The Not-To-Do List: 9 Habits to Stop Now 262 Comments

Written by Topics: E-mail Detox, Filling the Void, Low-Information Diet

doggiesmile.jpg
This is how the world felt before Crackberries. (LeoLuigi)

“Not-to-do” lists are often more effective than to-do lists for upgrading performance.

The reason is simple: what you don’t do determines what you can do.

Here are nine stressful and common habits that entrepreneurs and office workers should strive to eliminate. The bullets are followed by more detailed descriptions. Focus on one or two at a time, just as you would with high-priority to-do items. I’ve worded them in no-to-do action form:

1. Do not answer calls from unrecognized phone numbers
Feel free to surprise others, but don’t be surprised. It just results in unwanted interruption and poor negotiating position. Let it go to voicemail, and consider using a service like GrandCentral (you can listen to people leaving voicemail) or Simulscribe (receive voicemails as e-mail).

2. Do not e-mail first thing in the morning or last thing at night
The former scrambles your priorities and plans for the day, and the latter just gives you insomnia. E-mail can wait until 10am, after you’ve completed at least one of your critical to-do items…

3. Do not agree to meetings or calls with no clear agenda or end time
If the desired outcome is defined clearly with a stated objective and agenda listing topics/questions to cover, no meeting or call should last more than 30 minutes. Request them in advance so you “can best prepare and make good use of the time together.”

4. Do not let people ramble
Forget “how’s it going?” when someone calls you. Stick with “what’s up?” or “I’m in the middle of getting something out, but what’s going on?” A big part of GTD is GTP — Getting To the Point.

5. Do not check e-mail constantly — “batch” and check at set times only
I belabor this point enough. Get off the cocaine pellet dispenser and focus on execution of your top to-do’s instead of responding to manufactured emergencies. Set up a strategic autoresponder and check twice or thrice daily.

6. Do not over-communicate with low-profit, high-maintenance customers
There is no sure path to success, but the surest path to failure is trying to please everyone. Do an 80/20 analysis of your customer base in two ways–which 20% are producing 80%+ of my profit, and which 20% are consuming 80%+ of my time? Then put the loudest and least productive on autopilot by citing a change in company policies. Send them an e-mail with new rules as bullet points: number of permissible phone calls, e-mail response time, minimum orders, etc. Offer to point them to another provider if they can’t conform to the new policies.

7. Do not work more to fix overwhelm — prioritize
If you don’t prioritize, everything seems urgent and important. If you define the single most important task for each day, almost nothing seems urgent or important. Oftentimes, it’s just a matter of letting little bad things happen (return a phone call late and apologize, pay a small late fee, lose an unreasonable customer, etc.) to get the big important things done. The answer to overwhelm is not spinning more plates — or doing more — it’s defining the few things that can really fundamentally change your business and life.

8. Do not carry a cellphone or Crackberry 24/7
Take at least one day off of digital leashes per week. Turn them off or, better still, leave them in the garage or in the car. I do this on at least Saturday, and I recommend you leave the phone at home if you go out for dinner. So what if you return a phone call an hour later or the next morning? As one reader put it to a miffed co-worker who worked 24/7 and expected the same: “I’m not the president of the US. No one should need me at 8pm at night. OK, you didn’t get a hold of me. But what bad happened?” The answer? Nothing.

9. Do not expect work to fill a void that non-work relationships and activities should
Work is not all of life. Your co-workers shouldn’t be your only friends. Schedule life and defend it just as you would an important business meeting. Never tell yourself “I’ll just get it done this weekend.” Review Parkinson’s Law in 4HWW and force yourself to cram within tight hours so your per-hour productivity doesn’t fall through the floor. Focus, get the critical few done, and get out. E-mailing all weekend is no way to spend the little time you have on this planet.
—

It’s hip to focus on getting things done, but it’s only possible once we remove the constant static and distraction. If you have trouble deciding what to do, just focus on not doing. Different means, same end.

What other no-no’s would you add to the list?

###

Posted on August 16th, 2007

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262 Comments

  • James — August 16th, 2007, 10:35 pm

    Another great blog post. I am amazed at what happens when you look at life from a different angle. I would never think to develop a “not to do” list. Now that I have seen yours and I am working on my “not to do” list, I am seeing all the time I can save each day. Keep up the great posts and innovative insights.

    Reply

    • Colm Ward — June 20th, 2012, 11:16 am

      Great advice Tim. Just by following your tips about batching emails, avoiding time-wasters and prioritizing, I have saved 2-3 hours per day in work – that’s about 10-15 hours per week. Next step: getting the hell out of the office!

      Reply

  • Drew — August 16th, 2007, 11:49 pm

    Hi Tim,

    This is the 2nd time I’ve seen you mention Grand Central. The first time was in the “Doing the impossible article…” about getting paper out of your life, not checking voicemail, etc.

    I went to Grand Central to sign up, but it’s in beta and you can only join right now if someone refers you. Can you share how you where able to get in the beta?

    It’s something I want to do, and would be the third thing from the “Doing the impossible…” article you recommend that I will have done. I already signed up for the remote control mail service by Earth Class Mail. The jury is still out because I haven’t been on it long enough, but early results are promising. I also got removed from any possible mailing list I could track down with the help of DMAConsumers.org. So thanks for the good advice there, and now hoping I can check out Grand Central also.

    Thanks,

    mdf

    Reply

  • Bachelorium: Online Mens Magazine — August 17th, 2007, 12:07 am

    Tim, agree with all your points – and I’m pretty sure all of these and more are in your book. If you’re reading and haven’t bought it? Don’t wait – give Crown Publishing more money.

    The only part of the 5th principle I have a problem with now is:

    “Set up a strategic autoresponder and check twice or thrice daily.”

    Tim, with your book on the bestseller now, this automated response just fills my inbox with crap.

    Here’s an alternative: Just check it at those times, and respond at those times. If they’re expecting a response quicker, they’ll get in touch with you via phone, if they can’t… obviously it’s not important to them and can wait a few hours.

    I recently tested this approach with my client, and if it’s their high priority and not some delegation without merit, then they’ll certainly make it known to you.

    Cool.

    Donovan

    ###

    Hi Donovan,

    Good alternative. Here are a few others: 1) Send all of them a single read-receipt e-mail notifying them of the new schedule, 2) Put this “I check and respond only at…” at the bottom of your outgoing e-mail in the signature, 3) Set your e-mail program to only send one autoresponse to each contact per week.

    Thanks for the input!

    Tim

    Reply

  • Sean — August 17th, 2007, 12:25 am

    MDF, if you need an invite,let me know.

    Reply

  • Zaki mirza — August 17th, 2007, 12:26 am

    Not to say yes to everyone and everything

    Reply

  • Kenn Christ — August 17th, 2007, 12:27 am

    Drew: Regarding Grand Central, just sign up via the ‘reserve’ link. They’re letting people sign up in small groups, so you’ll probably get your invite code before too long. I’ve been using it for a month or two now.

    Reply

  • Eric — August 17th, 2007, 12:56 am

    If you have an extra invite, I wouldn’t mind one also. Thanks! Eric(AT)vertical7(DOT)com

    Reply

  • Crown on the Rocks » Blog Archive » The USPS and Military Mail… — August 17th, 2007, 1:12 am

    [...] of the Day: » The Not-To-Do List: 9 Habits to Stop Now. Useful tips to enhance your life and workday. I’m already following some of these as [...]

  • Small Business Lessons — August 17th, 2007, 1:13 am

    Something I’m guilty of:
    Working on personal businesses in expense of enough sleep.

    Reply

  • Jake — August 17th, 2007, 1:57 am

    I have been waiting for Grand Central since I read the book two months ago. Sounds like such a great gizmo. I wanna play!

    Jott has been one of the handiest tools to have in my pocket. Countless twenty second blurbs about some great ideas and some less.

    OK. I will now try the GoToMyPC. It sounds almost like magic. Any 30-day trials on Someone Else GO 2 My PC? I’ve done enough LCD for a lifetime!

    Namaste Tim

    Reply

  • Devin — August 17th, 2007, 2:14 am

    I read something interesting on Creating Passionate Users the other day. Kathy quotes Time Magazine, “Patricia Wallace, a techno-psychologist,…believes part of the allure of e-mail–for adults as well as teens–is similar to that of a slot machine.
”You have intermittent, variable reinforcement,” she explains. “You are not sure you are going to get a reward every time or how often you will, so you keep pulling that handle.” Intermittent rewards result in distraction and ‘addiction’ more than continuous, guaranteed rewards do.

    Interestingly enough, nearly all of my ‘not-to-dos’ fall under this intermittent rewards category. I’d add, “Don’t let your life become a slot machine.”

    Reply

  • Michelle — August 17th, 2007, 4:40 am

    #10 – Don’t stare at cute pictures of dogs smiling on blogs by Tim Ferris….

    Reply

  • Scott — August 17th, 2007, 6:41 am

    Sean,

    If you still have an invites for Grandcentral, I’d appreciate getting one.

    Thanks,

    Scott

    Reply

  • JBB — August 17th, 2007, 6:51 am

    GrandCentral was open-beta before. Perhaps that changed when they were acquired by Google. Or they just got popular enough to be running out of phone numbers.

    Be careful (and not just because Google knows so much about you already), GC was built to make you MORE accessible, not less. Having one number that rings my cell, house, and work phones isn’t always a good thing. But their other features make up for it if you use them.

    I can’t think of a good way to hand out invites, or I’d share. Actually, I can, but it’s more work for the rest of you. Below are some links for some invites — beware! If you click ‘sign up’ on the invite, you HAVE to finish signing up then! Once clicked, the invitation is ‘used’ and you can’t go back and finish later with the same invite.

    Probably best if you post a comment that you’ve used an invite number, so others don’t waste time.

    1: http://www.grandcentral.com/home/invite/mC7xJTWuJVn2y7mKJVIlJsr9Y

    2: http://www.grandcentral.com/home/invite/eetoG2UBa7cVhsDU6EBbXJsLx

    3: http://www.grandcentral.com/home/invite/5AaAVu7l4RpsRI2JfIfxtY43b

    4: http://www.grandcentral.com/home/invite/LxoakkCQJMfEOWWByCphBBGJ8

    5: http://www.grandcentral.com/home/invite/RthPUopVgrc9OolHb1uPfQD2K

    6: http://www.grandcentral.com/home/invite/6q5L4QqJigFv6tqvVn39afCUg

    7: http://www.grandcentral.com/home/invite/GpjakQatuRZFN6NBrIvPlBNc2

    8: http://www.grandcentral.com/home/invite/2CNBFBrsIlweuSWMtTRDJLBHf

    9: http://www.grandcentral.com/home/invite/DKYpCEqXswSoJkL9NCs4H4B7O

    Good luck.

    Reply

  • Productivity: 9 Habits To Quit Now - lifehack.org — August 17th, 2007, 7:00 am

    [...] The Not-To-Do List: 9 Habits to Stop Now – [TimFerriss] digg_url = ‘http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/productivity-9-habits-to-quit-now.html’; ( function() { var ds=typeof digg_skin==’string’?digg_skin:”; var h=80; var w=52; if(ds==’compact’) { h=18; w=120; } var u=typeof digg_url==’string’?digg_url:(typeof DIGG_URL==’string’?DIGG_URL:window.location.href); document.write(“”); } )() Author: Craig Childs Posted: Friday, August 17th, 2007 at 8:00 am Tags: todo Bookmark or Share this with a friend! [...]

  • Susan Cartier Liebel — August 17th, 2007, 7:16 am

    You have been a revelation, Tim. I am slowly going to be incorporating many of your suggestions into my practice as, quite frankly, it is the only way to operate in today’s world. Thank you for the great business ‘bible’ I now keep bedside.

    Reply

  • Make Your Work Flow - Simprove Consulting Corporate Weblog » Blog Archive » The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5 — August 17th, 2007, 7:25 am

    [...] … so der Titel des Buches von Timothy Ferriss. In seinem Weblog gibt Timothy Ferriss den Hinweis anstelle von ToDo-Listen sogenannte Not-ToDo-Listen zu führen. Besonders gefallen uns dabei die Punkte 8 und 9 des Beitrages “The Not-To-Do List: 9 Habits to Stop Now“: [...]

  • Russ — August 17th, 2007, 7:44 am

    For GrandCentral invites, check out: http://www.inviteshare.com/site.php?id=17

    You shouldn’t have to wait long after requesting an invite.

    Cheers.

    Reply

  • Ideate - Small Business in South Africa » 9 Habits to Stop Now — August 17th, 2007, 7:48 am

    [...] the expanded points here.  Share this article:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and [...]

  • Jason Peck — August 17th, 2007, 7:58 am

    One thing I would add. Don’t try to save everything. Save documents you think you might need on your computer and then throw the hard copies away. They create way too much clutter and then you have to waste more time just organizing them on your desk. Throw things away. You can always print stuff out later if you really need it. Or just read it on your computer.

    Reply

  • Pril — August 17th, 2007, 8:00 am

    1. Do not answer calls from unrecognized phone numbers
    GREAT one I never do this anyway amazing how they never leave a message!!!
    2. Do not e-mail first thing in the morning or last thing at night
    E-mail is a touchy subject! With my job I am the one that is connected to a color printer hence if there is a meeting at 10 am and I haven’ checked my e-mail I’ll lose my job okay get written up but both are bad news! As a sales assistant it’s required to handle all emergencys no matter what time of the day -
    3. Do not agree to meetings or calls with no clear agenda or end time
    GREAT one again! Have an agenda even if it’s just bullet points!
    4. Do not let people ramble
    I love the I’m in the middle of something to go out what’s going on!

