So much of what we do in business is about the things we need to get done. I need to write a report. I need to send e-mails to my clients. I need to create a budget. I need to put a plan together for the next quarterly meeting. On and on it goes with stuff we need to do in order to make progress in our business. Nothing is wrong with this, especially when it creates progress. Progress has been determined to be the number one motivator of both business owners and employees.
However, we really ought to find the things that we need to STOP doing! It is the one thing we, myself included, often neglect to do. What is it in my business or my world that I need to stop doing? Business guru Jim Collins and coach to the Fortune CEO Marshall Goldsmith emphasize this topic frequently. They ask, “What is on your STOP doing list?”
When we want to create value, we want to DO something. At times, we can create value by stopping the things that are wasting our time, distracting us from important work, and keeping us from clients and other people vital to our business.
There are various things I find myself doing that I should stop. I should stop having my e-mail open all day long because I get distracted from what I am working on every time I receive a new e-mail. I need to stop not writing the important things on my calendar because time management is event management. I write my blog when I happen to get around to it rather than putting it on the calendar and letting the calendar manage my events.
I also need to stop looking at things once, leaving them, and then coming back to spend more time on them. I will read an e-mail, leave it to do something else, and continue this process by moving on to something else again instead of taking care of it right then. This is a major waste of time, and I need to STOP it. When something comes up, I should get it done now, move it to the calendar to do at a later time, delegate it to someone else, or delete it and move on.
What do you need to STOP doing?