How to Make a Not-To-Do List That Protects Your Energy

A not-to-do list is a short, written list of the things you keep doing that cost you time and energy and give nothing back. To make one, notice the habits that pull you away from real work during a normal week, write them down in plain words, and look at the list every week so you catch them sooner. You can start one in five minutes.

That's the whole answer. The rest of this page is about why it works, what goes on it, and what to do when it slips.

Why a not-to-do list works when a to-do list doesn't

Not all tasks are created equal. Focus on what matters, not just what's urgent. Some tasks are busywork: the stuff that feels productive but isn't. As I put it in my second book: "Being busy is easy. But busyness is usually avoidance."

I know this one well. I've wasted hours, maybe days, making my lists look pretty in Notion and color-coding tasks that didn't really matter. I convinced myself that tweaking my system was progress. It wasn't. (Who doesn't love a rainbow spreadsheet? Guilty.)

Something that's changed the game for me is a not-to-do list. It's how I ruthlessly identify and eliminate busywork. In After the Crash I put it like this: "Seeing my distractions in black and white helps me spot them faster next time."

What goes on a not-to-do list

Start with the stuff that feels like work but isn't. Mine, straight from the book: endlessly checking stats, fiddling with templates, proofreading things no one will ever notice. Every week I catch myself slipping into habits like these. So I write them down.

Then look at three wider groups.

Work that isn't yours. If you work for yourself, this is crucial. Every minute you spend on admin, accounting or social media is a minute you're not doing the work that pays your bills, or the work that lights you up. Where you can, delegate it, automate it or get rid of it. If you work for someone else, the questions are a little different: am I doing work that someone else should be doing? Am I picking up slack that's not mine?

Things that only look urgent. For this I use the Eisenhower Matrix, named after Dwight D. Eisenhower. Four boxes:

1. Important and urgent: do it now.
2. Important, not urgent: schedule it.
3. Urgent, not important: delegate or minimize.
4. Not urgent, not important: delete.

Most people, me included, spend way too much time in box 3, reacting to other people's emergencies. The real gains are in box 2, where your long-term goals live. Map out your tasks this way and you'll be surprised how much "urgent" stuff can be ignored, delegated or batched for later.

Easy wins that crowd out real ones. The two-minute rule says that if a task takes less than two minutes, do it right away. Good rule. But don't let your day become a graveyard of easy wins. The real progress comes from the stuff that actually moves you forward.

How to make a not-to-do list in five minutes

The book says it plainly: take five minutes right now and make your own. Here's how that breaks down, using what Chapter 2 says:

1. Ask the question from the book. "What's draining your energy without adding value?"
2. Write down the time-wasting habits you catch yourself slipping into. Mine were checking stats, fiddling with templates, proofreading stuff no one will notice. Jot them down.
3. Add the work that isn't yours. If you work for yourself: the admin, accounting or social media you could delegate, automate or eliminate. If you work for someone else: work someone else should be doing, or slack that's not yours.
4. Look at it weekly. The quick tips at the end of Chapter 2 say exactly that: write a not-to-do list, and look at it weekly.

When you can't tell whether something belongs on it, two questions help:

• What's the one thing I can do today that would make the biggest difference?
• Is this task worth the effort, or am I just avoiding something bigger?

The first question is the same idea as my MIT, the Most Important Task I pick each day: the thing that, if I do nothing else, will make the day a win. Protect your energy by saying no, delegating, and focusing on that one task.

Saying no is the other half

The quick tips at the end of Chapter 2 also say: say no more often than you're comfortable with. And delegate, outsource or delete low-value tasks.

Here's a lesson I learned the hard way, and still re-learn every month: you can't do everything. Steve Jobs said real focus is about saying no. I used to think that meant being ruthless. Now I think it's about protecting your best work. "You only have so much time, energy, and willpower. Spend it on what matters."

That means sometimes saying no to things that sound fun, or urgent, or like good opportunities. It means letting go of the guilt when you can't do it all, and being okay with not pleasing everyone. I'm still working on that last one.

There's a courage part too. "Focus is about courage." It's about saying no to the stuff that feels productive but isn't. It's about asking what would actually make a difference, and having the guts to let the rest go.

It also helps to accept the price up front. Every goal has one. If you want to wake up early, you'll have to give up late-night Netflix. If you want to get fit, you'll have to let go of certain foods or habits. "It's better to make peace with these trade-offs up front than to be blindsided later."

When the list stops working

It will slip. Overwhelm still hits me, and when it does I fall back into old patterns: saying yes to too much, tweaking my systems instead of doing the work, filling my time with busywork.

When I notice, I pause, look at what's actually on my plate, and ask three questions:

• What's truly important here?
• What can wait?
• What can I drop altogether?

And remember the rainbow spreadsheet. To-do lists can be traps: use them to clarify, not to endlessly tweak. Prioritizing isn't about perfection. It's about progress and honesty. Celebrate progress, not perfection.

One thing to try today

Take five minutes and write three not-to-do lines. One habit that eats your time without adding anything (checking, tweaking, polishing). One task that isn't really yours to do. One "urgent" thing from box 3 that you can delegate, minimize or ignore. Then look at the list again next week.

Free: Chapter 2 of After the Crash goes deeper on the not-to-do list, saying no and the Eisenhower Matrix. The whole book is free here (coming soon)

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Sources

• [atc.c02.not-to-do-list] After the Crash, Ch 2: "Seeing my distractions in black and white helps me spot them faster next time."
• [atc.c02.rainbow-spreadsheet] After the Crash, Ch 2: "I convinced myself that tweaking my system was progress."
• [atc.c02.eisenhower-matrix] After the Crash, Ch 2: "The real gains are in box 2—important, but not urgent."
• [atc.c02.two-minute-rule] After the Crash, Ch 2: "But don’t let your day become a graveyard of easy wins."
• [atc.c02.value-vs-effort] After the Crash, Ch 2: "Is this task worth the effort—or am I just avoiding something bigger?"
• [atc.c02.quick-tips] After the Crash, Ch 2: "Write a Not-To-Do List (and look at it weekly)"
• [atc.c02.saying-no] After the Crash, Ch 2: "You only have so much time, energy, and willpower. Spend it on what matters."
• [atc.c02.q-focus-is-courage] After the Crash, Ch 2: "Focus is about courage."
• [atc.c01.trade-offs] After the Crash, Ch 1: "It’s better to make peace with these trade-offs up front than to be blindsided later."
• [atc.c02.overwhelm-questions] After the Crash, Ch 2: "What can I drop altogether?"
• [atc.c02.takeaways] After the Crash, Ch 2: "Prioritization isn’t about perfection—it’s about progress and honesty."
• [bbb.c10.q-busyness] Burnout, Bullshit, and Breakthroughs, Ch 10: "Being busy is easy. But busyness is usually avoidance."
• [atc.c02.mit] After the Crash, Ch 2: "the thing that, if I do nothing else, will make the day a win."