    5. Do not check e-mail constantly—“batch� and check at set times only
    as number 2 states I have to check e-mail for packages coming in I forgot to add if I don’t response the AE will come up to me asking me if I got the e-mail and if I could check it to print there document! I so wish I could only check e-mail 1 time an hour!
    6. Do not over-communicate with low-profit, high-maintenance customers
    they just talked about this! You got to be greedy here! Great call!
    7. Do not work more to fix overwhelm—prioritize
    lol maybe that’s why everything is urgent! Lol the joy of radio! I have a hard time prioritizing I even have my boss help me it’s all important to me.. it’s the little thigns that get looked over and that causes issues in the long run! !
    8. Do not carry a cellphone or Crackberry 24/7, seven days a week
    lol maybe I should carry one or at least answer it once in a while! Lol this one is easy!

    9. Do not expect work to fill a void that non-work relationships and activities should
    great one I love my job so this is hard! I have passion for it but I love my partner more!
    What other no-no’s would you add to the list?
    10. over think the simple things! It can be hard when something comes up and gets you thinking but a lot of times people over think what ever and it turns into a not so good outcome!

    Reply

  • Nikolaj — August 17th, 2007, 8:05 am

    10) Reading all kind of crappy news that don’t bring any value to your personal and professional life (papers, web, etc). Mostly it’s a crap and you just add clutter in your reality.
    11) Reading blogs.

    I suggest to do something similar as with emails. First combine blogs you read in groups. Allocate two-three time sets during the week when you can read them. Here the time duration is important, I can recommend 15-20 minutes, two-three times a week, afternoon, after lunch break. Be strict with it (Parkinson law again). Make a clear decision based on the name and then first three sentences whether you need it or not. Try to think about it as a potential time-waster. The author should not only write his thoughts to the world, but understand that this will take your time and attention, and if the author doesn’t put much attention to a clear title and first three sentences, it definitely is not done in the text itself. Don’t read everything even of your favorite authors, usually (Pareto’s law 8) there are only few highlights in your RSS reader over the week, and it’s never urgent.

    Reply

  • miltownkid — August 17th, 2007, 8:08 am

    That dog is SO snappin’!

    Reply

  • Derrick — August 17th, 2007, 9:10 am

    Hm. Nice tips. One thing, though I do carry my cellphone 24/7. I agree with your rationale, and I’ve seen it a lot, but personally, it’s just a commitment I try to make to my friends? To be there for them as much as possible. For my close friends of course. Just wanted to share my thoughts, yeah. Maybe an alternative viewpoint.

    Reply

  • The Not To-Do List — August 17th, 2007, 9:22 am

    [...] Tim Ferriss (author of the 4 Hour Workweek) recently posted a great list of “stressful and common habits that entrepreneurs and office workers should strive to el… [...]

  • KC — August 17th, 2007, 9:27 am

    A non-negotiable for me is to have a completely empty inbox on Friday afternoon before leaving the office. I use GTD (getting things done) outlook addon to help me organize my Outlook and at the very least I snooze an email until Monday morning. With a clear inbox you can go into the weekend with a clear head.

    Challenge a few co-workers to see who can do this as many weeks in a row. The accountability guilt works well for me.

    Kim Curtis

    Reply

  • Andrew — August 17th, 2007, 9:40 am

    Thanks for the great info! I signed up for youmail.com a while ago and really love what it has to offer but in my opinion the software is incomplete. I would be very interested in checking out grandcentral as well. Anyone got any invites please send to andrewlhoward(a)gmail.com I think it would be a perfect tool since I travel out of the country constantly (BTW, for fun not for business) The 4HWW is a wonderful thing!

    Reply

  • Cindy — August 17th, 2007, 9:41 am

    Hey JBB!

    Thanks so much for the invites. I used #9 on the list

    http://www.grandcentral.com/home/invite/DKYpCEqXswSoJkL9NCs4H4B7O

    Reply

  • Carl Zetterlund — August 17th, 2007, 9:49 am

    10. Do not go to websites like digg.com, boingboing, and other related sites.

    You will be in for a mental scramble!

    Reply

  • This will surely free more of your valuable time at blog.bradgrier.net — August 17th, 2007, 10:28 am

    [...] Tim Ferriss (4 Hour Work Week) lists 9 items in his ‘Not To Do List’ that make sense and will free up your time. I already do number 1, and try to do number 4: 1. Do not answer calls from unrecognized phone numbersFeel free to surprise others, but don’t be surprised. It just results in unwanted interruption and poor negotiating position. Let it go to voicemail, and consider using a service like GrandCentral (you can listen to people leaving voicemail) or Simulscribe (receive voicemails as e-mail). [...]

  • Ryan Mickle — August 17th, 2007, 10:49 am

    Another service worth trying is callwave.com (I don’t work for them, and look forward to also trying GrandCentral). The service allows you to receive voicemails as text messages and email, revealing the Caller ID info, and transcribing, as best as it can, what the caller said. It also allows you to play the voicemail from your email/web browser… which is nice if you are cranking with headphones on and just want to quickly hear what the hell the person is talking about, reply with a text message, and avoid the conversational masturbation. :)

    Reply

  • Deyl — August 17th, 2007, 11:05 am

    Ken Blanchard always says “I’ve never talked to anyone on their deathbed that says ‘I just with I would have spent more time in the office’.”

    Great post :)

    Reply

  • Establishing a Not-To-Do-List at Thoughts From the Train Station — August 17th, 2007, 11:12 am

    [...] out Timothy’s recent blog related to a wonderful concept – “The Not-To-Do List: 9 Habits to Stop Now”.  This [...]

  • Mike Sims — August 17th, 2007, 11:14 am

    I picked up on GrandCentral before they were acquired and have been using it all summer. When Google acquired them, they made it invite only for now and also removed the MP3 ringer feature, probably because of copyright issues.

    I don’t have a landline, so it doesn’t make me more accessible per se. What it does do for me is give me options for screening calls, automatically forwarding certain people to voice mail, playing a ‘not in service’ ring to people I don’t want contacting me again, listen to a message while it is being recorded, and accessing my voicemail from the web (useful because my current work is in a dead spot)

    I’ll give out two invitations. Contact me @ mike [at] moontouched (dot) com.

    Reply

  • Jason DeFillippo — August 17th, 2007, 11:20 am

    If you’re trying to change for the better one of the things you have to do is find new friends or mentors who lift you up and not keep you down. At the top of my Not to Do list is associate with the people who perpetuate and enable bad habits of any kind whether it be bemoaning their shitty jobs or people who just like to get by and not change their situations. Even spending time alone and working on your dreams is preferable in my opinion. For a dose of inspiration I recommend watching American Beauty :-)

    Reply

  • Leonard Klaatu — August 17th, 2007, 11:22 am

    My whole life is a “not to do” list.

    Reply

  • Mike — August 17th, 2007, 11:22 am

    I used invite #5… thanks so much!

    Reply

  • Jonathan Franzone — August 17th, 2007, 12:19 pm

    I would add to the distractions of cell phones, crackberries and email the most annoying of all… instant messengers. I’m a technical guy and IM is a big part of how I communicate with people. That said, when I am “in the zone” and trying to get something done IM can be a huge distraction. Simply logout of your IM client and get your work done. Then log back in.

    Thanks for the great list! I hope to put some of these into action.

    Reply

  • Lorna Tedder — August 17th, 2007, 12:21 pm

    Hi, Tim– I just did a “To Don’t” list 6 weeks ago for the first time and it’s been amazing for my home and work life because if it’s on my to-don’t list, well, I don’t “do” those things. I had several similarities to your not to do list, but I’ll add one from mine that’s saved me the most, enough so that I’ve cut out my overtime in the past month.

    ***Don’t volunteer for routine assignments.*** In my daily work, I’m always known as the one who’s responsible, dependable, reliable. If everything falls apart, the boss comes to me to bail things out, usually at the last minute. I found that if I volunteer for routine (boring) assignments, I end up stuck with twice the work and much of it on my own time–what I volunteered for PLUS what someone else volunteered for but didn’t do and it became an emergency.

    Reply

  • How Can I Be More Productive? The Not-To-Do List | franzone.com — August 17th, 2007, 12:41 pm

    [...] of the The 4-Hour Work Week, has published a great list of 9 Not-To-Do’s in an article titled The Not-To-Do List: 9 Habits to Stop Now. I thought this was a really great read for anyone trying to increase the productivity in their [...]

  • kai chang — August 17th, 2007, 12:50 pm

    Most important discipline I needed to learn:

    Do not refresh RSS feeds. Read through it once – if it didn’t hit your feed list, you will catch it next time you read it. Reloading that page is like the rat hitting the lever for a food pellet … sporadic reward for compulsive activity that generates little tangible benefits.

    And like a true hypocrite, I found this post after hitting ‘reload’ on my own RSS reader on the second refresh. Must break this habit. :)

    Reply

  • Renita — August 17th, 2007, 1:04 pm

    Here’s one: Do not do something “for as long as it takes” — decide beforehand how much time you’re going to spend (e.g. 3 minutes for an email, 20 minutes for a blog post, 30 minutes to practice the first mov’t of a Beethoven Sonata). Nothing gets you focused like a deadline.

    Reply

  • Mike Sims — August 17th, 2007, 6:26 pm

    Both invites were taken! :)

    Reply

  • Chris Bloczynski dot Com » Blog Archive » Weekly Roundup — August 17th, 2007, 7:21 pm

    [...] From the blog of author Tim Ferriss – The Not-To-Do List: 9 Habits to Stop Now [...]

  • chrissie m — August 17th, 2007, 8:30 pm

    one more: don’t do anything yourself that someone else gets paid to do (if u can afford it) i.e. grass cutting, car washing, house cleaning etc. Your time is worth $X (per hour) and if you pay someone

    Reply

  • Lena West — August 17th, 2007, 10:13 pm

    I would add to this list:

    Put people who don’t respect your time on a VERY VERY short leash. I recently had an (ex) close friend to pull a ‘no call, no show’ for a celebratory weekend she was supposed to spend at my place. She never called, and emailed me on Tuesday to thank me for being patient with her transition back to the US (she had been living overseas for the past 9 months). (!) After careful consideration, I’m still her friend, she just doesn’t have access to me in the way she once did. Period. I don’t play that.

    As Dan Kennedy says, “People who are perpetually late don’t respect themselves – or you and your time.”

    And, as Maya Angelou says, “People will show you who they are – believe them the first time.”

    Uh-huh.

    Reply

  • Perfect Life Project — August 17th, 2007, 10:54 pm

    Tim,

    This is GOLD. Cuts back to the core message of your book which I believe is the most valuable advice you provide.

    I have been implementing these strategies with great success. I have 80/20′d my business, adopted Parkinson’s Law as a mantra, delegated like crazy and eliminated interruption and info overload wherever possible.

    The result? My business has never been better and I have never been as relaxed and happy. I have gone from stressed out workaholic to (relatively) blissed out business owner with a whole lot of holidays booked in and time to burn on more important things.

    I have been documenting the progress on perfectlifeproject.typepad.com

    Thanks for reinforcing the valuable messages.

    Reply

  • Jeff Rivera — August 18th, 2007, 12:07 am

    Hi Tim, read your book in 2 days and loved it. You mentioned there’s somewhere on your website where you can find out how to learn a language in 3 months, I’ve searched and can’t find it. Can you help?

    Jeff Rivera
    (Author of FOREVER MY LADY – Warner Books/Grand Central)

    ###

    Hi Jeff!

    That article should be under “articles” in the reader-only section of the http://www.fourhourworkweek.com site. Hope that helps! I’ll be putting up a language-learning post soon as well…

    Tim

    Reply

  • Gene — August 18th, 2007, 12:50 am

    I’ve been letting most of my phone calls go to voice mail for years. I only answer if it is a call I want to take. It works very well for me and I recommend this strategy to anyone who wishes to simplify their life and make more free time.

    Gene

    Reply

  • Deutsch.Blog » 9 habits to stop now — August 18th, 2007, 12:55 am

    [...] Vía Four Hour Work Week [...]

  • Brooke — August 18th, 2007, 1:02 am

    “3. Do not agree to meetings or calls with no clear agenda or end time…”

    What if the agenda is defined but it’s too stupid for words? (For an illustration of what I mean, see this comic.

    That was a rhetorical question by the way.

    Reply

  • Xavier — August 18th, 2007, 3:01 am

    Hi Tim:
    First of all, I want to thank you for inspiring us all with being an example of someone who challenges assumptions and turns them on their heads in areas of productivity – heck.. in truly living life.

    I hope you get to read and respond to this post; I have a question I was hoping you would be able to answer:

    Considering the topic of “not to-do list” …

    1. where does reading blogs or reviewing informative topics on the internet come in? I have found myself at times, just reading the comments on your blog as well as the many entries (and referred links) you have on your site… and they’re great reading… even some useful/interesting info in the comments from the community..

    2. do you ever get sucked into reading all your fans’ comments and emails?

    3. there are some things you can delegate to v.a.’s… but what about responding to your fans?

    thanks for reading (if you really are reading this :) ).

    Professor X

    ###

    Hi Prof. X!

    Good questions:

    1. I read a few blogs for fun (see my blogroll), but I generally don’t try to stay “up-to-date” on anything. I like to catch up when I have to as opposed to keeping up because I feel obligated.

