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Do NOT Do List

As we approach the Holiday season, my wife has started to make a “bucket” list of all the things she wants to do over the next few weeks. She is very festive. Me? Not so much. As we discussed my taking time off from work, she was very focused on all the activities we could add; meanwhile, I was thinking about all the things I would not be doing. What is the opposite of a bucket list? Whatever you call it, that is what I was planning.

Don’t get me wrong, I am looking forward to the festivities and traditions, especially time with family making this season memorable for the kids. But all this planning got me musing on the fact that lots of people have To-Do Lists to help with productivity, but what if we had “Do-Not-Do” Lists? Would that make us even more productive?

What if we started our day with Do-Not-Do lists before we even thought about what we needed to do? What would that impact look like? I do not have this all thought out yet, but it is something worth mulling over: What would a Do-Not-Do List look like?

Here is my starter Do-Not-Do List:

1.      DO NOT hit snooze. Get up with the alarm and get after it.

2.      DO NOT look at news stories. I need to begin the morning with something positive and uplifting, not negative and frustrating.

3.      DO NOT check email. All the problems and questions will still be there when I get to the office later. I must kick off the day being proactive, not reactive. The whirlwind can wait. Try to not even look at the phone for the first hour of my day.

4.      DO NOT eat anything sugary or unhealthy. I need to fuel my body with only healthy, helpful foods. In fact, I usually begin my day with a fast and let my body run off stored fuel for a while.

5.      DO NOT listen to music or talk radio on the way into town. I cannot afford to waste this time in the morning with entertainment. Either I should sit in silence and listen to my soul or use the time to listen to podcasts or books that both challenge and educate me.

So far, that Do-Not-Do List gets me only until about 7:30am. I’ll keep working on it. What does your Do-Not-Do List look like?

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