I’m a fan of to-do lists. Whether on paper or digital, I find great peace of mind knowing that what I need to do is written down. Marking off the tasks is a satisfying visual indicator of apparent progress. While extensive to-do lists are not for everyone, there’s a complimentary list I keep that I believe is for everyone, though few seem to have: a stop doing list.
We’re rarely honest with ourselves, or those around us, about our limited capacity. We behave as though we have an unlimited ability to expand our time and energy for work, relationships, volunteering, social engagements, etc. The trouble is that if you do not regularly decide what you need to stop doing, from the mundane to the material, you’ll find yourself perpetually overextended because as more comes in, nothing goes out.
What if this evening at home, or tomorrow with your colleagues, you sat down and created a five item stop doing list? A list of five to-dos, whether related to work, people or other commitments or activities, you decide to stop pursuing. A few items on the list may take you time to work through, but you can develop a plan. To keep the habit up, every occasion you’re confronted with a new consequential to-do, reevaluate your stop doing list. Consider what you would throw out to make room for the new. If you wouldn’t cut anything, don’t accept anything. It’s an easy way to maintain balance and avoid feeling perpetually overwhelmed.
5 Comments
Great post, Levi. It’s so important to find the balance between work, volunteering/church activities, family, and personal time to recharge. Most people I know are way out of balance and this stop doing list would be a great way for them to create better balance.
Agreed on all accounts. If you keep the stop doing list short and revisit it as demands change, it can make a huge difference. It’s a great exercise for an entire team to go through together.
This is great advice…especially in a culture where many people view busyness as a measure of importance.
John Eldredge has a resource called The Spirit of this Age that dives into this. You might enjoy it.
I put ‘making lists’ on my stop doing list. đ
Seriously, this is great advice. Every year I cut something ou of my life, but I notice many people don’t take the time to do this. It’s a shame.
Thanks for the reminder.
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