Do you feel like your “To-Do” list is too long? Do you ever wonder how you will get it all finished each day? Or why you’re even doing some of the things on your list in the first place?
What if you simplified your life by taking the opposite approach and you made a list of everything NOT to do? By taking time to think through your “Do’s” and “Don’t Do’s” ahead of time, the decision making process is a whole lot easier. You’ve pre-determined what your priorities are when faced with an opportunity that will “fill a time slot” in your daily planner. You’ve already determined your “no’s” and it’s easier to not overload your plate with too many responsibilies.
Sometimes we have to make really tough choices and actually do less if we want to simplify our life. Do less– that’s often easier said than done! We tend to think that the solution to problem areas in our life is just adding more positive things in to “fix them”. In reality, we need to get rid of some of the negative things first in order to make room for the positive things. If we don’t we’ve just put more on our plate and the positive things we added aren’t really effective or helpful.
Assess:
Let’s look at a practical way to assess your responsibilities and create a Not-To-Do list.
- First, start by listing all of the responsibilities currently on your plate.
- Next, look at each of those responsibilities and determine if any of them fit into the following categories. If so, write them down.
- Things that don’t need to get done
- Things that make me feel bad about myself
- Things out of my control
- Other people’s responsibilities
- Things that drain me
- Things that make me feel guilty
Look at the everything you just listed in each of those categories. This is your Not-To-Do list.
How many of your original responsibilities survived the cut? Are you surprised by the number of things you put on yourself each day that aren’t really necessary?
Now it’s time for action and commitment!
Let’s make an action plan to follow through on those decisions you just made.
What will you:
- Stop doing?
- Delegate?
- Not put on your plate in the first place?
- Say “no” to without guilt?
Two last questions. You know I can’t let you get by without a true commitment…
When will you put these actions into place?
What support or accountability do you need in order to follow through?
Yay! I’m so proud of you! You’ve just finished one of the hardest parts of simplifying your life: deciding what to say “No” to!
If you’d like a copy of this exercise in worksheet form, it’s included in the Simplify Your Life Starter Kit offered on the right hand column of this page. Just fill in your contact info and you’ll receive an email with the links.
I’d love to hear some of the things you’ve put on your not-to-do list! Leave a comment!
