At the end of every day I take a look at my list of things I needed to accomplish during the day. If there are any items that couldn’t be completed for some reason, I deal with them. It might be rescheduling them, delegating them or deleting them all together. I then review my list for the following day, which are items I had already scheduled along with new items that surfaced in the mean time.
The next morning, when I sit down at my desk, the first thing that I’ll do is review this list again.
In the past I’ve had days that this list seems to grow bigger and bigger, regardless of how much I check off of it each day. I’ve found myself feeling great as I’m checking off item after item, feeling like I’m being producing and getting things done. But then I’d get to the end of the day and realize there are still a lot of important items that I haven’t even looked at yet. How can this be? I’ve been working and knocking things off like crazy.
Often, this problem arises not because of the number of items on my to-do-list, but because of what the items are and which ones shouldn’t even be on my list in the first place.
One of the best exercises you can do to increase your productivity is to create your Not-To-Do-List!
Think about this, there are things you do every day that move the needle the most for you and/or your company. Maybe it’s sales, maybe it’s marketing, maybe it’s coaching your team. It’s whatever you do that creates the biggest results/revenue. These needle movers are the things you should be spending your time on.
Now look at all the things you do on a daily basis that are not creating these results. That are not the needle movers. If you are putting off the needle-mover items to work on these other things, you need to stop. Stop Now! These are not the things that need your focus and that you need to be spending your time on.
It’s hard to make changes that free up big blocks of time in our days. We have smaller moments that we need to utilize and take the best advantage of. You need to create your Not-To-Do-List to free up these moments so that you can focus on the needle-movers in your life.
Let’s do this right now! Don’t put it off, grab a pen and paper and lets get started…
What things do you spend your time on that don’t serve growth, a greater income, empowerment, your God, your family or a bigger future?
- Make a list of the non-needle-mover activities that you spend your time on.
- For each item mark it as:
- Automate,
- Delegate, or
- Eliminate
Now that you’ve made this list, follow through. Maybe it’s your monthly bills that you can get online and automate the payments. Maybe it’s a daily task that you’ve felt it was just easier if you took care of it yourself. Delegate it! Maybe it’s something that just really doesn’t matter. Eliminate it!
When you clear the clutter from your to-do-list, you clear your mind. Your stress level decreases and your creativity increases.
As important as a To-Do-List can be, even more important is your Not-To-Do List!
*Add this exercise to the top of your To-Do-List right now! Actually do it and get it done!
By joining one of our Mastermind Groups, you’ll put into practice more life hacks like this that will help you to become more productive. You would be a part of an elite group of goal-orientated people who want to help each other succeed and get to the next level in life and in business.
If your life and/or your business are not where you thought they would be at this point in your life, hurry over to our Mastermind page and fill out the form. That will allow us to contact you to give you more information and to see if you qualify to be in one of our elite Mastermind Group!