    2. I enjoy reading the comments, and it usually doesn’t take too much time. If I can’t do it, I’ll have a VA handle it. The great part about this growing community is that, if I’m not available, readers can often help each other.

    3. Great question. “Responding to fans” is actually a broad category, so I break it down to more specifics, such as “web inquiry”, “basic question answered in book”, “personal coaching” (which I don’t do at this point), “business partnership request”, etc. I’ll have VAs answer anything that doesn’t require me to answer. For me to do otherwise would be a bit hypocritical! I still answer a lot of reader e-mail, but with the number of books in the world, I can’t always answer long how-to questions. Fortunately, the blog and forums are an even better resource. 20 single mothers who have implemented 4HWW, for example, will be able to help a single mother more than I ever could.

    Keep on rocking ;)

    Tim

    Reply

  • jasonswadley.com — August 18th, 2007, 9:35 am

    Weekend Reading…

    10 Practical Uses For Psychological Research in Everyday Life. Pretty cool lifehacks. A Reader’s Manifesto The Not-To-Do List: 9 Habits to Stop Now…

  • Roberto — August 18th, 2007, 11:03 am

    Great post!

    On number 1, I’d go even further by saying that not all phone calls should be answered immediately. Let them go to voice mail unless it’s the caller is important for what you are doing right then. Same with cellphones, use different ring-tones to know quickly whether you should answer or not. And your friends will understand if you need some time for yourself, unless they are greedy bastards :)

    Reply

  • Melissa — August 18th, 2007, 6:36 pm

    Will you marry me?

    Reply

  • Kolz Blog » Blog Archive » Productivity: 9 Habits To Quit Now — August 18th, 2007, 9:19 pm

    [...] 24/7 just because technology allows me to? What have you been removing from your lists lately? The Not-To-Do List: 9 Habits to Stop Now – [TimFerriss] Bookmark or Share this with a [...]

  • Scott McArthur — August 19th, 2007, 9:12 am

    Good idea!

    Here’s a few from me,

    1. Don’t allow yourself to be greenwashed
    2. Stop typing on your laptop when someone comes up to talk to you
    3. Don’t wait for your employer to train you – we are ALL self employed!
    4. Don’t think of a pink elephant!
    5. Don’t publish lists that start with “don’t”

    Did you think of a pink elephant?

    Cheers from the UK

    Scott

    Reply

  • Rhonda Tipton’s WebLog Weekly Link Post 3 « — August 19th, 2007, 3:46 pm

    [...] This is different and I like it. There are always lists that say what to do to be more productive, but Tim Ferriss has gone a step further to give you a Not-To-Do list. [...]

  • Phil - Tales from the Geekside » GTD | The Not-To-Do List — August 19th, 2007, 4:48 pm

    [...] hat mit The 4-Hour Workweek ein sehr gutes Buch zum Thema Produktivität geschrieben. Auf dem Blog zum Buch beschreibt Mr. Ferriss neun Angewohnheiten, die man vermeiden [...]

  • Monica Ricci — August 19th, 2007, 7:33 pm

    Love your stuff, Tim. The more I read here at the blog and in the book, the more I realize that the overarching common thread between the 4HWW and what I’ve been teaching is that if you want to change your life, you have to be willing to strap a set on, and do things that feel uncomfortable or seem odd to other people. If you do what the masses do, you’ll have a life like they have. It takes balls to do something a little different, make a different choice and therefore, get a different result for your life.
    ~Monica

    Reply

  • Refuse To Crackberry — August 19th, 2007, 8:28 pm

    [...] I totally agree with #8 on Tim’s list of 9 Habits To Stop Now. [...]

  • Vnormth — August 19th, 2007, 10:07 pm

    Okay, I give up: somebody tell me where the number $2,600 came from on page 57 of the book.

    Thanks (and if I’m really stupidly overlooking something, be kind anyway),

    Vnormth

    ##

    Hi Vnormth,

    No worries at all. That’s my personal fixed monthly expenses plus the buffer. That number will be different for each person.

    Cheers,

    Tim

    Reply

  • Steve Miller’s Web Sites of Interest » links for 2007-08-20 — August 19th, 2007, 11:23 pm

    [...] » The Not-To-Do List: 9 Habits to Stop Now (tags: productivity meetings) steve on August 19th, 2007 | Filed under | [...]

  • La lista de ‘not-to-do’ — El Canasto — August 20th, 2007, 1:55 am

    [...] todo en The Not-To-Do List: 9 Habits to Stop Now [...]

  • Why everything you thought you knew about Parkinson’s Law is wrong - Jarkko Laine - Insanely interested — August 20th, 2007, 4:02 am

    [...] his post The Not-To-Do List: 9 Habits to Stop Now, Tim Ferris suggests: “Review Parkinson’s Law — and force yourself to cram within [...]

  • Weekend Wrapup 08/20/07 | So You Want To Teach? — August 20th, 2007, 5:50 am

    [...] went into overdrive this summer as I read The 4-Hour Workweek. Timothy Ferriss has recently posted The Not-To-Do List, 9 things to make you more [...]

  • Rebecca — August 20th, 2007, 1:38 pm

    Tim – thanks for the reminder! Overcoming my OCED (obsessive compulsive e-mail disorder) has been hard, but I’m doing it, and getting priority work done each day before 11:30 a.m. because I’m not constantly checking e-mail. The result is less stress and more focus. Again, thanks!!

    Reply

  • top florist in melbourne fl — August 20th, 2007, 3:04 pm

    hey you for one…

    10. Stop joining social networks. Every blog these days is doubling as a “social network”, which requires you to, you guessed it, be social. Being a part of 20-40 different “networks” really wastes your time in many ways.

    Reply

  • Zaplecze » Blog Archive » Powstrzymaj siÄ™ — August 21st, 2007, 12:42 am

    [...] Na podstawie The Not-To-Do List: 9 Habits to Stop Now. [...]

  • LO 2.0 » The Not-To-Do List — August 21st, 2007, 1:03 am

    [...] “It’s hip to focus on getting things done…” [...]

  • Archwium Blogów » Blog Archive » Powstrzymaj siÄ™ — August 21st, 2007, 3:02 am

    [...] podstawie The Not-To-Do List: 9 Habits to Stop Now. 21 Aug 07 | [...]

  • Productivity: 9 Habits To Quit Now — August 21st, 2007, 7:39 am

    [...] The Not-To-Do List: 9 Habits to Stop Now – [TimFerriss] [...]

  • Cynthia LaLuna — August 21st, 2007, 4:46 pm

    Hi Tim –

    Saw this on CNN today re technology addiction and thought it was germane:

    http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/ptech/07/01/la.tech.addictions/index.html

    Reply

  • Brian W — August 21st, 2007, 4:54 pm

    Regarding GrandCentral, a much better option is Kall8. It has all the same features but a lot more, and is not a beta but a thriving business with tons of satisfied customers.

    Reply

  • The not to do list « Steve Fischer’s Work Blog — August 21st, 2007, 8:56 pm

    [...] not to do list Here’s a very worthwhile link. And a new featured [...]

  • links for 2007-08-22 : Bob Plankers, The Lone Sysadmin — August 22nd, 2007, 1:17 am

    [...] » The Not-To-Do List: 9 Habits to Stop Now [...]

  • Bonnie — August 22nd, 2007, 11:59 am

    Great tips. I love your book’s section on how to achieve MORE by doing LESS. (I love every other section, too, of course.)

    But since you started your post with “… and office workers…” I thought I’d mention the obvious: often the BOSS will not ALLOW their employees to take such steps.

    Boss: “Hey, you can’t ignore your emails or phone calls! That’s bad customer service! Respond right away!”
    Employee: “But the constant interruptions are making me LESS productive! By batching my emails and responding to them at specific times, I’m able to work more effectively and provide even BETTER service to customers!”
    Boss: “That’s not how we do things here. We want employees to be open to change, but only to changes WE dictate. Now quit thinking for yourself and answer your emails!”

    Having read your book, I know what you’re advice would be to employees in such a situation.

    I guess my point is that office workers and other employees reading your tips should not assume that implementing all of them will be easy just because, you know, they’re FANTASTIC. ;-)

    ###

    Hi B!

    This is most true. It’s a matter of trial-and-error and taking small steps that can be leveraged into big steps once you do the proof of concept. Once per day might make the boss twitch, but once per hour might not. Just get moving in the right direction…

    Thanks for contributing!

    Tim

    Reply

  • Danielle — August 22nd, 2007, 1:16 pm

    What a great post! Checking email at night definitely needs to stop AND so does overservicing low-profit, demanding clients. Thanks for a great alternative view at how we work!

    Best,
    Danielle

    Reply

  • myg — August 23rd, 2007, 1:39 am

    Don’t work for a**holes. Life is too short.

    Reply

  • The Not-To-Do List: 9 Habits to Stop Now — August 23rd, 2007, 1:28 pm

    [...] Here are nine stressful and common habits that entrepreneurs and office workers should strive to eliminate. The bullets are followed by more detailed descriptions. Focus on one or two at a time, just as you would with high-priority to-do items.The 4-Hour Work Week August 16, 2007 [...]

  • Mike OD — August 24th, 2007, 1:52 pm

    Absolutely fantastic list. As I need the daily reminders! (Even though I have read the book 3x…). On that note, getting off the computer right now! Keep up the great work Tim!!

    Reply

  • Christoph — August 24th, 2007, 2:02 pm

    It all comes back to have your priorities right and act according to those. Thanks, Tim

    Reply

  • Charlie — August 24th, 2007, 8:47 pm

    I agree. At some point, it feels a lot better to actually make those not-to-do list because I remember them better than my to-do list.

    Reply

  • David B. Bohl at SlowDownFAST.com — August 25th, 2007, 6:55 am

    Tim,

    Great post. Seems like they all fall under the category of “Don’t try to be everything to everyone.”

    David

    Reply

  • Personal Development Radar - 25/08/2007 | Personal Development Blog — August 25th, 2007, 12:52 pm

    [...] Ferris has posted a great Not-To-Do List: 9 Habits to Stop Now. An excellent article, [...]

  • Kolz Blog » Blog Archive » 30 Ways to Transform Your Career — August 25th, 2007, 4:03 pm

    [...] Don’t let coworkers ramble. Don’t put up with “how’s it going?” when someone calls you. Force the other person to stick to the point by consistently asking them “what’s up?” Read More. [...]

  • Early Riser — August 26th, 2007, 12:04 am

    Your article confirms one great rules I’ve read somewhere and following it in my life:

    Before you start doing something, you need to quit doing something else.

    More things we stop doing, more time we get for important things.

    Reply

  • Jeff Rivera — August 26th, 2007, 6:53 am

    Hi Tim, well I’ve hired my first outsourcing firm for virtual assistance. I’ll let you know how it goes, so far so good. I can use the help so they are affordable. I’m working on checking my email once a week although I’m a daily email checking addict. (trying to break from that).

    Excellent book, I’ve recommended it to quite a few people.

    Jeff Rivera
    (Author of FOREVER MY LADY – Warner Books)
    http://www.ForeverMyLady.com

    Reply

  • Week In Review And On The Web - 8/19/07-8/25/07 | Lifestyle13 — August 26th, 2007, 8:11 am

    [...] If your life is getting hectic, The 4-Hour Workweek author Tim Ferris says trash that to-do list and use The Not-To-Do List: 9 Habits to Stop Now. [...]

  • What shouldn’t you be doing? | Aspiring Business — August 26th, 2007, 4:21 pm

    [...] Ferris – the author of the 4 Hour Workweek had this as a topic recently on his blog.  The not to do list – 9 habits to stop now.  (I haven’t read the book yet, but I have it in hand and it’s next on my [...]

  • landmark forum review — August 26th, 2007, 11:17 pm

    I’m struggling with the ‘don’t email first thing in the morning’ thing. I work in SF, for a company based on the east coast. By the time I wake up and start working, they’re well into their days and regardless of how much I remind them that there is a time difference (they seem to forget this regularly), they continue to treat me as if I’m a sleep-in slacker if I don’t jump on their requests at 8 am. Thoughts?

    Reply

  • Howie — August 27th, 2007, 8:25 pm

    True. Thinking about what we need to do limits us from doing other task. But if we focus on what we shouldn’t do, we can do more tasks.

    Reply

  • Gerardo — August 28th, 2007, 10:13 pm

    Hola Tim;

    Muy interesante tu libro. Tiene consejos muy buenos para mejorar tu actitud hacia el trabajo y hacia la vida en general.
    Lo estoy leyendo por segunda ves. Voy a tratar de implementar ulgunas cosas en mi vida personal.
    Quiero vender algun producto por el internet e irme a “retirar” a mi patria Costa Rica y manejarlo desde alli.
    Tengo que empesar por aprender un poco mas hacerca del internet.

    I am 54 years old and I am done with the rat race.
    I will be posting my progress.
    I hope to meet you some day to hear about your traveling experiencies.

    Un saludo desde San Francisco (Daly City), California

    Gerardo

    Reply

  • Laynie — August 30th, 2007, 2:39 am

    This is the way I’ve always worked, but I wasn’t confident enough to encourage my teammates to do the same. I really needed a push to get around to it, because their lag is mine. Thanks for writing this article and showing me how silly I was being.

    Reply

  • Adrian — August 30th, 2007, 8:27 pm

    Something I’m guilty of:
    Working on personal businesses in expense of enough sleep.

