The Not-To-Do List: Bad Habits to Stop Now
August 13th, 2007 (6:00am) Judi Sohn 54 Comments
By Tim Ferriss
This week I realized once again how “not-to-do” lists can be just as effective—often more so—than to-do lists for upgrading performance. The reason is simple: what you don’t do determines what you can do.
Here are nine stressful and common habits that entrepreneurs and office workers should strive to eliminate. Focus on one or two at a time, just as you would with high-priority to-do items.
I’ve worded them in no-to-do action form:
1. Do not answer unrecognized phone calls
2. Do not e-mail first thing in the morning or last thing at night
3. Do not agree to meetings or calls with no clear agenda or end time
4. Do not let people ramble—forget “how’s it going?” and embrace “what’s up?”
5. Do not check e-mail constantly—“batch” and check at set times only
6. Do not over-communicate with low-profit, high-maintenance customers
7. Do not work more to fix overwhelm—prioritize
8. Do not carry a cellphone or Crackberry 24/7, seven days a week—make evenings and/or Saturdays digital leash-free.
9. Do not expect work to fill a void that non-work relationships and activities should
It’s hip to focus on getting things done, but it’s only possible once we remove the constant static and distraction. If you have trouble deciding what to do, just focus on not doing to re-focus. Different means, same end. Embrace the anti-Nike: Just don’t do it.
Timothy Ferriss is the author of the best-selling book, The 4-Hour Workweek
54 Comments Post your own comment
Konrads Blog » Blog Archive » Just don’t do it says: August 13th, 2007 7:28am
[...] bessere Performance und weniger Stress: Die “Not-To-Do”-Liste für Netzarbeiter. Sie enthält einfachste Regeln, die man sich nur immer mal wieder [...]
Caroline says: August 13th, 2007 8:24am
Very useful list! Thanks- I was expecting “Don’t talk on the phone.”-quality responses but I think I might be able to use all nine points. Thanks again!
Amie Gillingham says: August 13th, 2007 8:36am
While the whole list is helpful, I find #6 particularly helpful, particularly since there are some customers you’ll never be able to make happy no matter how much time you spend on them.
George Mandis says: August 13th, 2007 8:49am
I just broke rule number one this morning and am regretting it… I’ve just recently started adhering to number five (Don’t check email all day) religiously and it’s doing wonders to my productivity. And you can’t lose site of number 9. You just can’t.
titus2woman says: August 13th, 2007 11:17am
I really like this idea of a “To Don’t” list! This was great! (((((HUGS))))) sandi
Joe says: August 13th, 2007 11:32am
Number nine is invaluable. Since we’re all on our way to becoming workaholics, having a clear delineation is necessary.
Number two and five are my constant downfalls.
Dave Dragon says: August 13th, 2007 12:13pm
Good lists!
How about:
Don’t respond to an inflamatory email
-Dave Dragon
Ride it like you stole it
xadness says: August 13th, 2007 2:04pm
number 5 is soooo true!
Very good list!
roberthauk says: August 13th, 2007 3:42pm
Managed to omit all 9 points today - took a day off with my family. We drove to a nice place in the countryside of Lower-Austria to meet some friends :-)
Ann Teliczan says: August 13th, 2007 4:53pm
I totally agree with all these points. In my business, if you try to do everything for everyone, there won’t be anything left for you and your best clients.
4-Hour Work Week « WeirdGuy says: August 13th, 2007 6:03pm
[...] Here are nine stressful and common habits that entrepreneurs and office workers should strive to eliminate. Focus on one or two at a time, just as you would with high-priority to-do items. read more… [...]
lesturla says: August 13th, 2007 6:32pm
So true especially: “Do not over-communicate with low-profit, high-maintenance customers” — does this include slaved driving clients?
sariayamencius says: August 13th, 2007 7:29pm
I am so guilty of carrying my celphone 24/7 and for always putting my work as the top priority. You are right, it also helps to focus on what not to do rather than focusing only on the to do list because we sometimes tend to miss out on certain things that are more important to us.
Joseph Hsu says: August 13th, 2007 9:33pm
[...] The Not To-Do List: 9 Bad Habits to stop now. Tim Ferriss says, ” The reason is simple: what you don’t do determines what you can do.” [...]
Marshall Kirkpatrick says: August 13th, 2007 11:41pm
Do not outsource your romantic interactions or otherwise let efficiency poo on the integrity of your relationships with others, you creep.
