You want to get things done? Bet you have a list.  Also bet you still can’t get everything done.  How do I know?  Well, look at the address bar of your web browser, where it shows ‘http://www.davedarby.com’ – you see that green box in front of the address?  That’s a tiny little spy camera and I’ve been watching you watching me.

Ok, all kidding aside I know you struggle with your list as I do because it’s human nature and we all lean on technology everyday - computers, internet, cell phones, tivo, secret spy watches – to help us get more done.  For some reason though – and you and I both know it – we are NOT getting more done!

Why?  Come on, if you know me you already know the magic word – MARGINS.

Sure enough, those handy little electronic devices buy back margins – alas, they also take away margins. Admit it.  The internet saves you time when looking for the nearest dry cleaner or learning about that red bump behind your ear, but it also sucks the time away as you watch some large guy wearing a small sweater in a cubicle lip-sync to Brittany Spears.  Funny enough, but a margin sucker if there ever was one.

And TIVO – ah TIVO.  Love TIVO.  Now we can watch an hour of Survivor in only 42 minutes.  Well, that’s saving time and creating margins Dave!  Yes, until you discover that OLN is running back-to-back-to-back Survivors from all previous seasons – (loud sucking sound) – now, you’re watching 6 seasons in one.

And email – ah email.  ‘Steve, could you revise that project by Friday.’  ‘No problem, Angie, please find the attached invoice.’  ‘Thanks Steve.  Hey have you seen the video of the guy imitating Brittany Spears?  I attached it, check it out!’ (loud sucking sound)

So, I am going to offer you a thought.  Your problem is not what is on your ‘to-do list’, instead, I challenge that it has more to do with what is NOT on your ???do-not-do list’. (A big Tim Allen ‘Arughhh?’)  That’s right, we all suffer from “continuous partial attention disorder” or CPAD (I made this up) whereas we are so busy keeping tabs on everything that we never focus on anything.  What we need are drastic measures – measures in which we leave potential distractions behind.

Maybe the great poet, Paul Simon says it better in his fabled ‘50 Ways to Leave your Electronics’.

Just slip out the back, Jack. Make a new plan, Stan. You don’t need to be coy, Roy. Just listen to me.
Hop on the bus, Gus. You don’t need to discuss much. Just drop off the key, Lee. And get yourself free.

Good luck getting that song out of your head today! ;)  Let me get you started with your not-to-do list, then you can close this browser and ‘get yourself free’.

NOT-TO-DO LIST

• At home and work, do NOT check your email every 3 minutes.  Change the setting to something measured in hours – preferably 4 and give the email interuptions a break. (Special circumstances: if you work in a missile silo, ignore this!)
• At home, do NOT answer the telephone every time it rings – take advantage of the best thing since pockets in a shirt AND sliced bread – voice mail.
• Do NOT ponder what state society was in that made pockets in a shirt and sliced bread such a huge advancement for civilization. ;)  Oops, sorry, where was I?
• At work and home, do NOT follow a link to more than 2 websites.  You know – hit your home page, click on interesting link that takes you to CNN, read story then click an add for Vonage internet phone, then visit whitepages.com to look up that person you used to sit on the phone with every night in high school.  DO use the free service from BlinkList and add/organize your internet favorites/bookmarks by tags (categories).  ‘Blink’ anything beyond 2 websites that looks interesting and tag it ‘hmmm’ for later review.  BTW, with BlinkList, you can view your bookmarks from anywhere, anytime on any computer.  When you decided to commit some time to it, view your BlinkList ‘hmmm’ tags and delete them or re-tag/save them as you see fit.

There you have it – 3 bona fide things for your ‘Not-To-Do’ list that should allow you to better manage your ‘To-Do’ list.

Parting shot: Speaking of 3s, there are three kinds of people: those who can count and those who can’t.

Author | Dave Darby

Dave Darby is a husband, father of 5, son, entrepreneur, speaker and well, a renaissance man who frequently needs to dump his brain on thoughts about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.