    *****

    That’s one of my biggest. I could do late nights in my 20′s, but now in my 30′s I need 8 hours or my following day is bad, then worse with each successive late night.

    Reply

  • Kerul — September 6th, 2007, 3:28 pm

    DO NOT open any email or snail mail without first trashing (ruthlessly) everything you can. By getting rid of the chaff before you open the wheat you reduce the time you spend on email. Also, DO NOT allow email responses to go on forever. Set a kitchen timer for 1-2 minutes – train yourself to be concise.

    Reply

  • lo que NO tiene que hacer | Blogs Gratis — September 19th, 2007, 8:51 am

    [...] todo en The Not-To-Do List: 9 Habits to Stop Now [...]

  • Get Smarter — September 20th, 2007, 1:44 am

    I’ve been liberated! Something so simple as telling people that you’ll only check emails twice a day, has lifted a great load from my shoulders. Just the psychological feeling of knowing that you’ll get to it when you’re ready is powerful.

    Reply

  • Donna Cutting — October 4th, 2007, 10:44 am

    This post reminds me of Joe Calloway’s “Let It Go Speech” at the National Speaker’s Association Convention a few years ago. I was so inspired, I let go of an entire business…and doubled my revenue as a result.

    Love your book Tim and am committing to putting some of your tips into action! First step – Batching Email.

    Reply

  • Weekly Cheat Sheet: Vacation Edition! | The Executive Assistant's Tool Box — October 5th, 2007, 8:51 am

    [...] This Not-To-Do List concept offers a few valuable communication tools including, “Don’t let people ramble” and [...]

  • Спри и помиÑ?ли! — October 12th, 2007, 10:52 am

    9 вредни навика, които Ñ‚Ñ€Ñ?бва да Ñ?прем веднага…

    Тим ФериÑ?, авторът на култовата книга 4-чаÑ?ова работна Ñ?едмица, предÑ?тавÑ? 9 вредни навика, които повечето от наÑ? имат, и които изÑ?ждат огро…..

  • Ð?ова работа » Blog Archive » 9 вредни навика, които Ñ‚Ñ€Ñ?бва да Ñ?прем веднага — October 12th, 2007, 10:58 am

    [...] книга 4-чаÑ?ова работна Ñ?едмица. Той предÑ?тавÑ? 9 вредни навика, които повечето от наÑ? притежават, и които изÑ?ждат [...]

  • The Not-To-Do List « space to imajin — December 29th, 2007, 7:57 pm

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  • Don’t do list « Steve Fischer’s Work Blog — January 25th, 2008, 12:28 pm

    [...] do list Here’s an interesting post from an interesting blog. Those who know me know that I completely subscribe to the #1 “do [...]

  • jd — January 25th, 2008, 2:16 pm

    I think there’s a key distinction on point #3. You need to figure out up front if the meeting is for *rapport* or for *results.*

    If it’s for rapport, put your git’er done mindset on the backburner, and put your *build a coalition* mindset on.

    If it’s for results, then yes — agenda in advance and time-budgets and outcomes (not activities.) If you don’t agree to the outcome/purpose, or you’re not the right person or the right people aren’t at the table, push back until your’e set for success.

    Reply

  • Mirjam — January 26th, 2008, 4:59 am

    Hi :)
    great post, probably because I recognize a few points on there which I desperately need changing …. especially number 2&5 … being a bit of an email addict… Thanks for reminding me of the things I need to change!

    Reply

  • Charles — January 29th, 2008, 2:17 pm

    Great post! I have begun to “unplug” and found it to be really helpful. Especially the cellphone suggestion #8. This works wonders. Is there any reason to be tethered to the world 24/7? Nope. Thanx to you for the suggestions. Spot on as usual.

    Reply

  • Adam — February 14th, 2008, 2:28 am

    Great post. I really appreciate all your insights.

    Reply

  • Steve — February 14th, 2008, 12:47 pm

    Tim:
    You’re definitely nuts. In a good way.
    Some things I think you’re off base but on the biggest item , you’re very good. You get people thinking.

    Regarding Grand Central: I have it now. The problem is with the number of rings before voice mail kicks in (presuming I am not available). I had clients complain that they had waited toooo long (8 and more rings)before being able to leave a message. I checked it out. Way too long. Still holding my number to see if they come up with a way to control the number of rings.

    Good stuff:
    Jott. Combined with Google calendar is great.
    Pinger: Combined with Simulscribe. Very good.

    later….

    Reply

  • New Marketing Rules? New Marketing Tools? — February 14th, 2008, 11:34 pm

    [...] 91. The Not-To-D0 List: 9 Habits to Stop Now [...]

  • 7 Tips for Fighting Information Overload (Plus: Competition Winners) | The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss — February 17th, 2008, 1:13 am

    [...] Art of Letting Bad Things Happen (and Weapons of Mass Distraction) The Not-To-Do List: 9 Habits to Stop Now How Scoble Reads 622 RSS Feeds Each Morning How to Do The Impossible: Create a Paperless Life, [...]

  • Venkat Koduru — February 21st, 2008, 6:53 pm

    I actually disagree; I think To Do lists are very helpful in improving productivity. I think the problem is that most online To Do lists are way too complicated, and that’s why they don’t help much. I decided, a while ago, to create a much simpler To Do List organizer, and I finally released it!!! It’s called ZoToDo, and it’s a simple day based organizer. (Link in URL field)

    And by the way, I’m not spamming… promise. I manually found your blog, and posted this message. I did create the site though.

    Reply

  • The Best (and Worst?) Autoresponders of 2007 | The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss — February 22nd, 2008, 3:01 pm

    [...] and Popular Posts: The Not-To-Do List: 9 Habits to Stop Now The Art of Letting Bad Things Happen (and Weapons of Mass Distraction) Chapter 6 – The [...]

  • The Critical Importance of Prioritizing to Live a More Balanced Life — March 11th, 2008, 9:30 am

    [...] If you feel like your life is slipping out of control, or are feeling guilty because you cannot seem to find a comfortable life balance, try prioritizing as a tool to bring you to happiness and fulfillment. [...]

  • My score was 9 for 9. What’s Yours? » Copywriting Blog Focused On Internet Advertising — March 13th, 2008, 11:03 pm

    [...] for signing up. Visit this link and you’ll see what I mean. Thanks for visiting!I just checked out Tim Ferris’ “Not To Do” list. It was pretty cool to see that I’ve stopped doing all 9 items listed. Although, I did [...]

  • Tom Brownsword — March 14th, 2008, 6:28 pm

    Hello Tim,

    Surprisingly, I’m already doing several of these things, partly due to my not-quite-as-young-as-others age, perhaps?

    I own a cell phone but seldom turn it on. More often than not, when I do go to turn it on, the battery has died.

    People have learned not to call me!

    Email? Get a dialup connection where you pay by the minute. Kind of gives a whole new meaning to “batch processing”!

    And I’ll cut this short since I don’t want to ramble…!

    –Tom

    Reply

  • dondmorrison.com › Do You Have a “Not-to-Do” List? — March 15th, 2008, 11:14 am

    [...]  Here is a list that everyone should implement ASAP! [...]

  • tiffany — March 20th, 2008, 4:05 pm

    When I read your book and website, I feel so NORMAL… my friends and family always say: Tiffany, you’re in sales, how come you NEVER ANSWER your phone! Now when they say that, I’ll just quote a section from your book or website…

    Reply

  • tiffany — March 20th, 2008, 4:06 pm

    thanks for your contribution to the world.. I’m studying to apply the principles you detail in your book. I’m nervous, but I’m committed to having a balance and richly abundant life!!!

    Reply

  • Free Yourself From Office Clutter : Making Sales Making Money — April 1st, 2008, 4:29 am

    [...] Ferriss author of the 4 Hour Work Week says: “Not-to-do” lists are often more effective than to-do lists for upgrading performance The [...]

  • John Ramsey — April 1st, 2008, 9:12 pm

    Signed up fopr Simulscribe last fall– have not listened to a voice mail since. I have a record of the phone number, can file it, call from my BB, etc. Had a problem with service issue and was in touch with the CEO of Simulscribe. Everything should work this well. Thanks Tim.

    Reply

  • Creating Your Own Not-To-Do List | KirbyAndersen.com — April 5th, 2008, 2:44 pm

    [...] an ongoing practice of mine for years yet I always love hearing other’s insight. Here’s a great blog post I discovered today by Timothy Ferris. I just started reading his book yesterday and am loving it – [...]

  • Pomaika`i » Blog Archive » “Optimal Distant Relationship Maintenance” Experiment, Part 1 — April 5th, 2008, 11:51 pm

    [...] a huge proponent of Tim Ferriss’s GTP (Getting to the Point) Philosophy, I’m experimenting with a different communication model for these [...]

  • Debbi — April 17th, 2008, 6:09 am

    If you do not know how to intuitiviely prioritize, learn how to do it. Learn the difference between the important and merely urgent, for example.

    Reply

  • Philippine Website Developers — April 29th, 2008, 4:58 pm

    As a freelance web developer, this is what I need. I already heard this stuff before but I didn’t pay attention. Thanks for this post, I will not check my email once in every 5 minutes now that I have read your not-to-do list. Continue writing on these topics, more power!

    Reply

  • Chuck — April 30th, 2008, 2:07 pm

    Tim-

    Great Post! I really found this one inspiring. I personally love #8:Do not carry a cellphone or crackberry 24/7.
    I recently ran out of the house to go to work and forgot my phone. I freaked for about 2 minutes, then remembered your advice. After awhile, i honestly completely forgot about it. And i felt lighter mentally and physically. No annoying interruptions and chit chat calls, and no bulky feeling in my pocket. The only thing i missed was my alarm feature for lunch, but i was so in the zone, i got more done and did not need it.
    Keep up the good works, Tim.

    Chuck

    Reply

    • Florist Sydney — March 2nd, 2011, 7:12 am

      Great list of bad habits to stop :) I’m with you with on this one. How about “Twittering” and “FaceBooking” LoL :) a lot of people are addicted to these two as well.

      Reply

  • Matthew — May 1st, 2008, 6:50 pm

    Great post. It is highly focused on the “pre” freedom portion of the 4HWW, by which I mean before you have been able to escape the office.

    I have had the good fortune to be well on my way to a lifestyle of freedom. I recently moved to New Zealand from San Francisco and I do web consulting/programming for two companies and run my own e-commerce site. I have spent years getting my life completely automated and running as efficiently and effictively as possible. I find myself able to get done all I need to quickly and then I have the problem of what to do with the rest of my time.

    Now I am facing the problem of “filling the void” and am trying to do it without 100% leasure activities. So my list for those people that have had some success with the principles in Tim’s book and are now figuring out a good “NO” list for their lives in general I offer these tips:

    1) don’t live a lopsided life. – Make sure to have balance in your life. It’s great to be able to travel endlessly, eat anything you want, go to the spa and pub all the time and play games or watch sports 24/7, but it is ultimately unfullfilling, especially if in excess. Instead create a life of balance.

    2) Avoid PASSIVE activities and habits. – The fastest way to being dull, bored and unhappy is to constantly engage in passive habits or activities. Some examples are:
    a) Watching TV excessively
    b) playing online games excessively
    c) drinking alcohol or eating when you are bored instead of as an occasional treat
    d) driving everywhere instead of walking
    e) using drugs
    f) not excercising
    g) doing too much of one thing
    h) gambling at casinos or online
    i) following manufactured drama in the news or on TV
    j) having no activities in your life that challenge you to grow
    k) having negative or unchallenging relationships with other people

    3) Don’t abuse your body
    This is a big no-no. You need your body and mind to live a happy fulfilling life and if you have made it this far, it should be your number one priority.

    By creating a good foundation for your body by excercising, eating right, staying active, managing stress, breathing well, avoiding toxicity (people, chemicals, environments, foods), avoiding too much alcohol/coffee/sugar/etc, you can put yourself in a place to be easily inspired, healthy, full of energy and vitality. It will shine through on all aspects of your life from your work to your relationships. Just look at Tim. At the base of all that he does he is adamant about eating what is right for “him” and exercising in a way that helps his body and mind be their best. This means different things for different people, but we all know deep down inside what we need to do.

    If you have reached this point and have the time and money freedom, you owe it to yourself to avoid the big “lifestyle” NOs mentioned above and to lead a self-challenging, balanced and physically active life. Then when you enjoys the “treats” of the world they will be enjoyable and not glutonous or health undermining.

    Matthew

    Reply

  • Chicago — May 20th, 2008, 5:35 am

    A good man would prefer to be defeated than to defeat injustice by evil means.

    Reply

  • Billion Dollar Income — May 20th, 2008, 10:40 pm

    Brilliant list – Yes time crutches are such a huge waste of time. I’ll be implementing your list right away!

    Reply

  • the true essence of productivity « and then…it hit me! — May 21st, 2008, 12:02 pm

    [...] Shwatrz, Tim Ferris and Paul Graham on productivity and [...]

  • Chris McClatchey — May 26th, 2008, 4:43 pm

    Tim, I couldn’t agree more. I was one of these people that had to be “in touch” at all times. I had a blackberry and a 2nd cell phone, I had wireless internet from my phone carrier in case I couldn’t open documents on my blackberry, I had 2 email addresses and probably checked each one 10 times a day. I read your book, bought your CDs and implemented your processes and my life has changed dramatically. I am down to 1 cell phone, I got rid of my blackberry and only check email 3 times per day. I am working on trying to check even less. I thought if I wasn’t connected, I wasn’t accomplishing anything. Quite the contrary. I now accomplish 10x as much without being connected. Thanks again!!!

