Define Core Priorities and Create a Stop-Doing List
Define the priorities that should govern your time, then create a stop-doing list to make room for them. Reviewing where your time actually goes can reveal the gap between stated priorities and daily work.
THE IDEA
Define Core Priorities and Create a Stop-Doing List
Urgent requests can consume the time intended for important work. Define your core priorities, compare them with how you spend your time, and identify activities to stop or reduce.
Why Priorities Are Often Neglected
- People rarely establish their priorities until forced. For example, Kim Ramirez didn't decide hers until a job choice, and Interplast's mission conflict came to a head when two core values directly opposed each other.
- Even when priorities are set, they are not acted upon. An MIT study by William F. Pounds showed that managers identified important problems but spent no time on them in the previous week because urgencies took over.
The Stop-Doing List
Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, suggests creating a "stop-doing list" inspired by a hypothetical: What would you do if you inherited $20 million and had only 10 years to live? This forces you to identify and cease low-priority activities.
Implementation Examples
- Captain D. Michael Abrashoff's USS Benfold: He created two lists: List A (mission-critical tasks) and List B (important but non-core tasks like painting). By reducing List B activities through innovations (e.g., replacing bolts with stainless steel to reduce rust), the crew spent more time on core training and significantly improved performance.
- Productive Interruptions: Peter Bregman recommends setting a timer to go off every hour, asking "Am I doing what I most need to be doing right now?" This helps refocus on priorities.
Put the List into Practice
A stated priority needs time allocated to it. Use the stop-doing list to free that time, and review new requests against the same priorities. Periodic reminders can help you notice when urgent work has taken over again.
When to use it
Personal productivity: Allocate time to important long-term goals by eliminating low-value habits.
Organizational management: Define mission-critical tasks and actively reduce non-core activities to improve performance.
Military operations: Free up training time by minimizing ship maintenance duties through innovative solutions.
Parenting: Ensure quality time with children by cutting out unnecessary errands and distractions.
FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE
In practice
Kim Ramirez's Job Choice
Kim Ramirez had to confront a job choice before defining her priorities, illustrating how people often don't establish priorities until forced.
Interplast Mission Conflict
Interplast faced a tension in its mission when two core values came into direct opposition, forcing leaders to resolve the conflict through extensive discussion.
Managerial Priorities Study
An MIT study by William F. Pounds found that managers identified five to eight important problems but spent no time on them in the previous week, showing how urgencies crowd out priorities.
Jim Collins' Stop-Doing List
Author Jim Collins adopted a 'stop-doing list' after being challenged to consider what he would stop if he inherited $20 million and had only 10 years to live.
Captain Abrashoff's List A and List B
Captain D. Michael Abrashoff transformed the USS Benfold by separating tasks into mission-critical (List A) and non-core (List B) activities, then systematically reducing List B, leading to improved performance.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Put it to work.
What are your core priorities, and how much time did you spend on them last week?
If you inherited $20 million and had only 10 years to live, what would you stop doing?
Am I currently doing what I most need to be doing right now? (Set a timer to ask this hourly)
Often confused with
References
- Good to Great — Jim Collins (2001)
- It's Your Ship — D. Michael Abrashoff (2002)
- Harvard Business Review blog on productive interruptions — Peter Bregman
- MIT study on managerial priorities — William F. Pounds
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Source texts
- Decisive How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work (Chip Heath)