Commonly, we discuss how to better manage your personal productivity through the effective use of task lists. Today, we discuss a counterintuitive productivity concept that Augusto Pinaud has been using for many years--the "Do-Not-Do" List. In this way, this is another use of task lists but, in this case, it's a way to identify what you shouldn't do. In this episode of ProductivityCast, we discuss the idea of the Do-Not-Do list and how you might use it in your personal productivity system.

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In this Cast | The Do-Not-Do List

Ray Sidney-Smith

Augusto Pinaud

Francis Wade

Art Gelwicks

Show Notes | The Do-Not-Do List

Resources we mention, including links to them will be provided here. Please listen to the episode for context.

How Do I Create a Not-to-Do List? by Michael Hyatt

Levenger - Steve Leveen

Getting Things Done by David Allen

Raw Text Transcript | The Do-Not-Do List

Raw, unedited and machine-produced text transcript so there may be substantial errors, but you can search for specific points in the episode to jump to, or to reference back to at a later date and time, by keywords or key phrases. The time coding is mm:ss (e.g., 0:04 starts at 4 seconds into the cast’s audio).

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Voiceover Artist 0:00

Are you ready to manage your work and personal world better to live a fulfilling, productive life? Then you've come to the right place productivity. Cast, the weekly show about all things productivity, hear your hosts, Ray Sidney-Smith and Augusto Pinaud with Francis Wade and Art Gelwicks.

Raymond Sidney-Smith 0:17

Welcome back everybody to productivity cast, the weekly show about all things personal productivity. I'm Ray Sidney-Smith and I am joined here today, as usual by Augusto Pinaud, Francis Wade and Art Gelwicks. Good morning, gentlemen. Good morning. Hey, guys, great to have you all here. Today, we are going to be talking today about something called the do-not-do list in deference to not messing up what this very vital productivity tool can be to you. I'm going to pass the microphone over to a goose. Joe okay. So do you want to explain to our audience a little bit about what the do-not-do list is and and how it functions. And then we can get into conversation about how it might be practical in a productivity system. Yes.

Augusto Pinaud 1:04

So I discovered that the idea of the do-not-do list a long, long time ago. And it was under the understanding that as you get into being more productive, getting more into productivity, getting done the most important things, there is also a set of things that you should have stopped doing that you need to pay attention is not only what we do, but he's also us important what we stopped doing because there are things that are simply not worth it, that simply should not be in your list that you need to acknowledge that you need to stop doing that doesn't matter what there are they would they, you know, like in productivity that will change from person to person. But it is important to acknowledge that they are things that may have been good to do or may have I never good to do that do that you need to stop doing. And that's how this idea of the do-not-do list came for me. So I've been practicing this list. And he has growing and under things now that I'm so conscious that I will never do again that I have even removed out of the list. But the idea was, see what things on your day to day do you do that in the name of productivity you need to stop doing or you should stop doing so

Raymond Sidney-Smith 2:29

ago. So this is likened in my mind. And we can compare and contrast this to the National Do Not Call list registry. I don't know why that comes to mind. When I think about this, maybe the do-not-do do not call but. But the idea here is that you're adding things to a list that that's filtering out in my mind, it's filtering out calls that you don't want to receive, but most likely commercial solicitations they're calling you. So by getting yourself put off to this national call. Now Do Not Call Registry, you're filtering yourself out, you're opting out of calls? Is that what you're doing in terms of the do-not-do list? Are you are you using that as a filter from from what shouldn't show up in the first place on your list? Or are you are you using this as a function for looking at it and reviewing it for saying, Okay, these are the things I'm not going to do today, this week, this month. And hopefully,

Augusto Pinaud 3:28

in some of those cases, hopefully, ever. So let me let Yes, they answer The answer, obviously, like, like a lot of these answers a little bit more complex than that. So let me see, if I can give you a couple of examples of my list that then we'll we'll give you a better idea. Okay. And I'm going to the first six, I can give you multiple, but I'm going to give you one that is controversial. Okay, years ago, my main tool since 2012 has been the iPad, that's my main machine. That's what I take every day with me and I begin receiving email on my phone before that what I learned receiving email in my one of the items on my do not do list is I do not check work email on the iPhone, okay, obviously was on the iPhone, when I discover that what I was doing was constantly opened my eyes, my iPhone, checking email, seeing if there was anything just to not do anything about it, I eventually way don't like it back to the iPad, and then do something, file organized, defined actions, whatever it was. So what I notice is, well, I've been extremely inefficient here because I'm opening this email inbox checking things three or four times when really there is nothing to do with it. So when I identify that I say you know what it is behavior me to stop so I want to put on my list I do not check work email and even when as far as the activate their work email on on my phone. And and actually remember, you and I were exchanging some information you may send it to you via email is that Oh, sorry, you need to send it to this special email, there is one special email that I only received from the phone and he's the only one to receive on the phone, you know, it's a private email, my wife have it, you have it, I think he's a total of 10 or 15 people. I don't want to receive anything on the email. That's one example that I can give you another example, I do not test productivity tools that that cannot be backed up. Okay. Part of what I do as a writer and as a coach is testing productivity tools. Because sometimes I get customers who call me and say, Hey, I will love to move to travel, what I can do about travel. And you're like, Oh, I don't know, I don't know anything about trailer. So you come and play and sometimes that plane require me to move for some days for a week. So I really understand how this tool works. And I have come to a rule for me as well for my clients. If the tool cannot be backed up. That's not a tool you want to move. Because if that tool fail, you lose everything and all the effort and all the time you have put in there. So those are two examples that come into this. They are not necessarily big things, but there are things that allow me to keep in a more consistent trend of productivity, what comes to mind is not I don't think I have a written list, but I certainly have a thought of an experience of people that I don't want to hang out with the film degree.

Francis Wade 6:35

I know that I when I when I was dating I had a sort of invisible list of characteristics that don't want to do it so

it was kind of what do not mess with this okay don't mess with that kind of person. This person has this kind of profile on match dot com doing reflect to that person don't go after the first who said that get to earn 100,000 us a year or or don't even contact me, but I hadn't thought of imaginary less than that's translated into business because I recall a project that was on and I worked with this guy who was a complete unknown to me, his behaviors were soul streams. And ultimately I was so stressed as a result of it that I went looking up, you know, definitely sinful psychopath I figured over the social and learn what gaslighting is under under the narcissist do because I couldn't figure out got it all right

all the time I did people took this list and it's a similar set of characteristics that if someone starts pending you who they are already in a project or again in the project in a proposal fees or if I'm meeting with a client for the first time and they tell you who they are my amazing do-not-do list I guess is don't mess with this particular kind of person I have a baby or in a on a project kind of basis because for whatever reason it could be on me and you know it could be that I'm just you know I just have the kind of flaws that not perfectly with a particular type of personality and the result is stressful but I do have Do not mess with that kind of person live whenever I meet someone who's a lot of matters the profile and I make sure not to take any extra step so a

Raymond Sidney-Smith 8:34

gusto does that fit into the definition of what you're talking about here what's the way in which you create different do-not-do lists so so that's my question is is is the do-not-do list one list is it a list that you then have different categories for so in this case Francis has a do-not-do list for people right do not interact or engage with these people and do you do you create separate lists for that and when when would you review that kind of list

Augusto Pinaud 9:07