    Chris McClatchey
    The Housing Market, LLC

    Reply

  • Charles Koestler — July 7th, 2008, 1:10 am

    Tim,

    Being that I help Business Owner everyday, I agree with your outline. I have already read the book. I believe the key thing I would tell everyone is you have to control your business not let it control you.

    The best advice you give that has worked for myself is the emails in the morning. I am still working on the night ones. Ihave found if you don’t answer emails first thing and you schedule then your day goes much better.

    Reply

  • Violet — July 16th, 2008, 6:39 pm

    Yeah, I found that I was also an e-mail addiction, and checked e- mail everytime. But I found that was wasting time. So I won’t do that any longer.
    Just do as Tim said..Haha,,

    Reply

  • Bruce — July 18th, 2008, 5:13 pm

    Tim;
    Maybe #10 thing to stop doing is: filling your life with noise. Every once in a while, turn everything off, and I mean everything. Listen to the silence. Think! Crazy as it sounds, you’re not wasting time doing this.

    Obviously, you can’t do this all the time, but at least once a week, shut it all down. Sort of a variant on “The low information diet”.

    Reply

  • Yoyo — August 20th, 2008, 12:13 pm

    Do not do anything if someone else can, exept if may affect you with more than $50 your in/out cash balance ratio. Note. I will not be surprised if some of this comments will be in the author next book.

    Reply

  • Bobby Rio — September 4th, 2008, 9:43 pm

    There should be an email addiction center… I try desperately to only check two or three times a day… but its harder to quit than smoking!!!

    Any recommendations?

    I usually last like 2 days of being good.. then go back to my old habits of every 30 minutes or so…

    Reply

  • Sean Chua — September 17th, 2008, 7:46 pm

    Great Post Tim!

    I am currently reading your book and sure i am learning something to make myself more productive.

    My new found and confirmed NOT-TO-DO List will be:

    1) Not to answer phone each time when it rings (as thou i will die without that call)

    2) Not to rattle on and build “too much a relationship” especially when the caller is unknown to me

    3) Not to wake up in morning and read newspapers or check soccernet immediately

    4) Not to check my emails several times a day

    5) Not to procrastinate and leave the toughest tasks to the last

    6) Not to multi-tasks many thins at one time

    7) Not to chat online (MSN) with friends and clients when i am doing something online

    8) Not to watch FREE online Movies too often without control

    9) Not to Not Plan my activities or tasks to complete the following day

    PS: I am reading the outsourcing portion in your book now…and i am really thinking of outsourcing most of my not-so-critical stuff out…

    PPS: Understand you check your email every Monday..Hope you read all these comments once per week minimum also…Hope to hear something from you…

    Cheers,
    Sean

    Reply

  • What They Never Tell You in Grad School: The Greek Life Edition | Challenge and Support — September 21st, 2008, 11:43 am

    [...] publishes today, and I was struck by one of the articles. This article listed nine things from Timothy Ferriss, who wrote The 4-Hour Work Week, that should make up your “not to do” list. I got a pretty good [...]

  • Australian Anthill — October 26th, 2008, 4:21 am

    [...] week I stumbled on a blog post by Ferriss entitled: The Not-To-Do List: 9 Habits to Stop Now. In it, Ferriss argues that to-do lists are important, but not as important as not-to-do lists, [...]

  • Get productive. Start working on your ‘not-to-do’ list. | anthillblog.com — November 8th, 2008, 1:57 am

    [...] recently stumbled on a blog post by Ferriss entitled, The Not-To-Do List: 9 Habits to Stop Now. In it, Ferriss argues that to-do lists are important, but not as important as not-to-do lists, [...]

  • Robert Edwards — November 10th, 2008, 4:36 pm

    One problem with trying to restrict how often you check your email is that when you need to send an email, you always see there is new mail.

    Writing a new message is not that same as checking your incoming messages, but most always both get done. Its just too damn temping to peek in to your inbox when you see there is new message sitting there.

    I keep my e-mail client minimized all day long until it is the appropriate/scheduled times to check my mail. I write emails without using the email client, to do this I made a new icon for just composing fresh emails. And keep the Icon in my tool bar. Works slick, i write dozens o emails a day without being temped to check what messages are in my inbox.

    To make this icon, Right click on the desk top select New Shortcut. Enter in “mailto:” You can change the icon in the settings. I have dragged the icon to the toobar from the desk top.

    Reply

  • Kelly Magowan — November 11th, 2008, 5:34 pm

    I discovered you post via the Anthill Blog and really enjoyed it and the points you raise are so right. I am a crackberry addict (and am okay with this) and work too much (but enjoy it so not really work). I think point Number 3 is a great one and is something that I have recently identified and been working on to address. Having clearly defined meetings and identifying the focus up front (or if there actually is one) is a smart use of your time.

    Reply

  • To Do Or Not To Do! « Michael Joe Harvell — November 11th, 2008, 8:51 pm

    [...] I read a book a while back that got me to thinking about list and the importance of different kinds of lists.  To get some help on what you might put on you “Not To Do” list check out this blog by the guy that wrote the ”Four Hour Work Week”   http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/08/16/the-not-to-do-list-9-habits-to-stop-now/ [...]

  • Dan Root — November 20th, 2008, 4:14 pm

    One more for the list… love your site Tim.

    The NY Times just released a study that happier people don’t watch TV. I can attest to this.

    I went over 5 years (in my 20′s) living in Los Angeles…no TV. It was incredibly liberating and I would recommend that everyone take at least a month off just to see what it’s like. You FIND TIME to do all kinds of things that you “never had time for.”

    It’s tough to just “not watch.” For best results, remove it all together.

    Reply

  • Experiments with Outsourcing « singularity — November 22nd, 2008, 3:27 pm

    [...] Experiments with Outsourcing This summer, I was confronted with the challenge of starting a masters program at the Harvard School of Public Health while attempting to maintain my IT consulting business. I had only 2 options: outsource my business or cut most of my clients. I read Timothy Ferris’ book, The 4-Hour Work Week (which I highly recommend), which convinced me to give outsourcing a try. In a nutshell, it is possible to reduce your profit-generating workload to 4 hours per week through automation, outsourcing, eliminating waste, and prioritizing. Here’s a taste from a blog you should all be reading: The Not-to-do-list – 9 habits to stop now. [...]

  • chiropracticlifeblog.com » The Not To Do List - 9 Habits to Stop Right Now — November 23rd, 2008, 5:09 am

    [...] Rather than writing about 9 things we should be doing right now, Timothy Ferris took the opposite tack and wrote a fantastic post about a not to do list. [...]

  • Maria — November 24th, 2008, 12:19 pm

    Just took a time management class..and this was one of my AHAs. To add to your list STOP TWITTERING CONSTANTLY!

    Reply

  • Joshua Moore — December 2nd, 2008, 12:35 am

    As a Gen Y entrepreneur I personally find these issues so important, but so hard to follow up on. The best way to master them I find is to focus on one for a week, then once you have mastered it continue onto the next one.

    Reply

  • El listado no-to-do: 7 hábitos que deberías dejar ahora - Hábitos Vitales — December 20th, 2008, 10:17 am

    [...] basado en The not-to-do list ¿Te ha gustado este artículo? Si quieres, puedes recibir todos los artículos completos a tu [...]

  • Anthony Jones — December 25th, 2008, 10:43 am

    You have been a eye opener, Tim. I am gradually going to be using a few of your tips into my practice as, quite frankly, it is the only way to make it in today’s environment. Thanks a ton.

    Reply

  • Gerard McLean — December 31st, 2008, 5:54 pm

    #10 Never, ever, ever read the comments after a blog post, especially when there are 158 of them. At least 40% will be “Great post”, another 40% will be “Go to MY blog” and 18% will be “Blah, blah, blah not so the point.” leaving only 2% worth reading — mine and ..well.. mine…

    Cool dog. And go to MY dog’s blog [LOL -- nice try! Close :) ]

    Reply

  • Justin — January 27th, 2009, 12:38 am

    My father was the master of ignoring a ringing telephone. I remember him ignoring the phone whenever we were doing something important like having dinner. He had priority, nothing was going to interupt the family meal.

    His actions left a huge impression on me which has served me well throughout my life. I love to ignore ringing phones during a conversation. I never break eye contact or lose concentration. The other person usually goes nuts. “Aren’t you going to answer that?” I laugh to myself because people have become Pavlolv’s dog. The phone rings and people instantly reach for it.

    Reply

  • Seeking Suggestions and Case Studies for New 4HWW (Plus: Twitter Giveaway Winners) — February 6th, 2009, 11:25 am

    [...] Any Language in 1 Hour The Art of Letting Bad Things Happen (and Weapons of Mass Distraction) The Not-To-Do List: 9 Habits to Stop Now Things I’ve Learned and Loved in 2008 How to Travel the World with 10 Pounds or Less The [...]

  • Anthony — February 7th, 2009, 9:26 am

    Something I found helpful is not allowing myself to go to bed until I have sat down for at least 15 minutes and planned exactly what I ‘m going to do the next day on paper.

    Reply

  • Claudia — February 9th, 2009, 10:40 pm

    Hi, Tim!

    I hope it’s all right that I wrote a eensy-weensy article about your own article. The link to yours is actually in plain view in the article. It’s your not-to-do list. I just had to share it with people who might happen by my blogsite. The blogsite actually belongs to my company, hence the plug at the bottom. But if you care to read it, I think you’ll recognize it by the title: “I’m Not President Of The US!”

    But your not-to-dos are helping me quite a lot. A number of those bad habits are mine, mostly because I did not even realize they were bad habits.

    Again, thanks!

    Claudia Garcia

    Reply

  • Claudia — February 9th, 2009, 11:45 pm

    If I am to add to the Not-To-Do list, it will have to be “Don’t be jack of all trades.”

    I am a company writer and just because my deadlines are 2 days, a week, etc., some of my colleagues would ask me to do data-entry tasks when they’re up against a deadline. I said no today with no explanation whatsoever. I mean I wouldn’t ask any of them to write for me if I am up against my own deadlines.

    Reply

  • AP — February 16th, 2009, 4:00 am

    I’ve been using myfax.com, http://tinyurl.com/czgx4q, to create digital copies of my real estate transactions. I have to hold on to the certain docs for a period of time, but just in case I don’t get a chance to file it right away, i use myfax as my backup plan. I send myself contracts among other things so that it will create a pdf file to me to keep my clients updated.

    This presents another problem for me though. Unnecessary paper begins to collect itself on my desk. Don’t over organize as I do into neat piles. God for bid someone has to take over my lot; they might not know my system.

    Do not save for later what should be organized today.

    Reply

  • AP — February 16th, 2009, 4:05 am

    Oh and one more thing: Do not go to the office and socialize or get sucked into Facebook or other websites that can become time sucks. You should know what draws your attention away from work. Guilty.

    Reply

  • DamienM — March 24th, 2009, 7:15 pm

    #10 Never handle the same piece of paper/email more than once.

    #11 Only handle a paper document/email if you can finish the task you are about to start.

    The two rules have worked greatly to avoid clutter and increase productivity/focus/quality over the last four years.

    Reply

  • edbennet — March 31st, 2009, 7:39 pm

    remove relationships with emotional vampire

    Reply

  • RachelB — April 4th, 2009, 11:46 am

    This is such a helpful list. Time is so precious, and emailing excessively can really eat up far too much time. Great advice on how to prioritize our lives and use our time wisely. Thank you!

    Reply

  • Ben — April 11th, 2009, 12:53 pm

    Great insight Tim – brings that Ferris Bueller quote to mind: “life moves pretty fast.. if you don’t stop and look around once in while, you could miss it.” – He was a bit of life hacker.. at least when it came to beating the rules of high school. Take care -
    Ben

    Reply

  • JC — April 25th, 2009, 3:47 pm

    Hi, Tim,
    I am Chinese in China. And I am reading your book at present.
    You are powerful man.

    I think that point 9 is important and new for me.
    I have no friend exclude working friend. But you know, working friend is not friend in deed when you need.
    And I will try to make new non-working friend.

    Best regards.
    JC

    Reply

  • Andi — May 7th, 2009, 9:27 am

    Hi,

    thanks for this article – inspiring as always.
    A friend of mine and I read your book – interestingly enough he is now travelling the world (currently in Latin America, learning spanish) and I am about to start up with my own 4-hour-per-week business :-) .

    To all out there who doubt what is written above: try it and then you’ll see the difference.

    Ok, that’s it for today – sun is shining outside: I want to go for a run :-)

    Andi

    Reply

  • scott duncan — May 16th, 2009, 2:42 am

    I learn a lot from these posts, I am off to keep reading the 4HWW to try and make changes in my life for the better… I am at a stage where something has to change for the better… I love my job but it lacks effectiveness at times…

    Reply

  • GTD | The Not-To-Do List — May 16th, 2009, 12:15 pm

    [...] hat mit The 4-Hour Workweek ein sehr gutes Buch zum Thema Produktivität geschrieben. Auf dem Blog zum Buch beschreibt Mr. Ferriss neun Angewohnheiten, die man vermeiden [...]

  • One Hour PA » Managing your time by not doing things… — May 18th, 2009, 11:08 pm

    [...] of time management too, then take a look at this great post from Tim Ferriss’ blog – “The Not-To-Do-List: 9 Habits to Stop Now“.  It’s well worth the [...]

