Coaching practices for The Not to Do List at Work
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For The Not to Do List at Work, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- I keep telling myself I’ll cut back on the things that drain me, but every single time the moment comes I cave and say yes again
- My list is just a flat wall of tasks that all look equally urgent, so I keep grabbing whatever’s easiest instead of whatever matters
- I can’t go ten minutes without glancing at my inbox or replying to a message, and every time I do I lose my place in the real work
- There’s never a point where I get to say I’m done
- My calendar is wall-to-wall meetings I said yes to out of reflex, half of them with no clear point, and I sit there knowing nothing’s being decided
Practices that may help
- The Not-To-Do List
The not-to-do list is a set of behaviors, tasks, and commitments you commit to stopping or refusing — permanently. Tim Ferriss argues that elimination is more valuable than optimization because low-leverage activities consume time that no amount of efficiency can recover. The approach is largely practitioner advice backed by mechanistic reasoning about opportunity cost and attention. - Write and commit to a standing not-to-do list
Turn elimination candidates into an explicit, reviewed list of permanent refusals.
The Not-To-Do List - The ABCDE prioritization method
Label every task A (must), B (should), C (nice), D (delegate), or E (eliminate) before starting.
Eat That Frog, Made Practical - Batch all reactive tasks into defined windows
Reply to email, messages, and minor requests only in scheduled windows — not continuously.
The Not-To-Do List - Work from a closed daily list
Write today’s task list before the day begins, then refuse to add new items to it.
Do It Tomorrow, Made Practical - Decline meetings that lack a clear outcome and agenda
Make a standing policy to decline any meeting invitation that doesn’t specify outcomes and an agenda.
The Not-To-Do List - Treat items 6–25 as active avoidances, not a later list
Everything not in your top 5 must be actively avoided — it is your "do-not-do" list.
Warren Buffett’s Two-List Strategy - Separate "will-do" from "to-do" lists
Keep a master to-do list distinct from the closed daily "will-do" list that you actually commit to.
Do It Tomorrow, Made Practical - Only put tasks on the board that you’ve explicitly decided to do
Your Kanban board is not a wish list — only tasks you have consciously committed to belong in To Do.
Personal Kanban, Made Practical - Place an important-seeming but deferrable task at the top of your list
Put a compelling but non-urgent task first, so everything below it gets done in avoidance of it.
Structured Procrastination, Made Practical
Related concerns
- The Not To Do List In A New Job
The not-to-do list is a set of behaviors, tasks, and commitments you commit to stopping or refusing — permanently. Tim Ferriss argues that elimination is more valuable than optimization because low-leverage activities consume time that no amount of efficiency can recover. The approach is largely practitioner advice backed by mechanistic reasoning about opportunity cost and attention.
- The Not To Do List With My Team
The not-to-do list is a set of behaviors, tasks, and commitments you commit to stopping or refusing — permanently. Tim Ferriss argues that elimination is more valuable than optimization because low-leverage activities consume time that no amount of efficiency can recover. The approach is largely practitioner advice backed by mechanistic reasoning about opportunity cost and attention.
- Not To Do List Examples
The not-to-do list is a set of behaviors, tasks, and commitments you commit to stopping or refusing — permanently. Tim Ferriss argues that elimination is more valuable than optimization because low-leverage activities consume time that no amount of efficiency can recover. The approach is largely practitioner advice backed by mechanistic reasoning about opportunity cost and attention.
- The Not To Do List As A Caregiver
The not-to-do list is a set of behaviors, tasks, and commitments you commit to stopping or refusing — permanently. Tim Ferriss argues that elimination is more valuable than optimization because low-leverage activities consume time that no amount of efficiency can recover. The approach is largely practitioner advice backed by mechanistic reasoning about opportunity cost and attention.
- The Not To Do List As A Parent
The not-to-do list is a set of behaviors, tasks, and commitments you commit to stopping or refusing — permanently. Tim Ferriss argues that elimination is more valuable than optimization because low-leverage activities consume time that no amount of efficiency can recover. The approach is largely practitioner advice backed by mechanistic reasoning about opportunity cost and attention.
- The Not To Do List For My Teenager
The not-to-do list is a set of behaviors, tasks, and commitments you commit to stopping or refusing — permanently. Tim Ferriss argues that elimination is more valuable than optimization because low-leverage activities consume time that no amount of efficiency can recover. The approach is largely practitioner advice backed by mechanistic reasoning about opportunity cost and attention.
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