My Don't-Do List

Why is it that we never seem to get all of the stuff done on our to-do list? 
 
Because we have too many things on it. 
 
In this day and age, new ideas, technology, tools, and other things get thrown at us every minute of every day.  Unfortunately there are still only 24 hours in the day… that is never going to change.  So if you keep piling stuff on without taking stuff off, you are going to break down.
 
I know, I know… you think you need to accomplish all of that crap.  I am here to tell you right now that 80% of the stuff you are doing is a total waste of time.  That’s right… you can scrap 80% of the stuff on your to-do list & your schedule and it will have virtually zero negative impact.  Actually… I would argue that if you stop doing 80% of the things on your schedule and to-do list, you will actually be better, do more, make more, be happier, and have a much better quality of life.
 
How in the world is that possible?
 
Have you ever heard of the 80/20 principle? 80% of the money is made by 20% of the people.  It actually works with everything in life.  Did you know that you probably get about 80% of your results, make about 80% of your money, and generate about 80% of your business from 20% of the activities you do? 
 
The 80/20 principle, also known as the Pareto Principle, was actually discovered hundreds of years ago when economist Vilfredo Pareto observed that 20% of the pea pods in his garden contained 80% of the peas.
 
We wear 20% of the clothes in our closet 80% of the time. 
 
We eat 20% of the food in our kitchen 80% of the time. 
 
We live in 20% of our house 80% of the time. 
 
20% of the people make 80% of the money.
 
The list could go on and on. 
 
Look at your schedule & to-do list, and start eliminating.  It’s what I call my Don’t-Do List.  Once you have eliminated a bunch of the meaningless crap, add more of the good stuff.  More of the 20% that generates all of your results. 
 
Check out this crazy math…. If you spend 20% of your time generating 80% of your results, then mathematically you are getting a 16X better return on your effort than when you are doing the other 80% worth of stuff that doesn’t matter.  That means in a given 40 hour work week, you are spending 8 hours to yield 80% of your results, and spending 32 hours generating the other 20% of your results. 
 
Gang… it’s not that the super successful people are any better.  They simply do way more of the 20% yielding 80% of their results and a lot less of the 80% yielding only 20% of their results.  It’s that simple.
 
Don’t wait… do it now… clear your schedule & to-do list and make room to do more business, make more money, and kick more booty!