  • Anon — June 15th, 2009, 7:26 am

    I’m curious what habits you all have found to be give yourself more energy. Specifically I’m interested in things related to nutrition, exercise, and sleep patterns.

    Reply

  • Alison | Quest for Balance — June 19th, 2009, 11:17 pm

    Prioritization is key… but it’s still tough to fight the urge to overwork, when you’re part of a start-up, for example, or any time company culture encourages it. It’s unfortunate, but usually organizations that trumpet their embrace of “work/life balance” are the worst offenders when it comes to overwork.

    Reply

  • Rasmus — July 22nd, 2009, 1:41 pm

    I actual use the email checking rule, but when I have idle time where I’m waiting for a client (or similar), I keep returning to my inbox (or surfing for irellvant info). I really shold be working on my “muse” instead, but I’m having a hard time to justify this to myself because my client is paying me for my time (even waiting time).
    Any good advice or peptalk on this?!

    Reply

  • Dellr — July 24th, 2009, 11:10 am

    Just want to add that yes, Grand Central was bought by Google but it is now in open beta and this new Googlefied phone control system will rok for this group. REALLY!! Why? Because you can set different voicemail boxes based on who is calling you! So for one group you can say… I am only reachable by email, for another you can say give a link to your website (Muse) for orders, etc, etc…. And you can do other amazing things with it!

    Right now it is invite only, but that will change soon I am sure.

    Reply

  • Becky — August 10th, 2009, 12:10 pm

    Tim,

    Read the book — LOVE IT — LOVE IT — LOVE IT!!

    Landlord by trade, working on the techniques in your book, so starting here, I’ll make it short and sweet. Thanks for the info and maybe I’ll be seein’ ya!!

    This list is the first place I’ve started and so far it’s working great. Now, working on the income stream to get a bit fatter.

    Reply

  • Joanna Fisher — August 23rd, 2009, 11:14 am

    Tim,

    I have another question.

    Having read lots of your inspiring blogs, I wonder what is your opinion on the fact there is a great divide between those who try and live out the efficiency/fulfilling ways you suggest and those who don’t. How are we all supposed to effectively co-exist efficiently bearing in mind that no man is an island?

    Reply

  • Kaitlin M — August 27th, 2009, 6:01 pm

    Thanks for the post. I know I have trouble with No. 5 the checking of the email, your idea to batch check is a good one that I have tried to put in pratice.
    It doesn’t always work, me being a tiny bit obsessive complusive but it’s all good, so thanks.

    Reply

  • Natalie — August 30th, 2009, 3:50 am

    10. Become extremely good at extracting the important bites from conversations while becoming ultra efficient and well liked.

    This is done using NVC and makes getting what you want from life easier and faster.

    Reply

  • Claire — September 7th, 2009, 2:17 pm

    ‘The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.’ (~Hans Hofmann)

    Reply

  • Danny Davis — September 15th, 2009, 7:15 pm

    Tim I have been meaning to say this for 2 months now, but I have a serious man crush on you. You have inspired a freshman in college to take on the world by turning the mantra, “What’s the worst that could happen” into “What’s the best that could happen.”

    You are by far one of my greatest heroes and and rank slightly below Jesus in my book.

    Reply

  • 24 Productivity Tips From the Best Productivity Blogs — September 18th, 2009, 1:59 am

    [...] 11. Do not work more to fix overwhelm, prioritize. “If you don’t prioritize, everything seems urgent and important. If you define the single most important task for each day, almost nothing seems urgent or important. Oftentimes, it’s just a matter of letting little bad things happen (return a phone call late and apologize, pay a small late fee, lose an unreasonable customer, etc.) to get the big important things done. The answer to overwhelm is not spinning more plates — or doing more — it’s defining the few things that can really fundamentally change your business and life.” Tim Ferriss, “The Blog of Tim Ferriss” [...]

  • Oleg Mokhov — October 23rd, 2009, 9:18 am

    Hey Tim,

    Less is more. Minimize the number of activities to maximize the activities themselves.

    Analyze what activities throughout the day give you the most desired results. Then, focus on them while ruthlessly cutting the rest out (or, how you suggested, if absolutely needed to get done then batch-process them in one quick burst).

    You only have a limited amount of time and energy throughout the day. By having the least amount of activities to do, and all of those activities being important to you, you can maximize doing them for maximum results (and happiness).

    Thanks for the not-to-do list, so true how it’s just as–if not more–important to focus on not doing something to allow maximum resources to do what we need,
    Oleg

    Reply

  • Stuff | Flip This Wholesaler — November 2nd, 2009, 7:10 pm

    [...] other news, after reading this article by Tim Ferriss for the 100th time, I’ve decided that I need to do something about my addiction to my [...]

  • Matt Belcher — November 22nd, 2009, 11:59 am

    This is a really great post. Thanks Tim.

    Interesting you mention about not answering withheld numbers and also turning off phones.

    I find it interesting when people answer phones in meetings and then say “Hi sorry I am in a meeting, can I call you back?”. That is crazy!

    I bet they don’t answer the phone while sitting in on the pot! Maybe they do I don’t know. The point is why answer? Just focus on the meeting and get to the call when we are done.

    This is probably one of the biggest challenges we all face today. Too many things to take us away from what we are trying to achieve.

    Thanks for great information.
    Matt

    Reply

  • Kathy — November 23rd, 2009, 6:14 am

    Hi Tim, your book is truly inspiring. Not only has it given me a reality check but it has also pushed me to start developing a business idea i’ve been thinking about for a long long time. If my idea gets off the ground, I hope it will enable me to pursue my life-long passion – helping animals! Thanks! :)

    Reply

  • Scottie Duncan — November 25th, 2009, 3:50 am

    Hi Tim,

    The not to do list is a big challenge when working for others and they expect you to “live by your phone”… and respond strait away to email and txt’s instantly… as they see that as a value statement in their own business…

    I have found that in my own business I can deffinetly use these methods with much more ease, but in other roles in other people’s business it is a much bigger challenge.

    Great peice though…

    Reply

  • Gillian — December 9th, 2009, 8:04 am

    I believe people might benefit from discontinuing the use of “Tired.” and “busy” as responses to the question “How are you?”
    These answers used as badges of honour or symbols of a valuable life reflect an absence of joy.
    If you are always tired or busy, what is your quality of life?

    Reply

  • Jocelyn — December 30th, 2009, 10:45 pm

    It is amazing how hard it is to break the aways connected habit.

    I also think I need to embrase the letting go of trying to please those super high maintenance clients – stick w/ the 80% that bring the joy not the 20% you wish would jump off a bridge

    Reply

  • Granny Pants — January 2nd, 2010, 3:28 am

    Thanks for getting me back on track Tim. In the cold north of Finland this winter, I have found my email and internet to be my connection with those back home, but once again, I am fooling myself!

    I have forgotten my routine, which usually starts with a daily meditation, not checking email!

    Now, thanks to this post, I remember what I so often share with others; it’s all about balance.

    And we as adults can teach our children to do the same. However, we need to be cognizant of what they are observing us doing, not saying, because this is how they really learn to prioritize their behaviors and activities.

    So, I would add another preventive “Not to do” item for people with children in their lives: When it is time To Be Present for your children, Do Not distract yourself with your Crackberry or Laptop or I-Phone or Cell Phone.

    Happy New Year! Thanks for helping me dial in my most effective self so I can have an awesome 2010! Off I go, headed for the sunshine, which is what I really need to balance right now.

    Reply

  • Valerie — January 3rd, 2010, 4:58 pm

    Cutting the time killers from my day was the first advice I implemented from the book. What a powerful idea. Plus I put myself on an information diet. I did cold-turkey for a week, now I keep an eye on major news a few minutes a week, but not like the hours I was spending before. Years ago I never watched the news or read the paper, that was a habit I picked up over the past few years. Most of it doesn’t affect me at all, so it’s just wasted time.

    Kudos, Tim! and thanks.

    Reply

  • Cogiterium — January 6th, 2010, 12:05 pm

    Habits ultimately become our masters, so I want to cultivate only those that generate happiness, health and wealth.

    Great list Tim. Your theme seems to center around who or what is the locus of control. Are we going to be the masters of our own destiny or slaves to email, cell phones, and busy-bodies?

    Reply

  • scottie duncan — January 6th, 2010, 2:36 pm

    I have found that in my role as a project manager for an employer they expect me to respond to comm’s at an instant, but I truly believe that the 4HWW approach is for me in my own business ventures. Thanks Tim

    Reply

  • Clark Breyman — April 5th, 2010, 7:39 pm

    Tim,

    One good idea deserves another. Have you ever considered the “why-do” list? Life became simpler when I started keeping one.

    Cheers,
    Clark

    Reply

  • Carlos — April 6th, 2010, 11:24 am

    Thank you…I am amazd of what I found. I live in latinamerica and having studied in the US makes you feel chalange to bring productive techniques to this side of the globe. I purpose. Thank you again, even though I have to read carefully cause you ought to be since there´s a lot of literature. I am looking at your biography, that should bring me some feedback to trust your writing. Ok.

    Reply

  • scott — April 9th, 2010, 2:12 am

    I like the ‘not to do list’ and the ‘why list’, they give me great time saving in work and life…

    Scott

    Reply

  • To Do or Not To Do…Not To Do (lists). — April 29th, 2010, 6:44 am

    [...] of the work stuff is borrowed from Tim Ferriss. AKPC_IDS += "181,";Popularity: unranked [...]

  • Christoph Dollis — May 2nd, 2010, 4:27 pm

    I read this suggestion from you 2 years ago and I’m finally doing it today.

    Ugh!

    I’ve being working on it for 15 minutes and I already feel more powerful.

    Ahh!

    Yes, I should have done this earlier. Yes, I’m glad I’m doing it now.

    Reply

  • Christoph Dollis — May 2nd, 2010, 6:43 pm

    Great suggestion, Robert, about creating a shortcut to send an email without opening the client!

    I use a task launcher to start programs (“Launchy”) without touching the mouse, so I went a step further with the prompting of your idea.

    I created the shortcut as you said, named it, “Email”, placed it in a folder somewhere named “Shortcuts”, added the folder to task launcher, pressed the button to rebuild the Launchy catolog (of programs and links), and voila!

    Now when I [press together] “Alt” “Space” [then type each letter] email [then press] “Enter” my compose email window opens.

    Of course, I can use this to launch any file on my computer! So if there’s an important spreadsheet or text file on my computer where I take notes or whatever, or say even a telephone script, I can launch it just that way.

    Thank you for the tip!

    Venkat,

    I agree with you that most online list managers are too complicated to be practical with how people’s brains work. Remember The Milk, for example, is a lovely program, but I never remembered where everything is quickly and easily (it’s all probably very logical, but not necessarily where I would have placed it), so I never stuck with it.

    Your list program certainly is visually appealing although i haven’t worked with it. So I can’t say whether it’s good or bad, but, philosophically… you’re bang on.

    The one I use (and I’m just making a suggestion: I’m not an affiliate if they even have affiliates) is GQueues.

    GQueues is light, fast, and just awesome. I really like it.

    The developer is adding new functionality at breakneck speed, but it’s still simple. It actually works for me.

    The Lite version (no cost) does everything I want it to do. It even includes a Google Gadget so on my Google Calendar I can see upcoming tasks.

    If a person wants even tighter integration with Google Calendar (so tasks with deadlines show on GCal), the ability to collaborate with others, and on and on and on, there is a Pro version for only 25 bucks a year with volume discounts available.

    I almost want to buy the pro version to support the developer for being so responsive to my and others’ requests during the building of the app.

    One problem, though! The Lite version really does do everything I need at this time.

    I think it’s awesome and Google should buy out this company. Failing that, it’s still awesome and I wish the developer enormous success attracting customers.

    This combined with a hybrid of GTD and 80/20 has supported me in working how I want to.

    I think it’s better than paper, frankly, because things can be quickly moved around with shortcuts or mouse… and it’s colourful. It looks good.

    Although I DO use a Levenger Slim Wallet Writer with Walleninp pen for my daily, prioritized, to do list. (I also don’t make a penny from them: I’m a full-price paying customer.)

    I love it because it’s small. I can put it in my front or back jeans pocket easily, shorts, whatever.

    Basically it holds business cards… but has a clipboard type area so you can write notes on.

    It is absolutely PERFECT for meeting people and sharing contact details.

    I like too that the paper is big enough to write my most important tasks (and a few others) for the day, but small enough to force me to prioritize… as Tim said to do in his book.

    Sure, you could use a folded piece of paper like Tim and that’s fine. But mine is monogrammed and gets more compliments — plus it’s just as simple and can even hold a few business cards, in addition to the blank cards I use to take notes/write daily prioritized to do’s.

    Okay, seriously none of this is spam because I don’t make a dime off it. I’m just suggesting you productivity and simplicity-minded folks consider checking it out.

    Moving forward, I altered and added to Tim’s list to create my personal “Action Not” list:

    1) Do not check email until near the end of the work day

    2) Do not check email nor social networking more than once a day — “batch” and check once only

    3) Do not engage with people who are not worth my time

    4) Do not consume media outside of my 4 primary areas and fiction

    5) Do not eat unhealthful foods nor drink unhealthful beverages

    6) Do not answer calls from unrecognized phone numbers

    7) Do not agree to meetings nor calls with no clear agenda nor end time

    8) Do not let people ramble… unless wanting rapport or even more with them and this is helping in some way

    9) Do not over-communicate with low-profit, high-maintenance customers

    10) Do not work more to fix overwhelm — prioritize

    11) Do not leave a mobile nor phone on 24/7

    12) Do not expect work to fill a void that non-work relationships and activities should

    13) Do not leave instant messager(s) on

    14) Do not instant message for the sake of instant messaging — use it for building rapport with friends, family, and other loved ones; setting up events; web camming (get your mind out of the gutter, people!); calling; and texting

    15) Do not leave comments on articles nor videos nor audios unless it’s designed to move the ball down the field in a game I choose to play

    16) Do not automatically say yes — the default position is no

    17) Do not procrastinate when should be having fun — “Just do it!”

