Coaching practices for The Not to Do List During a Big Change
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 During a Big Change, 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
- I’ve got a big move (or a new job) coming up in a couple of months, and I can feel it’s a rare chance to start fresh
- 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
- Every year I pile new goals on top of an already-overloaded life and wonder why none of them stick
- Every time something new lands mid-day it feels like it has to be handled this second, so it shoves aside whatever I’d already decided mattered
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 - Identify and anticipate upcoming transition windows
Treat approaching life changes as scheduled opportunities for habit installation — plan before the transition, not after.
The Habit Discontinuity Effect - 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 - Generate a stop-doing list, not just a to-do list for next year
What you stop doing next year is as important as what you start.
The Annual Review (Tim Ferriss Method) - Protect the list from same-day additions
Don’t add new items to today’s list when they arrive — log them for tomorrow’s planning instead.
The Ivy Lee Method, Made Practical - Invest at least 20% of work time in Quadrant II
Reserve meaningful time each week for activities that are important but not yet urgent.
Big Rocks First - Run a quarterly focus review to refresh the lists
Revisit and rebuild both lists every quarter — priorities shift, and so should the lists.
Warren Buffett’s Two-List Strategy - 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
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.
- Avoid List Productivity
Reply to email, messages, and minor requests only in scheduled windows — not continuously.
Batch all reactive tasks into defined windows
- 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.
- Stop Doing List Collins
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.
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