Boost Productivity: How a Stop-Doing List Helps You Focus on What Truly Matters
Last updated: October 21, 2025 Read in fullscreen view
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Productivity Lies in “What to Do,” Clarity Lies in “What to Stop”
Imagine it’s Monday morning. You arrive at work as usual and suddenly receive earth-shattering news:
“You’ve just received $100 million, with no strings attached.”
Before you can fully process the shock, there’s more:
“But your recent health check shows you only have 10 years left to live.”
What would you do differently if you knew your time was limited? More importantly, what would you stop doing?
The Habit of Filling Every Empty Minute
There was a period when my calendar was a rainbow of blocks, like a Tetris game. Every free slot was immediately filled with something from my to-do list: meetings, side hustles, networking coffee, courses, blogs, videos… even weekends were packed.
One Saturday, I realized I had 20 pending tasks, and almost none of my weekly priorities had been completed. That’s when it hit me:
Since when did life become a race to check boxes?
You might recognize this too:
- Waiting for your computer to load? Pull out your phone and get something done.
- Sitting on the bus for 20 minutes? Must learn something new.
- Too tired at night? Must read a book to “not waste time.”
- Free for a moment? Feel uneasy, so grab another task.
All of this comes from a good intention: the desire to grow.
But when “good” becomes overwhelming, it turns into self-torture: pushing yourself harder, punishing yourself for not doing enough, and overcommitting to everyone around you to maintain image or seize opportunities.
The result? A full-color calendar, an endless to-do list, red project sheets, and yet… we still take on more.
If this resonates, comment below—I want to hear if you’re facing the same struggle.
From “To-Do List” to “Stop-Doing List”
Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, introduced the concept of a “stop-doing list”, alongside the traditional to-do list.
We often ask ourselves:
“What should I do now?” instead of “What should I stop doing now?”
Collins’ team studied 11 companies that transformed from mediocre to exceptional. Their surprise finding? The turning points weren’t about adding more—they were about eliminating what no longer mattered.
- Some companies sold off once-iconic divisions to focus on their strengths.
- Others shut down “core” projects that only looked good on quarterly reports but didn’t strengthen the business.
- Some dropped vanity metrics (like number of stores or features) to focus on meaningful measures.
By saying no to the good, they made room for the great.
The Personal Lesson
We don’t fail because opportunities are lacking; we fail because we can’t fully pursue the right ones.
Every task we add has hidden costs:
- Switching cost (mental load)
- Maintenance cost (keeping it alive)
- Recovery cost (time for rest)
- Relationship cost (commitments to others)
Hustle culture teaches: fill every moment to achieve breakthroughs. But forcing more tasks often only gives incremental gains. True breakthroughs happen when we let our minds rest—like Dmitri Mendeleev, who “dreamed” the periodic table while asleep.
Saying yes to a 20% effective task today automatically says no to an 80% opportunity unseen. By eliminating what’s unnecessary, what remains becomes lighter in quantity and leaps in quality.
Stopping is not laziness; it’s the courage of maturity: accepting that you can’t do everything and taking responsibility to focus on what truly matters.
Take Action Today
Here’s a practical way to start auditing your time using AI (e.g., ChatGPT). Spend 15–20 minutes fully engaged:
Prompt:
You are my Time Audit Coach. Ask me five questions about each task I list, one at a time. After each answer, give a concise insight (1–2 sentences). After five questions, summarize themes and recommend: STOP / DELEGATE / AUTOMATE / KEEP & GO DEEP with 3 concrete action steps.
Step 1: List 5–10 tasks that consumed most of your time last week, plus your 90-day goal.
Step 2: Choose which task to audit first.
-
100 million / 10 years test: If you had $100M and only 10 healthy years left, would you still do this task? Why?
-
Hedgehog check: Does this task (a) excite you, (b) leverage your unique strengths, (c) sustain you financially over the next 12 months?
-
90-day impact: What measurable results does this task create in 90 days, and does it move your “flywheel” forward?
-
30-day pause: If paused for 30 days, what’s the worst outcome? Can it be recovered quickly?
-
Delegation / automation: Can someone else or a tool do ≥80% of this task? How would you hand it off?
Follow this for each task, then ask if you want to audit the next.
Responding to the Objection
Some may say: “But KPIs are still there. If I don’t take it, how will I achieve them?”
Here’s the truth: If you’re already struggling to do one thing well, taking on more won’t magically make everything better.
We can only focus on so much at a time. Working longer doesn’t equal greatness; intentional focus does.
When young, it’s okay to explore and try many things. But before diving in, always start with the core question:
WHY?
This keeps your efforts aligned with meaningful goals. At times, working more is necessary. Other times, rest and reflection are what create breakthroughs.
The key message:
- Focus your resources on what matters most.
- Courageously remove distractions, even if they seem useful.
- People may not notice what you stopped doing—but they will see the quality of your results.
Working less but better makes you memorable. Working more but scattered makes you forgettable.
Courage is not doing more—it’s calmly saying no.
Try the 100 million / 10 years exercise. Comment below what you would stop doing. A week from now, revisit—often, life continues just fine without the things you thought you couldn’t live without.
We’re not short on time. We’re just wasting it on the unimportant. Stop a few things, and you’ll find your time feels richer, giving you space to breathe, reset, and unleash your full potential.
Be brave. Make your first “stop-doing” list today.
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