    18) Do not read sent messages unless reusing them for a template — read them *before* sending if at all

    19) Do not plan when I should do — some things take a [expletive adjective] lot longer to plan than to do

    20) Do not do when I can profitably delegate

    21) Do not generally stay “up-to-date” on anything — instead catch up when I have and/or want to as opposed to keeping up because I feel obligated

    Several of you in addition to Tim helped me create ideas for my list. Thank you one and all for participating in this discussion! And, yes, I believe this did move the ball down the field in a game I care about.

    Reply

  • Christoph Dollis — May 2nd, 2010, 6:47 pm

    Attention Blog Moderator / Tim Ferriss:

    Can you please NOT allow my previous comment to pass through moderation?

    I pressed send too soon. I corrected typos and wanted to send a different version through, but copied and pasted the wrong version.

    So can you PLEASE delete that long comment?

    THANK YOU!

    Please delete this too, obviously.

    In a moment, I will send through the correct version. Please publish that one.

    Reply

  • Christoph Dollis — May 2nd, 2010, 6:49 pm

    Great suggestion, Robert, about creating a shortcut to send an email without opening the client!

    I use a task launcher to start programs (“Launchy”) without touching the mouse, so I went a step further with the prompting of your idea.

    I created the shortcut as you said, named it, “Email”, placed it in a folder somewhere named “Shortcuts”, added the folder to task launcher, pressed the button to rebuild the Launchy catolog (of programs and links), and voila!

    Now when I [press together] “Alt” “Space” [then type each letter] email [then press] “Enter” my compose email window opens.

    Of course, I can use this to launch any file on my computer! So if there’s an important spreadsheet or text file on my computer where I take notes or whatever, or say even a telephone script, I can launch it just that way.

    Thank you for the tip!

    Venkat,

    I agree with you that most online list managers are too complicated to be practical with how people’s brains work. Remember The Milk, for example, is a lovely program, but I never remembered where everything is quickly and easily (it’s all probably very logical, but not necessarily where I would have placed it), so I never stuck with it.

    Your list program certainly is visually appealing although I haven’t worked with it. So I can’t say whether it’s good or bad, but, philosophically… you’re bang on.

    The one I use (and I’m just making a suggestion: I’m not an affiliate if they even have affiliates) is GQueues.

    GQueues is light, fast, and just awesome. I really like it.

    The developer is adding new functionality at breakneck speed, but it’s still simple. It actually works for me.

    The Lite version (no cost) does everything I want it to do. It even includes a Google Gadget so on my Google Calendar I can see upcoming tasks.

    If a person wants even tighter integration with Google Calendar (so tasks with deadlines show on GCal), the ability to collaborate with others, and on and on and on, there is a Pro version for only 25 bucks a year with volume discounts available.

    I almost want to buy the Pro version to support the developer for being so responsive to my and others’ requests during the building of the app.

    One problem, though! The Lite version really does do everything I need at this time.

    I think it’s awesome and Google should buy out this company. Failing that, it’s still awesome and I wish the developer enormous success attracting customers.

    This combined with a hybrid of GTD and 80/20 is profoundly supporting my life.

    I think GQueues is better than paper because things can be quickly moved around with shortcuts or mouse… and it’s colourful: It looks good. (However not as great as you, ladies.)

    Although I DO use paper — a Levenger Slim Wallet Writer with “Wallentini” pen — for my daily, prioritized, to do list. I also don’t make a penny from them: I’m a full-price paying customer.

    I love it because it’s small. I can put it in my front or back jeans pocket easily, shorts, whatever.

    Basically it holds business cards… but has a clipboard type area so you can write notes on.

    It is absolutely PERFECT for meeting people and sharing contact details. This could be great for trade shows, meeting potential sales mates, sales opportunities, friends, or all of the above.

    I like too that the paper is big enough to write my most important tasks (and a few others) for the day, but small enough to force me to prioritize… as Tim said to do in his book.

    Sure, you could use a folded piece of paper like Tim and that’s fine. But mine is monogrammed and gets more compliments — plus it’s just as simple and can even hold a few business cards, in addition to the blank cards I use to take notes/write daily prioritized to dos.

    Levenger is also famous for producing the Pocket Briefcase: It’s essentially the same as the one I have, but instead of 2″ x 3.5″ business cards, it holds 3″ x 5″ recipe-size cards.

    As for nomenclature for my daily list, what works for me is to draw a circle to the left of the item:

    O

    … and if it’s an appointment which MUST be done at a specific time, then I completely fill in the circle making it a solid disc, and I write the time to the right of the event description.

    However, if it’s one of my few non-time-bound 80/20 tasks I’ve decided must get done that day, I put a dot in the middle of the circle.

    Other tasks remain with just an open circle.

    During the day, I check them off when completed.

    Okay, seriously none of this is spam because I don’t make a dime off of either of these companies. I’m simply suggesting you productivity and simplicity-minded folks consider checking it out.

    Moving forward, I altered and added to Tim’s list to create my personal “Action Not” list:

    1) Do not check email until near the end of the work day

    2) Do not check email nor social networking more than once a day — “batch” and check once only

    3) Do not engage with people who are not worth my time

    4) Do not consume media outside of my 4 primary areas and fiction

    5) Do not eat unhealthful foods nor drink unhealthful beverages

    6) Do not answer calls from unrecognized phone numbers

    7) Do not agree to meetings nor calls with no clear agenda nor end time

    8) Do not let people ramble… unless wanting rapport or even more with them and this is helping in some way

    9) Do not over-communicate with low-profit, high-maintenance customers

    10) Do not work more to fix overwhelm — prioritize

    11) Do not leave a mobile nor phone on 24/7

    12) Do not expect work to fill a void that non-work relationships and activities should

    13) Do not leave instant messager(s) on

    14) Do not instant message for the sake of instant messaging — use it for building rapport with friends, family, and other loved ones; setting up events; web camming (get your mind out of the gutter, people!); calling; and texting

    15) Do not leave comments on articles nor videos nor audios unless it’s designed to move the ball down the field in a game I choose to play

    16) Do not automatically say yes — the default position is no

    17) Do not procrastinate when should be having fun — “Just do it!”

    18) Do not read sent messages unless reusing them for a template — read them *before* sending if at all

    19) Do not plan when I should do — some things take a [expletive adjective] lot longer to plan than to do

    20) Do not do when I can profitably delegate

    21) Do not generally stay “up-to-date” on anything — instead catch up when I have and/or want to as opposed to keeping up because I feel obligated

    Several of you in addition to Tim helped me create ideas for this list. Thank you one and all for participating in this discussion! And, yes, I believe this did move the ball down the field in a game I care about.

    Reply

  • Anand — May 6th, 2010, 12:05 am

    Hi Team,

    Truly it’s one of the best things i ever read about not to do.

    I appreciate your effort to write such wonderful blogs.

    Thank you,
    Anand

    Reply

  • evelyn alemanni — May 26th, 2010, 11:19 am

    How about stay off twitter and facebook. What huge timewasters.

    Reply

  • Nathan — June 8th, 2010, 8:02 pm

    I like this post. I am guilty of checking my email constantly.

    How much time do you spend checking your email only to find nothing relevant there?

    Reply

  • Lech — June 17th, 2010, 2:03 pm

    Tim,

    Great stuff! Bests from Poland!

    Reply

  • Caitlin — June 24th, 2010, 8:59 am

    I thought this post was really great – I’m usually guilty of a “To-Do” list that never gets done, but I’m full of “Not-To-Do’s” all the time! Really helpful tips.

    Reply

  • Jefferson Faudan — July 13th, 2010, 11:11 am

    It took me awhile to say “i can but i won’t do that” due to the fear of losing clients… but then i realized, am i doing this in favor to them or myself… it seems like the more i put them in priority (as should) the more they abuse you and squeeze you as to what they can get… but the yes you were right… the low paying clients are the high maintenance ones.

    Reply

  • Brian Mee — July 25th, 2010, 4:32 am

    That’s a good list – google voice is not available in the uk yet but I use a BT service that emails any voicemail left on the office number as an mp3 that can be picked up on the mobile. As I am not in the office much this is really useful. This works much better than wasting time having to dial into the voicemail box number only to find no messages.

    Reply

  • Pellet — July 28th, 2010, 1:05 am

    Your suggestions are useful and interesting.
    Pity though that often is hard at work putting them into practice.

    Reply

  • Joey — August 4th, 2010, 10:20 am

    Thanks for the list, got some good advice out of it.

    Reply

  • Chris — August 9th, 2010, 2:49 pm

    Hi Tim,

    How about ‘timeboxing’ i.e. setting aside a period of time at a particular time of the day to batch together small admin jobs that need doing but you have been putting off.

    Gets a load off your mind…

    Reply

  • Joshua Abernathy — August 18th, 2010, 10:48 pm

    Well, I think that another thing you should not do is clean your own house. Unless, of coarse, your just a cleaning fanatic and really love cleaning. I know that it really makes my day to be able to come home to a nice clean and fresh smelling house everyday that I did not have to clean. Lets face it, it just brings about a certain comfort to live in a cleanly manner. But, it can be quite a task to do all your daily activities and set aside time to clean your house, too. It just makes life so much better when you don’t have to do it yourself. And it is even better when your house stays clean and you don’t do it yourself. So I suggest also, to get somebody else to do your cleaning for you.

    Reply

  • Eleazar — August 31st, 2010, 9:53 am

    #2 and #5 are time wasters of my day-to-day living. If I will not set my priorities and stick to the plan for the day, I maybe checking emails every now and then. Thanks for sharing the advice. I learn my lesson now.

    Reply

  • Nehemiah — September 7th, 2010, 12:40 pm

    10. Do not fill time with activity for the sake of activity. Lost internet access for most of last week. I found I got a lot more thinking done in those few days than when I am being busy.

    11. Don’t waste time on people that are a waste of time. Some people just hit on your girlfriends, steal your food, ask for favors, etc. These are not people that you should let be around you. Sometimes I feel like I should run the other way if I see these sorts of people coming towards me. Most people are cool, but some just cause damage.

    Reply

  • Amanda Sanders — September 10th, 2010, 8:42 am

    Truly it’s one of the best things i ever read about not to do

    Reply

  • Muazzam — September 14th, 2010, 4:52 am

    Hi Tim,

    This was an awsome blog dude, i really liked it. There are few people in this world who can think out of the box.

    Great Article, really making me out.

    Reply

  • a_mo — September 23rd, 2010, 2:47 am

    Don’t do “reply all”….(is there a way to remove this button from the Outlook menu bar?). Use basic business common sense….reply only TO those that need to TAKE ACTION, and if someone needs to be informed (no action needed), just cc them. We all know about the horrific stories of people who mistakenly hit the reply all button….so, the added bonus is that you will avoid those nightmare experiences. An added double bonus: other’s will secretly thank you for reducing inbox clutter, and time they spend having to read/scan meaningless/unnecessary e-mails. The world will be a better place.

    Don’t watch TV….Turn off completely….or better yet, donate/leave on the curbside for trash pickup. I admit I have not done this yet, but I have done a 30-day straight complete cold turkey tv switch-off. A couple of times. This is the number 1 time-wasting activity at home, without much intellectual payback to speak of. Yes, the family will complain…but you get a lot more stuff done, and spend time together outside in the yard, or inside playing board games or just simply relaxing reading a book or two. Keep working on the family….:) If you crave the news, sports, weather, read the paper or go online for 30 minutes a day, and get your “fix”. Or turn on the radio to a news station.

    Don’t have lunch…once or twice a week….IF your health permits it. Tons of people do this, I have done it myself; great way to reduce “snack” distraction, and interruptions to productivity. If you really need to take a break, go outside for a 10 minute walk: you’ll return refreshed, and ready to take on more “work”, and would have had time to think about whatever is on your mind, without distractions. All bonuses!

    Reply

  • James — October 13th, 2010, 9:53 am

    One thing I have done for a while to save time is not to email / call customers with bad news in the middle of the day if it can be helped.

    I simply send it at the latest point in the day – 4:59pm or 5:59pm as I walk out of the door.

    This gives the customer the evening to calm down and respond – saving ranting phone calls which waste time but don’t move things forward.

    Agreed this isn’t the best approach for serious issues but for minor niggles its a great way to minimize time wasted to rambling complaint conversations which go nowhere.

    Reply

  • Adam Mayfield — October 21st, 2010, 7:45 am

    I agree 100% with the no electronics rule. I try to find a day during the week where I can go out for the day with no cell phone. Or, if i’m hiking it will be with me but turned off just for safety sake. Sometimes I’ll take a digital sabbatical and totally disappear for a few days to week.

    For example, this weekend I have 3 days off. I’ll be heading down to the Redwood National Forest for some great camping and photography. I won’t be turning on my cell phone once. I will have my laptop but only to download my photos onto and it will not be connecting to the internet.

    Everyone needs to spend more time with their friends and family with out interruptions by our phones and email boxes.

