Want to succeed? Create a “stop doing” list.

Every morning I wake up and am excited to start a new day, a day where I will be productive, a day where I will workout, cook, clean, do laundry, put in my hours for work, write my blog and be a mother and a wife.  When night falls I wonder what I did all day.   This scenario seems to repeat itself, like a bad scene from the movie “Groundhog Day.”

Then one day on Twitter I saw a tweet about creating a “stop-doing” list.  A gigantic light bulb went off and I realized that even though I always intend to be extremely productive, I put obstacles in my own way.  It is time for me to create a stop doing list!

Here it is:

1. Facebook.  Limit to once a day.  Biggest time waste ever.
2. Stop ALWAYS answering the phone.  You do NOT have to answer the phone just because it rings.  Call your friends back when there is downtime, not when you’re trying to finish a task.
3. Snacking.  Stop snacking and procrastinating.
4. Smartphone.  Put down the smartphone.  It’s the equivalent of Facebook.  You can “look” at your phone for a second in the parking lot before entering work or the gym and look up twenty minutes later.  Put it down.
5. Stop saying yes.  Thank you Mr. Buffet.  I will practice saying no.
6. Stop spending time on useless comparisons, insecurities or things that don’t matter.  See #1.
7. Stop worrying about things that are not in your control.
8. Stop any negative self talk.
9. Stop trying to make other people’s problems better.  Focus on your own life and your family.
10. Stop being slow in the morning.  Have your coffee and then go go go!

Well that’s the start of my list!  I’m going to post this on my blog, print it out, and try to follow these steps.  Maybe, just maybe I can then hit some of my “to-do” items on my list!  What’s on your “stop-doing” list?