Simplifying Your Life: The Benefits of Creating a List of Things to Stop Doing

What Do You Need to Stop Doing?  

I was first introduced to the stop doing list when my kids were little and my husband and I were running our first business together. My kids are now all grown up and have kids of their own and every six months I update my stop doing list. 

As you start another year where you are guaranteed more disruption, one of the concepts that can help you to be more adaptable is to review what you have done in the past and let go of some of those tasks. To be adaptable you need space to think and reflect. 

Many workplaces reward doing, even if the doing is not necessarily effective. Taking time each quarter to consider what you should stop doing is a great investment of your time. 

Some things you might delegate to others, other things you might simply stop doing altogether. Your time is precious and when you think about the few key areas where you really value add, there will be some things you can let go of. 

Some ideas of things you might want to stop doing, include: 

• Certain meetings 

• Work that others can do to 70—80% of how you do it 

• Working for long periods during the day without a break 

• Not taking regular holidays  

• Checking emails while on holidays or on the weekends 

• Multitasking 

• Not protecting your key body clock time to do the important tasks 

• Giving everyone access to your calendar so they can book meetings  

• Eating lunch aldesco 

• Tasks that drain your energy.  

Adaptable leaders know the value of creating space to think and strategise, to be proactive. The stop doing list is a great tool to help free up your time. 

I’m curious. What do you need to stop doing?