    Reply

  • Thomas Watts — November 6th, 2010, 2:18 am

    Great advice. Can I also recommend it worth reading world famous author David Allen – Getting Things Done – which is sometimes better know as GTD it covers many of the points made here in marginally more detail.

    Reply

  • Martin — November 17th, 2010, 10:16 am

    Agree. At some point, it feels a lot better to actually make those not-to-do list because I remember them better than my to-do list.

    Reply

  • dpac — December 5th, 2010, 8:16 am

    Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize. Such a great concept and YET so darn hard to implement.
    People just won’t do it!!
    It’s just too hard for people to decide what is more important to them.
    They’d rather just decide to do everything and be miserable than actually decrease their work load.
    I think we have to devise way in which we let the people know that it’s not always about the number of things that you get done in a day, it’s more about the quality of works you get done in a day.
    It’s especially hard for people locked down into companies where the infrastructure of the working environment doest not allow for the worker to have any flexibility.
    People would be twice as productive, if working environments weren’t so rigid and serious.

    Reply

  • Edwin — December 24th, 2010, 11:27 pm

    I find these 2 tips to be very true and is working towards a lesser work hours week. Thanks alot for the good tips

    2. Do not e-mail first thing in the morning or last thing at night

    6. Do not over-communicate with low-profit, high-maintenance customers

    Reply

  • Kate — January 7th, 2011, 12:33 pm

    I would add: Stop multitasking! It is a refusal to be fully present and do any of the tasks well.

    Reply

  • Lee Cole — January 30th, 2011, 11:38 am

    The email and the cell phone are huge. I’ve ditched the cell phone. I use Google Voice for my business. I’m still having major problems with email checking every five seconds.

    Reply

  • genie upside — February 5th, 2011, 10:49 am

    Tim
    What do you tell people that ask when you are on your mini-retirements?

    Reply

  • Tim — February 25th, 2011, 3:22 pm

    This is an excellent and important list that I strive to use with one exception.

    I don’t necessarily agree with #4:
    ” Do not let people ramble. Forget “how’s it going?” when someone calls you. Stick with “what’s up?” or “I’m in the middle of getting something out, but what’s going on?” A big part of GTD is GTP — Getting To the Point.”

    I agree it is important not to let people ramble. Nonetheless, I think a quick “how’s it going” – and actually listening to the answer – is an important way to build trust and camaraderie among colleagues. I don’t want to work anywhere this does not exist. And if it takes a few extra minutes to check in with folks, then I am okay with that.

    A recent Randstad Work Watch study showed stronger relationships increased teamwork by 69% and led to a 50% increase in knowledge sharing and communication. This work, along with others, show with overwhelming evidence, that the most effective way to achieve a more fulfilling personal and professional life is by being in healthy relationships. It is pretty hard to create that at work if you never make time to talk to your colleagues about anything except work.

    That doesn’t mean it is okay to let folks ramble and waste time, but it does mean that there are times when some chatter about non-work related things can lead to higher productivity down the road. Ignoring this is frightfully North American and could give others the impression that you are a jerk. Who wants to collaborate and share knowledge and information with a jerk?

    Anyhow, thanks again for the list – it is very good, but I think #4 just needs to be more nuanced.

    As the African proverb says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

    Reply

  • Rick Ori — March 9th, 2011, 11:34 pm

    Hey there have read both book, and I remember seeing some customer service responses templates. Can anyone help me find those again I of course can not seem to relocate them

    Thanks

    Reply

  • Logan Parker — April 5th, 2011, 3:59 pm

    I can definitely relate on the email bit. Sometimes it throws my whole day off…

    :-(

    Reply

  • Jerry Brower — April 8th, 2011, 10:09 pm

    This applies mostly to work at home Email marketers. I think this one basic thought could relate to a lot of common scenario’s.

    “Don’t try to do it all yourself!”

    There is a world of low cost, if not free, help to be found out there in the form of “Virtual Interns.” This can free up more creative time for the small business owner and entrepreneur by having interns do the repetitious and mundane tasks. More info at: http://www.vivifyllc.com/yourvirtualinterns/

    Reply

  • Sigal Zoldan — May 8th, 2011, 8:45 pm

    This is really great Tim. To the point. I love how you cut to the chase. Sometimes I find that it is not easy for me to stop the ones that are rambling.
    But I am growing, and finding ways that fits me and am doing that.

    I just had some quality time with a friend of mine today. She expressed how she loves doing thing through her black berry when she’s on the go, and I expressed the exact opposite, when I am on the go I want to be present with what I do. I don’t want to read emails and brows on the internet. I want to see people and smile or connect with them, look at the trees, notice the birds etc.

    There are usually no urgent things as you mentioned in the 4 hour workweek. and if there are, I will be found.

    :-)
    Thanks.
    Sigal Zoldan
    Clinical Hypnotherapist & Master Results Coach

    Reply

  • Aviva H — May 15th, 2011, 7:30 pm

    Those are all great tips!

    In my entrepreneurship class, our professors were talking about emails, cell phones, and blackberries, and how such devices/things distract you from what you are supposed to be doing.

    I agree with the email part especially. I feel the need to have to check emails at least 5 times a day, although now it’s down to 3.

    Great list!!!
    Aviva

    Reply

  • Charles Truth — June 22nd, 2011, 1:42 pm

    Great tips for GTD. They can be simple or difficult to apply depending on ability to let go.

    Reply

  • Cathy — July 3rd, 2011, 6:35 pm

    LOVE THIS! I started working as a freelance copywriter a little over two years ago. Right now, I am working for a client that runs a mattress review site. I have really struggled with figuring out how to set boundaries in my work but still make enough to support my family. My current client is great. No random emails asking for last minute stuff or unexpected requests. Would love clients like this all the time. I have learned to let go of the ones that are insanely demanding. Now, I just need to learn how to prioritize and set my schedule. And the emailing early and late…sooooo true!

    Reply

  • Jill Crew — August 18th, 2011, 2:21 pm

    I have heard other people mention saying “No” to meetings that don’t have an agenda or purpose. My question is how can you do that if the person calling the meetings is your boss? My boss will send me vague emails asking for appointments where all he tells me is the day and time and no other information. Some are random check in meetings but some have been surprise meetings that I would have preferred to plan for… How do you handle these kind of situations?

    Reply

  • Chris Diamond — September 5th, 2011, 12:37 am

    Very solid info Tim! Thanks for sharing!

    The best of all, I like habit 7. If I keep myself busy doing things, it is going to stress me out. Instead, if I prioritize all activities within my project, I am happy, because I know some of the most important things are completed.

    Here’s an article about why to do lists do not work for some folks, and what to do about them: http://doubletimetoday.com/get-organized/why-are-to-do-lists-counter-productive/

    Reply

  • Bruce Cook — September 6th, 2011, 7:43 pm

    Looking for ideas on “to do” lists – what works best for anyone? What has caused problems?

    Reply

  • AFL Footy Forum — October 18th, 2011, 9:54 pm

    Hi Tim

    Nice list. have to agree with many of them, especially the point about getting rid of the cell phone. It forces people to find an alternative and acts as a filter against people who wont think for themselves. Plus the biggest bonus assuming you dont tape your cell calls … its all down on paper and avoid any confusion. Thanks again for the list I will take note of a few of the others mentioned in the comments.

    Reply

  • Thomas — October 22nd, 2011, 5:39 pm

    Great article as always. Since a couple of weeks I am working on rule # 5 and somehow it´s working. Mostly ;-)

    Reply

  • Ben Lannoy — February 4th, 2012, 1:11 pm

    Love this list! I’m constantly trying to find a way to stop running for not much gain. My family are the reason i’m doing this but it seems i lose the very time i have with them when i’m working. I’m listening to the 4HWW on itunes and am loving it, parkinsons law all the way!

    Reply

  • Jonathan Greisiger — February 23rd, 2012, 12:03 am

    One more thing. In my opinion that there are numerous travel insurance web pages of respected companies that allow you enter a trip details and find you the quotations. You can also purchase the particular international travel cover policy on the internet by using your own credit card. All you have to do would be to enter your own travel information and you can be aware of the plans side-by-side. Just find the plan that suits your budget and needs then use your credit card to buy it. Travel insurance online is a good way to do investigation for a trustworthy company for international travel cover. Thanks for giving your ideas.

    Reply

  • Money Infant — March 26th, 2012, 4:54 pm

    Love the one about turning off the Crackberry once a week. I have actually resisted even getting any type of smart phone so far. I figure that my work is on the computer and I have access to it at least 8 hours a day, but usually more so there’s really no need to have access to my email when I’m out. It can wait.

    Reply

  • Brenda Johnson — April 20th, 2012, 12:19 pm

    I have another good one – don’t do things for others that they can do for themselves. I am a Product Manager, and I constantly get requests from Sales for information that they could easily look up themselves on the web, or to write docs that they should be writing, etc. Teach a man to fish and he eats for life, but give a fish and he only eats for a day. It may seem easier to just do something for someone, but if you do, you are setting a precedent that will ultimately mean you will HAVE to labor over email all weekend.

    Reply

  • NS — May 16th, 2012, 12:18 am

    I definitely agree about leaving the phone at home. I currently live in Hong Kong and everyone is addicted to their smart phones. I’ve always been very bad at multitasking (meaning, texting and walking, having a serious conversation and walking) or even hearing my phone ring. People seem to get annoyed that I don’t answer my phone, but it saves me a lot of trouble, and in the end, like you said, nothing bad happens.
    To my personal to do list I have also added not to always say yes, people just expect you to say yes to everything they ask for and take it for granted.

    Reply

  • Radyo Dinle — August 9th, 2012, 3:03 am

    You can also purchase the particular international travel cover policy on the internet by using your own credit card. All you have to do would be to enter your own travel information and you can be aware of the plans side-by-side. Just find the plan that suits your budget and needs then use your credit card to buy it. Travel insurance online is a good way to do investigation for a trustworthy company for international travel cover. Thanks for giving your ideas…..

    Reply

  • Charla — October 26th, 2012, 11:05 am

    This piece of writing offers clear idea designed for the
    new visitors of blogging, that in fact how to do blogging
    and site-building.

    Reply

  • Jessica — November 4th, 2012, 8:18 pm

    Hi Tim,

    My name is Jessica I am the editor at “Lifestyle For Men Magazine”
    the reason for me commenting is I am looking for approval to use this blog post in our magazines business section.

    Please contact me and I can give you more details and answer some questions for you :)

    Best
    Jessica

    Reply

  • Michael Gewirz — January 16th, 2013, 2:46 pm

    I am using 4-Hour Body. Amazing, thank you. Really. Have lost 30 pounds over the last 18 months.
    Can you apply your wisdom and insights to the issue of identifying tried and true, useful, reliable, non-med-oriented, self-help strategies to combat mental illness ?

    I think your particular approach on this broad subject would be well received and constructive.

    Thank you.

    M

    Reply

  • Emily Capito — January 27th, 2013, 1:22 pm

    But, if I stop doing these time-filling tasks, what will I fill my time with?

    Today: Spontaneous tea party with the kids, acting as stuffy French butler. Delivered 15 bite-sized courses to a couple of rowdy high tippers.

    After a few months of better utilizing my time to rapidly grow my business:
    Spending a month driving up the West Coast, from SoCal to Vancouver with the whole family. Can’t wait. These aren’t tips, they’re life changers. Thanks!

    Reply

  • James — March 27th, 2013, 11:35 pm

    I couldn’t believe I found my PERSONAL not-to-do list online and I had not even told anybody about it. LOL!!

    Reply

  • Mukesh — March 31st, 2013, 8:18 pm

    I love #2 and #9. I’m always checking my emails first thing in the morning or on my phone and it really does slow down my productivity in those critical hours now that i think about it.

    I really need to work on #9 and really pinpoint my focus on my tasks. Being a college student, it’s hard to stay focused when the subject material is as boring as watching grass grow. Oh well, gotta get better!

    Reply

  • Marlene Chism — April 11th, 2013, 6:12 pm

    Great list! Another not-to-do: Do not keep talking about what someone did to you that you didn’t like. Either ask for what you want, set a boundary or let it go. This will save time and make you happier.

    Reply

  • Mariana Soares — April 22nd, 2013, 11:38 am

    Hi guys!
    I am a new business owner and would love any tips on how to promote my business. I have read Tim’s book and have already gotten a bunch of awesome ideas, I’ve got to say that purchasing it was one of the best investments I’ve ever made.
    I’ve been a personal trainer in Canada for almost a decade and moved to Brazil a year ago. I’m living in a small town where my dad and I opened an English school that has been steadily growing in a short period of time. Now that I have helped my dad get things started, I want to continue to follow my passion and take my services to Rio. There is a huge potential for both personal training clients as well as clients who need to learn English (especially with the World Cup and Olympics being hosted in the city within the next couple of years.) I’ve also noticed that Brazilians pay a ton of money to learn English in the most ineffective way possible. They can do up to 6 years of schooling and graduate without knowing how to speak the language at all! The focus is grammar and little emphasis is done on conversational English. I’ve been fortunate enough to find a methodology that has been proven to work and hope to use it in Rio and offer a service where results are actually guaranteed.
    Once I get to Rio, I see endless possibilities on what my company can offer: English in company, personal training in English, Fitness classes for foreigners in hotels, etc.
    I was wondering more in terms of marketing since I don’t know too many people in the city and have extremely limited funds to spend on advertising.
    Any help would be extremely appreciated!!
    Thanks in advance,
    Mariana :)

    Reply

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