Ahmad Tarek says: August 14th, 2007 12:25am
I can add:
don’t answer any question directly - give your self little time before reply
don’t mix your social and professional life - work hours is for work
don’t subscribe to more than 5 groups at the same time
M says: August 14th, 2007 3:58am
i liked this =D thank you for sharing !.
bysandra says: August 14th, 2007 6:46am
Excellent! I’m guilty of many of these! Time for a change! Love #1. I answer calls from unknowns and then get angry at them. No more. Caller id is my friend. Good list!
ravi karandeekar says: August 14th, 2007 6:57am
I read it. I understood it. I want to put into practice. God be with me.
www.nickbohle.de » DEAL - Simplify Your Life says: August 14th, 2007 7:05am
[...] NOT-TO-DO lists for work and for your free [...]
Daniel Rae says: August 14th, 2007 7:16am
Some of the thoughts expressed in this article are echoed in a study over here in Scotland, as seen here.
Checking and replying to emails too often causes stress!
Web Worker Daily » Blog Archive Woo Them with Words: Hunting for the Hit Headline « says: August 14th, 2007 4:00pm
[...] a good example of a headline that jostles the reader appeared right here on this blog yesterday: “The Not-to-Do List: Bad Habits to Stop Now.” How can you read that without wondering what the opposite of a to-do list [...]
chris says: August 15th, 2007 10:02am
One thing I’d add, which is sort of a do-not, is to meditate. Stating that to figure out what you should be doing, first stop doing whatever it is your doing and do nothing for a bit - well, thats meditation in a nutshell. Helps me focus on the task at hand rather than juggling a thousand other things I can’t do anything about at the moment..
Useless free advice » A NOT to-do list says: August 17th, 2007 6:15am
[...] WebWorkerDaily to see the full list of 9 not to-do [...]
Skip Knox says: August 17th, 2007 7:56am
How about adding another one to the list: don’t check blogs and newsfeeds all day long, including this one. ;-)
Seriously, I find these kind of sites to be as disruptive as email. Set aside for a set time. Or, another approach, make it a reward for finishing an action item.
-= Skip =-
Gene says: August 17th, 2007 8:39am
I work for a large University. We’re all on the same team and should be serving the people of our state. Since it’s so large I get calls from many people whose numbers I don’t recognize. Rule number 1 is asinine. They’re calling for a reason and haven’t just pushed seven numbers at random.
james says: August 17th, 2007 1:12pm
Good list. I am a big advocate of checking e-mail once an hour. I have no “chimes” or icons that show when a new e-mail arrives. It’s an interruption. Also the expectation to respond to e-mails within seconds eliminates any conscientious thought that would be written in those e-mails. It sucks feeling obligated to “race to get a reply back out”. Been there, still am at times.
Also I agree with 9. I keep my personal and work life separate. The few friends I hang out with outside work are from other departments and we never interact for business reasons. Having your social life at work, or having a “campus” work that gives you day care, dry cleaning, juice bars and all that is just the company keeping you on a short leash. You should be doing those life chores near home in your own community in your own (non-company managed) time.
I don’t understand #2 though. What’s wrong with e-mailing in the morning?
james http://www.futuregringo.com
links for 2007-08-18 « geek notes says: August 18th, 2007 2:42am
[...] Web Worker Daily » Blog Archive The Not-To-Do List: Bad Habits to Stop Now « Here are nine stressful and common habits that entrepreneurs and office workers should strive to eliminate. Focus on one or two at a time, just as you would with high-priority to-do items. (tags: productivity tips gtd) [...]
My NOT-to-do list! | felix ker’s blog says: August 18th, 2007 6:43am
[...] Inspired by WebWorkerDaily. [...]
seinfieldian chains & not-todo lists at Alexander Cameron says: August 18th, 2007 7:40pm
[...] Ferriss from Web Worker Daily suggests nine stressful and common habits that entrepreneurs and office workers should strive to [...]
Waiting For Sunday / Sunday Seven says: August 19th, 2007 1:06pm
[...] Your NOT To Do list. Success isn’t just getting things done but not wasting life on other things. Here’s a start for your list of what to not do. Example: “Don’t let people ramble”. From Web Worker Daily via Lifehacker . [...]
Kolz Blog » Blog Archive » To Do List: Nine things for your NOT todo list says: August 19th, 2007 1:18pm
[...] do” most of these items already.) What’s your no-to-do list look like? Let us know in the comments. The Not-To-Do List: Bad Habits to Stop Now [Web Worker [...]
CazWax says: August 19th, 2007 9:44pm
The daily life of a slave recapitulates slavery.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situationist_International
adjust your situation.
HiddenHabits.com says: August 20th, 2007 9:16pm
Pretty good list. One way to break the habits is to keep track of them and connect with others trying to do the same. You can do it at HiddenHabits.com.
Web Worker Daily » Blog Archive Get to the Bottom of Your To-Do List by Making it Tiny « says: August 22nd, 2007 6:00am
[...] to the Bottom of Your To-Do List by Making it Tiny In recent weeks, we’ve talked about the useful concept of a Not To Do List, allowing you more room to focus on what to [...]
