Start by Stopping

There should always be two list. One is the list of things you are going to start or continue doing. The other list is the number of things that you are going to stop doing.

In our business and professional life we can easily become so enthralled with our inherited or created duties that we fail to consider if the time committed to performing those duties well, is really getting us anywhere. Going through the routine is just that, routine and routine does not help anyone distinguish their performance from others. Making constant evaluations of the things that you commit valuable time to is not only a good idea it is critical to your success.

The reality is that many people and companies repeatedly do things because they always have and because they can and not because they should. When we start placing a greater value on doing or continuing to do the things that we know contribute to our progress, we are making decisions that we know are going to pay-off. When we stop doing those things that amount to not much more than distractions, we free-up valuable time that we should now devote to those things that are on the "keep or start doing list".

The trap of filling your time with activities of very little value is an easy one to get caught in. Since we seem to be busy we feel we are doing our job and while we are doing a job as we currently value it, it is not our job. Any job has the potential of filling the time allowed and if we are at work at least eight hours a day and we justify our existence by doing things that are of little value, then sooner or later someone is going to notice. Then what? Our job is a job that contributes to the success of the team by engaging in those activities that we know are going to make a positive contribution because we know they are on the "doing list."

NOTE:


The facts support that one of the healthiest things a person can do is to stop smoking. (Additionally if you stop you are going to save a considerable amount of money. The guy in front of me in line the other day at the convenience store bought a package of cigarettes and he paid $6.50 for one pack!!!) When you stop smoking your body immediately will start getting better.