The Not To-Do List {Review}

We tend to dissect successes, but not failures. Not only that but when dissecting success, we overestimate the roles of skills, decisions and actions while underestimating the role of chance, luck and randomness. Rolf Dobeli believes that it is in the stories of failures that we learn more – namely what to avoid. And it is with that premise he wrote The Not To-Do List – a list of 52 habits, behaviours and thought patterns to avoid. Avoid these, he says and you’ll be well on your way to living well.

The Not To-Do List is an ideal morning read. Short, easy to digest chapters that pair perfectly with your morning coffee. There’s nothing groundbreaking shared in this book – in fact most tidbits seem glaringly obvious (don’t leave issues to rot, invest in your relationships, try again when you fail). But perhaps therein lies the genius – the obvious isn’t always so obvious. Each chapter begins using inversion (or reverse psychology) – with a heavily sarcastic tone he tells you what to do which as you’ll very quickly realise is actually what not to do if you want to live well. It’s not one of my favorite books in this genre, and yet when rating it I couldn’t find much fault.

Incorporate items on your to-do list into your daily routine and treat them as if they are important meetings (with yourself). This will force you to estimate how many blocks of time each individual task requires, how many tasks will fit into a day, and which you should tackle in the morning when your brain is still fresh. 

Although we can do multiple things at once, we can’t create anything while mutli-tasking. There’s a huge difference between doing and creating. When we’re just doing something, we’re in the realm of low-intensity activity. But if we want to create something, we must be fully present and intensely focused.

Never start the same job twice. The same goes for emails. The moment you open that email, commit to replying in one go (or deleting it).

When an enquiry comes your way, instead of checking your calendar, imagine how you’d feel about it if the event was happening tomorrow. Would you have time for it? Would you be willing to squeeze it in? If not, just say no.

You become who you hang out with. Being surrounded by negativity can hamper your own personal development, increase stress and reduce your self esteem. Likewise, surrounding yourself with positive people can have huge improvements on your life.

Don’t be so focused on the headwinds of life (the difficulties and hurdles) that you forget to notice the tailwinds (your health, the sun, the things that just work without a second thought).

Focus on the future – that’s where life happens, not in the past.

View negative feelings like the weather – clouds come and go. Just like you can’t switch off the weather you can’t switch off your feelings. Recognise they are only temporary and don’t form part of your identity.

You want no nonsense advice that is easy to digest and action.

Rating