Elle says: August 23rd, 2007 12:10am
“8. Do not carry a cellphone or Crackberry 24/7, seven days a week—make evenings and/or Saturdays digital leash-free.”
Um… the ’seven days a week’ is redundant. 24/7 stands for twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. You’re pretty much saying twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, seven days a week. And that’s just ridiculous.
Ten Ideas For Productive Lists : Codswallop says: August 23rd, 2007 2:51am
[...] “Not-To-Do List” - We all have distractions, interruptions, time-wasters. This idea is to keep a list of things that you should not do. Share the list with your family and colleagues. [...]
David Richardson says: August 23rd, 2007 4:44am
10. Do Not Make Lists
To do lists « Two cultures, one mind. says: August 23rd, 2007 6:56am
[...] has some interesting views on to-do lists, here, and here. How many of his not-to-do’s do we do (everyone follow that) in our daily life [...]
Blind Error? « Simple Country Physicist says: August 24th, 2007 6:46am
[...] Collection Science , Coprolite Management , Pursuit of Extinction I got directed to a blog [Link] on self management from Lifehacker yesterday that gave me some occasion for thought. I have [...]
purplehazel says: August 27th, 2007 12:16am
I too am curious as to what’s wrong with emailing first thing in the morning. When I’m very busy I answer the urgent ones first thing and then turn the emailoff for a few hours.
Prem Rao says: August 27th, 2007 5:05am
Thanks for the concept. I have written about this in my blog.
I like the concept and have a few more Not-To-Do’s to add:
Do not waste time looking for things. Stay organised.
Do not take on more than you can handle
Do not spend too much time and effort on low yield stuff
Add your own points but do not let the Do Not list overwhelm you.
~scott » Blog Archive » Linking Logs :: 2007-08-27 says: August 27th, 2007 6:19pm
[...] The Not-To-Do List: Bad Habits to Stop Now « Web Worker Daily - This is an excellent list of things that we can avoid doing in order to get more done with less stress. [...]
The Mindjet Blog » Turn your “To Do Lists” into Visual Maps with MindManager says: August 28th, 2007 12:49pm
[...] “Not-To-Do List” [...]
Cómo mejorar la productividad personal: las listas de lo que no hacer - Recursos Para Pymes says: August 31st, 2007 12:53am
[...] a dar cuenta de por dónde andabas equivocado, pero un buen comienzo para ya mismo podría ser esta lista de 9 malos hábitos a eliminar (enlace en inglés) propuestos por Tim Ferriss, autor del libro La semana de trabajo de cuatro [...]
Kolz Blog » Blog Archive » Turn your “To Do Lists” into Visual Maps with MindManager says: September 1st, 2007 8:50pm
[...] “Not-To-Do List” [...]
millennium winter :: a reflection not so whole » afraid to fly, afraid to try says: September 3rd, 2007 4:37am
[...] other news. Since werk has had me more than a little frustrated as of late, I found this list from Web Worker Daily to be incredibly helpful. I’ve managed to do a number of these things, [...]
Habit Guy says: September 18th, 2007 7:47am
I am professor of psychology who studies bad habits and how to get rid of them. I loved your tips for increasing productivity. I like also how you are explaining how to eliminate a bad habit with a good one. I think that that is entirely necessary.
fromustoyou » Just don’t do it! says: September 18th, 2007 9:20am
[...] zu Stress führt, haben die Tim Ferris beid den täglichen Webworkern eine “not-to-do-list” erstellt. Die sollte man sich gelegentlich mal wieder vor das geistige Auge führen. 1. [...]
Heberts dot Net » Blog Archive » Linking Logs :: 2007-08-27 says: December 19th, 2007 10:39am
[...] The Not-To-Do List: Bad Habits to Stop Now « Web Worker Daily - This is an excellent list of things that we can avoid doing in order to get more done with less stress. [...]
SimpleProductivityBlog.com says: February 11th, 2008 4:10am
[...] “The Not-To-Do List: Bad Habits to Stop Now” (Web Worker Daily) [...]
AndreasMatthies.de » Blog Archiv » Just don’t do it! says: February 24th, 2008 7:50am
[...] im Anti-Nike-Stil präsentiert Tim Ferriss seine knackige Not-To-Do-List für höhere Leistung in kürzerer Zeit: 1. Do not answer unrecognized phone calls 2. Do not e-mail [...]
Venkat says: February 24th, 2008 3:37pm
Good tips… I’m trying to come up with some productivity tips to show on ZoToDo, so if you don’t mind I’ll include some of yours. Might as well use this as a promtional opportunity too :) ZoToDo - Simple To Do Lists
Xianfeng Songs blog » Eliminate not-to-do says: April 15th, 2008 2:00pm
[...] This post is inspired by the blog post: The Not-To-Do List: Bad Habits to Stop Now [...]