Are you really burnt out, or are you just doing too many things?
How many hours are you spending watching TV?
How many hours are you spending drinking and socializing per week?
How many hours are you spending surfing the net and social media?
The Not To-Do list is one of the biggest strengths of successful people.
Think about it, how many hours do you think Elon Musk spends watching Netflix each week?
If the average person cut out surfing the Net and watching TV, they would add back over 20 hours per week to their schedule. Imagine what you could do with an additional 20 hours per week?
Many people will make the argument that watching TV and surfing the Net relaxes them. That is fine if that is the case, but don’t claim there is not enough time to achieve or finish your goals. You are choosing to watch TV over productivity. Ironically you would probably be more relaxed if you spent the couple of hours at night catching up on your work, as opposed to going to work the next being behind from the start.
A good way to start is to spend an hour of your TV / web time working on your goals, then reward yourself with the TV / web time once the hour is complete.
Alcohol is another great activity to put on your Not to-Do list. Nothing against alcohol, but it will affect your sleep and leave you operating at a lower level the next day. If you are an achievement-oriented person, this is only going to slow you down in hitting your goals.
From my own experience I have found that no alcohol gives me the ability to go hard 7 days a week, allowing me to include additional fitness activities and fun activities with the kids on the weekend. I am also keen to do some work on weekends, getting me ahead of the week to come. When I do drink on rare occasions, I feel sluggish and tired the next day, and really cant be bothered working on my goals. I enjoy alcohol and love having a beer with friends, but I operate at such a higher level when I don’t drink.
If you are taking drugs of any sort, this would be a good one to add to your Not to-Do List! From a burnout point of view you cant light the candle on both ends for an extended period of time. You may need to choose drugs or achievement. Ironically many former drug users become high achievers due to the personality type of chasing a hit.
Other activities to add could include gambling, pornography, hanging out with non-compatible people, sleeping too much, or any activity not related to your core goals.
The chances are you are not burnt out. It is highly likely that you are spending too much time completing too many activities. If you want to regain your energy and still achieve your goals, you will need to identify the activities that you are spending time on that do not move you to your goals.
Below is an exercise to determine which activities that you should stop doing, continue doing, and start doing.
Stop Doing:
- Watching 3 hours TV per night
- Drinking week nights
- Hanging out with
- Whatever your vice is…
Continue Doing:
- Any activity that gives you energy, eg
- Taking a walk with family after work
- Exercising
- Sleep 8 hours per night
Start Doing:
Start slowly and build up, eg
- Add an hour per night to work on your goals
- Exercise (if you are not already)
- Complete your to-do list for the next day the day before
One of the biggest secrets of goal achievers is they make space for their goals by removing many of the mind numbing activities that the rest of society spends most of their time on.
