My extended quirky to do list part 5 – what not to do
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Change management & wellness, Communication
Continuing the spirit of New Year’s musing, my last 4 posts describe an extended, quirky to-do list tool that I use in my corporate training (click here to download a copy for you to use). It has 5 parts:
(I love that out of the 5 categories only two are about adding things. Can we collectively breath a sigh of relief?)
– to do, to continue doing, to stop doing, to not do, to done (no, the last one’s not a typo) (here’s a description of each)
I’m continuing to share how I’m personally filling them in. For my 2010 to-do’s see this post. For my continue to do’s see this post. For my things to stop doing click here.
This post is about what not to do. Things I want to stay away from like brussels sprouts, second hand smoke and the smell of my teen’s bedroom.
Seriously though for 2010 I am committing to staying away from mindless TV. I spent a month working in Africa late last year (see related posts: African nocturnal visitors, Musings on Africa) and an unintended result was radically reducing how much time I spent watching the tube.
I didn’t miss it.
I did appreciate what I did with that time instead though, such as making cookie dough in the dark (electricity was out), visiting friends, reading, musing, writing…..
After I’d been home about a month I realized with utter shock that I hadn’t watched much TV. Now there’s a kind of change I can hang my hat on – something that happens unconsciously, without effort, like water flowing downhill.
I used to fall onto the couch after the kids were in bed and vegetate in front of the TV. Now I find I have more energy because I’m spending that time replenishing brain cells instead of draining them.
Replenishing as in more time with my kids (‘nuggling and reading), listening to music and writing. I look forward to climbing into bed and plowing through books. I’m reading Tim Ferris’ Four Hour Work Week right now. I’d bet my last piece of dark chocolate that he doesn’t watch much TV.
As music is an integral part of my life, the song that couples with not doing things is none other than fellow Canadian Shania Twain’s ‘Don’t be Stupid’.
And you? What do you not want to do?
Tags: 4 hour work week, africa, brussel sprouts, change management, don't be stupid, new year, reosolution, shania twain, television, tim ferris, to do, tv
January 12th, 2011 at 12:58 pm
[…] To Not Do: watch loads of TV […]