The "Don't" List
Harry Callahan, as portrayed by Clint Eastwood in "Magnum Force," said, "A man's gotta know his limitations." And yes, we must extend that quotation to include women as well.
So many times, we become overwhelmed by the "Do" list - just because there is SO much to do. Prioritizing helps, but there's always something else that seems to be of a more urgent priority. In order to maintain our sanity, we must be able to politely say, "no." Perhaps by saying, "Not at this time," "Let's explore that a little further before pursuing it," or "I may not be able to get to that this week."
The ability to instantaneously reprioritize can be learned - but you have to know what needs to be done. The operative words in that phrase are NOT "to be done," as we continue to make endless "do" lists and become further overwhelmed. The operative word is "needs." Once that realization is made, your DO list becomes 4 lists: NEEDS to be done, SHOULD be done, COULD be done, and DON'T DO.
I refer to the last list as DON'T DO, since some would choose "DISCARD." However, there's this part of me that always says, "Save Everything." Do items are not like clothing - if you don't use them in a year, get rid of them. Personally, I just discovered that a term paper that I wrote in HIGH SCHOOL has relevance today's environment of organizational change (and high school was more than 25 years ago). In that same spirit, your DON'T DO list should be the largest list you have.
Two more points: 1) DON'T keep your lists on paper - write them on your computer (on an Excel spreadsheet perhaps), and print them out. If you "write them down," as has been the goal planning mantra for the past 20+ years, you're going to keep writing them, rather than having the ability to easily reprioritize. What SHOULD be written down are your GOALS - as doing so creates a sense of permanence. You then know where you're going...but your lists (how you get there) can then be easily shifted if you encounter detours in the road. Take advantage of the technology to help you do your work. It also saves you from writing things in four or five different places.
2) DON'T (or DO) items are not the same as "ideas." I am a firm believer that ideas are acts of creative inspiration sparked by the Creator working through us if we are open to God's will. Ideas are abstract, requiring exploration and investigation before they see the concreteness of your DO list schema. Investigative steps could be on these lists, but if they make their way to the DON'T DO list, the idea might still be a good one - even if your role in His plan may be to relay it to someone else.
© Michael V. Ziemski, SchoolAdvancement, 2007
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