Empower yourself with your Stop Doing List
Tim Roberts
Leadership Coach | Author of Break the Mould books | Helping Senior Leaders Lead by Example, NOT by Job Title
This newsletter explores the Five Pillars of Authentic Leadership & this edition brings it back to your self-awareness .... It Always Starts With You. In it, I will introduce you to a simple technique that has a huge impact on your leadership & your team & empowers you to focus on what is really important.?
Ditch the To-Do List: How a 'Stop Doing List' Can Set You Free?
Let’s talk about to-do lists. They’re supposed to make us feel organised, productive & in control, right? Let’s be honest—how often do they end up doing the opposite??
You start the day with big plans & a long list of tasks. By the end of the day, that list has barely shrunk & instead of feeling accomplished, you’re frustrated, overwhelmed & wondering where the hell your day has gone. Sound familiar?
I used to work with a leader who as the start of every day would do nothing before she had sat & updated her to-do list. And then she would do the same at the end of every day. It became like a ball & chain she was dragging around with her because she never ever got to the bottom of her to-do list. So, all it succeeded in doing for her was stressing her out & making her feel like she never really accomplished anything!
That was her BS Factory at work—turning what should be a helpful tool into a guilt-ridden stick to beat yourself with. It convinces you that the longer the list, the better you’ll feel. Spoiler alert: to-do lists don’t work.?
Even the fancy Apps that we can use these days don’t work if all you use them for is to create another to-do list.
Here’s the kicker: It’s not the lists that are the problem; it’s how we use them. Instead of focusing on what we need to do, why not focus on what we should stop doing?
Never be afraid to stop doing something that doesn’t help you
Enter: The Stop Doing List
A Stop Doing List helps you:?
- Break the cycle of over-commitment.?
- Cut out the BS & focus on what truly matters.?
- Take back control from the inner critic that keeps you stuck in self-doubt & busyness.??
How It Works?
1. Reflect on your stress points: Think about the things that frustrate you, waste your time, or pull you away from what really matters.?
2. Write Your Stop Doing List: Be brutally honest. For example:?
?? - Stop checking emails like it’s a life-or-death situation.?
?? - Stop attending pointless meetings.?
?? - Stop saying “yes” to things that drain your energy.?
3. Commit to the Change: The power of this list is in what YOU will stop doing—not what you wish others would stop.?
Why It Works?
Your Stop Doing List is liberating. It creates space for you to focus on what brings you joy, energy, & fulfilment—instead of drowning in the noise of endless tasks that get you nowhere?
I’ve done this myself & with coaching clients & the results are huge. One client told me it was like finally cutting the chains they’d been dragging around for years.?
We too often try to jump into action & adopt an almost obsessive view of ‘I must do something’ & instead switch it to ‘what do I need to stop doing?’
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Some examples of what leaders ?have stopped doing by creating their Stop Doing List include: -
Imagine the power of some of the things that you can stop doing?
You're the only person you can change
It’s not just a list?
Developing an ability to stop doing the things that don’t help you goes much further than just being a list.?
You can use this to get some powerful feedback from your team. Consider asking them: -
Using this for feedback helps you to stop doing the things that hinder your team & also role models to you team that you want to raise your self-awareness & change your behaviours.
You can also use the Stop Doing List with your team. First create it by asking ‘what do we need to stop doing as a team?’ & then review it regularly to recognise what you have stopped doing & what you need to stop doing next.
This can save you a lot of time as it creates opportunities to stop having meaningless meetings or stop carrying out unproductive tasks.
It can also be a good way to motivate people to achieve a goal. Once you have set some team goals, ask your team ‘what are the things we need to stop doing to achieve this goal?’ & show that you need to consider what needs to change for you to achieve things together as a team.
So, here’s your challenge: Take 10 minutes today to write your Stop Doing List. Better yet, share it with your team and see how it shifts your collective mindset.?
Remember that not everything is urgent – ask yourself what you really want & why
?Leaders need to be able to stop chasing ‘busyness’ & take reflective time to identify what they need to stop doing. Stopping doing something that adds no value can be so liberating. And knowing that you have stopped doing something that hindered your team helps to grow your confidence.
If you never stop doing something, then you will keep doing the same things over and over again & we know how that ends! You must role model stopping doing the things that don’t work to set the tone for your team to empower themselves to stop doing the things that don’t work.
?? What’s the first thing you’d put on your Stop Doing List? Let me know in the comments! ??
Arrange a call here via to find out how I can help your leaders & team to stop doing the things that hold them back.
My latest book - How to Shut Down Your BS Factory is available to order now. This will help you to cut out the negativity & silence your inner critic. Click on the image below to order your copy now.