The Not-To-Do List

[Bill]

Are you the kind of person (like me) who gets tons of ideas? Do you have so many things you want to do that you (like me) can get overwhelmed? Then maybe the Not-To-Do list is for you too.

Some people list their distractions, as a way of reminding themselves what not-to-do on a daily basis.

Other people use it as a way to define their role. They look at all the things they’re doing and divide them between the To-Do list and the Not-To-Do list so that they can have a good discussion with their boss about their job.

It’s a good way of taking a hard look at what you are doing and asking if it really needs to be done. For example: Do I still need to wake the children up each morning, now that they are teens? Do I really need to take a course in order to open my own business? Sit down with some of those issues that have been circling inside your mind and come to a conclusion: which list are they on?

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[Anonymous]

I think I did this exercise some time ago. My Not-To-Do list is at least as long as my To-Do list. Hopeless! Nowadays, I just check with my husband, he’s the best judge of whether I should take something on or not.

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[Anonymous]

Don’t stay up until 3-4am internet surfing!

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[Anonymous]

Although if you’re not sleeping, sugargremlin, why NOT stay up!! It drives me NUTS to lie in bed, not sleeping, and not being able to do anything.

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[Anonymous]

yeah! i hate lying in bed too! However, I think my messed up sleep cycle just exacerbates my insomnia problem. and the neural stimulation from the compy for hours straight, probably not a good idea! I just have a lot of trouble trying to wind myself down to go to bed. also, bedtime always seems arbitrary, making external motivation nearly non-existent. too bad I am not one of those people who can function off of less sleep!

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[quizzical]

Bill, I love this suggestion! I’ll bet I could come up with a really long Not-To-Do List for myself.

Right now I’m working on a similar list: The Let-the-Kids-Do List. Sort of like what you mentioned regarding waking your kids up. It’s been dawning on me that I couldn’t consistently get the kids to help out around the house because that required me to come up with a way to oversee the process, which I just didn’t have the inspiration or energy to do. It was just simpler to do everything myself, because I would just do it when I felt like it.

Really simple, in fact, when you end up not doing much of anything! But the house was suffering, and of course the kids weren’t learning any responsibilities.

Now that things are starting to fall into place, thanks to diagnosis, meds, and new approaches – and now that the kids are old enough to take on more – I’m finally able to start in on some Let-the-Kids-Do items.

So far so good, because I started small on this a few months back. Now I’m getting ready to unleash a little plan this weekend I’m calling Family Chore Hour. I’ll let you know how it goes….

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[Anonymous]

Yeah! I agree with you Bill. I spent a whole day through wandering between my to do list and not to do list as it alway suddenly occured to me that ” Oh, I should have … ” or ” I should have not …”. A not to do list is also quite important.

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[Anonymous]

I am completely like you. Always wondering what I have to do next. What is good, what is right. They should have done it in some other way and so many other thoughts always travel in my made.

Your idea is brilliant. I will trying doing it. Thanks.

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[wawabyjohnah]

I had lots of hobbies, so many so that I was having a conversation which lead to me jokily saying I had adhd so needed to do stuff to keep me busy and after thinking about it, doing a heap of research found I probably do have adhd (still waiting for diagnosis). So I had a look at my long list of hobbies and picked out three to focus on. (Now I have piles of stuff I no longer need that I bought for the other hobbies that I can’t bare to part with, as I spent a lot of money on it all). I didn’t quite make a list though but was a similar idea

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[Anonymous]

I have so many entrepreneurial ideas I am thinking about starting a business in venture capital,…lol… I am currently a marketing and sales consultant. There must be hundred’s of viable business ideas from ADDers like us…that could be taken to the market…with adequate funding and much needed coaching and guidance…BTW…I find I am able to get more done just by being aware and conscious of my recent Diagnosis …and that helps a lot…just being consciously aware…helps me from being so impulsive…. anyway I am going to move forward with this Venture Capital idea…as a complimentary service…

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