. Think about your top time (and attention) wasters. Do an 80/20 analysis. What activities, habits, people (yes, especially people) serve little or no purpose, allow you to feel busy without moving forward, or are your biggest aids to procrastination. Write them down, put your biggest miscreants at the top. Keep that list in your journal, on your desktop, anywhere where you will see it regularly. Choose 1 or 2 at a time and really work on removing them from your life. Then move onto the next.

I was really guilty of being busy without being productive for a long time as a primary school teacher. Early mornings and late nights were the norm, no time or attention.

Here’s my not to-do list:

• Morning meetings
• Asking permission to do something
• Writing lots in plans
• Surfing the net when planning
• Dropping everything to sort other’s IT issues
• Chatting when photocopying
• Chatting when I should be in class
• Leaving maths marking to the last minute
• Dumping piles of paper on my desk
• Trying to tidy up
• Putting things down in random places
• Keeping things I don’t need
• Going to all assemblies
• Bringing marking home
• Sorting out every little problem
• Charging around the school for no reason
• Trying to find or make the perfect resource

I found that once I saw these things written down it made them easier to stop. They were no longer unconscious actions. This list developed my focus and awareness. It got me asking the question ‘Am I being productive or just busy?’

Removing old habits became much easier, and by doing so it gave me the space, both in time and attention, to focus on what was truly important.

Make it work for you, internalise it, and you will find that what you don’t do can be more important than what you do.

This activity is worth revisiting periodically, usually every quarter. You become more aware of your habits and as they change, your not to-do list will evolve and become more refined (and hopefully shorter!)

Hope you found this helpful. Get outside and go Barefoot.

Steve.