TheRedArchive

~ archived since 2018 ~

Do you need a “to-do” list or a “not-to-do” list?

Eric Barker
January 4, 2012

Jim Collins, author of Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t, makes an interesting suggestion — you may need to worry less about your to-do list and focus on a “stop doing” list:

Rochelle’s lesson came back to me a number of years later while puzzling over the research data on 11 companies that turned themselves from mediocrity to excellence, from good to great. In cataloguing the key steps that ignited the transformations, my research team and I were struck by how many of the big decisions were not what to do, but what to stop doing.

And:

The start of the New Year is a perfect time to start a stop doing list and to make this the cornerstone of your New Year resolutions, be it for your company, your family or yourself. It also is a perfect time to clarify your three circles, mirroring at a personal level the three questions asked by Smith:

1) What are you deeply passionate about?
2) What are you are genetically encoded for â what activities do you feel just “made to do”?
3) What makes economic sense â what can you make a living at?

Those fortunate enough to find or create a practical intersection of the three circles have the basis for a great work life.

Think of the three circles as a personal guidance mechanism. As you navigate the twists and turns of a chaotic world, it acts like a compass. Am I on target? Do I need to adjust left, up, down, right? If you make an inventory of your activities today, what percentage of your time falls outside the three circles?

If it is more than 50%, then the stop doing list might be your most important tool.

TheRedArchive is an archive of Red Pill content, including various subreddits and blogs. This post has been archived from the blog bakadesuyo.

bakadesuyo archive

Download the post

Want to save the post for offline use on your device? Choose one of the download options below:

Post Information
Title Do you need a “to-do” list or a “not-to-do” list?
Author Eric Barker
Date January 4, 2012 12:09 AM UTC (12 years ago)
Blog bakadesuyo
Archive Link https://theredarchive.com/blog/bakadesuyo/do-you-need-a-to-do-list-or-a-not-to-do-list.14831
https://theredarchive.com/blog/14831
Original Link https://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/01/do-you-need-to-to-do-list-or-a-not-to-do-list/
Red Pill terms in post
You can kill a man, but you can't kill an idea.

© TheRedArchive 2024. All rights reserved.
created by /u/dream-hunter