What Not to Do If You Want to Be Productive

Productivity may be about getting things done, but it turns out that not doing things is just as important.

On her blog, Jocelyn K. Glei talks about the importance of a “stop-doing list.” In this age of multitasking, it can be easy to focus on all the things you should be doing, and forget about the things you should be saying “no” to. Everyone’s “stop-doing list” is most likely a little different, but here are a few of my favorite tips from Glei’s:

I don’t listen to music or radio that has words.

I don’t treat emails from people I don’t know as urgent. (I love, love, love this one.)

I don’t answer my phone or texts first thing in the morning.

There are also some more obvious ones, like avoiding social media until the afternoon, but the key to making a good to-don’t list is to focus on the little things. According to Glei: “You want to sift away all the small stuff that drags on your productivity. Then, when you’re creating your to-do list, try to focus as much as possible on the big picture—the long-term goals and projects that really matter to you.”