What is a not-to-do list?
A not-to-do list is a short list of things you decide, in advance, not to do: habits that waste your time, tasks that are not yours and situations that reliably pull you off track. A to-do list says where your time should go. A not-to-do list protects that time from the things that quietly take it.
The idea was popularized by Tim Ferriss in a 2007 blog post listing nine habits to stop, such as checking email first thing in the morning and agreeing to meetings without a clear agenda or end time. Since then people have used it far beyond work: phones, money, health and home.
A good not-to-do list has three qualities. It is short (5 to 10 lines you can remember), specific ("no phone in the bedroom", not "less phone") and yours (written for the places where you lose time, not copied from someone else).
Not-to-do list examples: 48 ideas by area
Each item comes with what to do instead, because a gap is easier to keep when something fills it. Pick two or three from the areas that cost you the most.
At work
| Not to do |
Do instead |
| Check email before starting your most important task |
Open the hardest task first; email at 10 |
| Accept meetings without an agenda or end time |
Ask "what do we need to decide?" before you accept |
| Say yes on the spot to new requests |
"Let me check and reply tomorrow" |
| Keep chat and email open all day |
Check at set times, three or four a day |
| Multitask in calls |
Close other windows or take notes by hand |
| Redo work someone else should own |
Hand it back with a clear note |
| Work through lunch at your desk |
Take 20 minutes away from the screen |
| Start the day without a top 3 |
Write tomorrow's top 3 before you log off |
| Polish tasks that are good enough |
Set a time limit and ship |
| Answer work messages after 7 p.m. |
Schedule replies for the morning |
Phone and screens
| Not to do |
Do instead |
| Take the phone to bed |
Charge it outside the bedroom |
| Check the phone in the first 30 minutes after waking |
Water, light, then your morning routine |
| Keep notifications on for apps that are not people |
Allow only calls, messages and calendar |
| Scroll during meals |
Phone face down in another room |
| Keep social apps on the home screen |
Move them to a folder, or log out |
| Watch "one more" episode on work nights |
Turn off autoplay; stop at the end of the first |
| Open the phone when bored in a line |
Carry a book or just look around |
| Read the news more than once a day |
One set time, from one source |
For a fuller plan, see how to reduce screen time and the screen time calculator.
Money
| Not to do |
Do instead |
| Keep cards saved in shopping apps |
Type your card each time |
| Shop when bored, tired or upset |
Add it to a 48-hour wish list |
| Buy something because it is on sale |
Ask whether you would buy it at full price |
| Open marketing emails |
Unsubscribe from five today |
| Ignore your bank balance for a month |
Check it once a week |
| Pay for subscriptions you forgot |
Cancel one you have not used in 30 days |
| Lend money you cannot afford to lose |
Say no kindly, or give what you can spare |
| Buy lunch out every workday |
Bring lunch three days a week |
A no-spend challenge turns the money items into a 30-day tracker.
Health
| Not to do |
Do instead |
| Skip breakfast and then raid the snack drawer |
Eat something with protein before 10 |
| Drink caffeine after 2 p.m. |
Switch to decaf or herbal tea |
| Sit for more than an hour without moving |
Stand and walk for 3 to 5 minutes |
| Keep sweets on the counter |
Store them out of sight |
| Push through pain in workouts |
Stop and adjust, or see a professional |
| Skip sleep to finish work |
Set a bedtime alarm and keep it |
| Eat in front of a screen every evening |
Eat at the table at least four nights a week |
| Say "I'll start Monday" |
Do a 2-minute version today |
Home
| Not to do |
Do instead |
| Leave dishes overnight |
Run a 10-minute kitchen reset after dinner |
| Let mail pile up |
Sort it the day it arrives: bin, act, file |
| Keep things "just in case" |
Donate one item a day for a month |
| Do all the chores on Saturday |
Spread them across the week |
| Start a new project before finishing one |
Finish or drop the current one first |
| Go to bed with a cluttered floor |
Five-minute tidy before bed |
| Buy storage before decluttering |
Declutter first, then see what you need |
Relationships and self
| Not to do |
Do instead |
| Reply when you are angry |
Wait a night, then reply |
| Compare your progress with someone's highlights |
Compare with yourself last month |
| Over-explain a no |
One sentence, then stop |
| Gossip about people who are not there |
Change the subject or say something kind |
| Cancel on friends at the last minute |
Only accept what you can keep |
| Keep commitments that no longer fit |
Leave one, politely and early |
| Spend weekends catching up on work |
Keep one full day work-free |
How do you write a not-to-do list?
- Look back at last week. Where did time go that you did not plan to spend? Check your phone's screen time, your calendar and your bank app. Write down three leaks.
- Write each item as a rule you can see yourself keeping. "No phone in the bedroom" is clear. "Be less distracted" is not.
- Start with "I don't". In small studies, framing a refusal as "I don't" instead of "I can't" helped people resist temptation (Patrick and Hagtvedt, 2012). "I don't check email before 10" sounds like a choice, not a punishment.
- Add the replacement. Next to each rule, write what you do instead, as in the tables above.
- Keep it to 5 to 10 lines. If you cannot remember the list, you will not keep it.
- Put it where you will see it. On your desk, as your phone wallpaper or next to your to-do list.
- Review it every week. Cross out what has become automatic, add the next leak. The weekly review tool has a step for this.
Free not-to-do list template
The free to-do list opens with a filled not-to-do list next to your own lists, so you can edit the example lines instead of starting from a blank page. It saves on your device, prints on one page in five designs, and can be saved as a PNG for your phone's lock screen. Tick each line on days you kept it, or print a blank copy and write your own.
Want to see a full example first? Here is one for a remote worker:
- I don't check email before my first focus block.
- I don't keep my phone on the desk while I work.
- I don't accept meetings without an agenda.
- I don't work from the couch or the bed.
- I don't eat lunch at my laptop.
- I don't answer work messages after 6 p.m.
- I don't shop online when I am tired.
- I don't take my phone to bed.
How do you stick to a not-to-do list?
- Make the rule easy to keep. Change the setup, not just your intention: log out of the app, put the charger in the hallway, remove saved cards.
- Use an if-then plan. "If someone asks for a meeting without an agenda, then I ask what we need to decide." Planning the response in advance makes it more likely to happen; see what research says about if-then plans.
- Track one rule at a time. Pick the rule that matters most and tick each day you kept it in the habit tracker.
- Have a script for saying no. "Thanks for thinking of me. I can't take this on right now" covers most requests.
- Expect slips. Breaking a rule once is information, not failure. Ask what made it hard and change the setup.
Not-to-do list vs to-do list vs stop-doing list
| List |
What it holds |
How long it lasts |
| To-do list |
Tasks to finish |
A day or a week |
| Not-to-do list |
Rules you keep every day |
Months, reviewed weekly |
| Stop-doing list |
Tasks or projects you drop for good |
One-off decisions |
Use the to-do list for what to do, often with a method like eat the frog or the 1-3-5 rule, and the not-to-do list for how you protect it. For bad habits that need more than a rule, see the list of bad habits with a swap for each and how to break a bad habit.
Common mistakes
- Writing 30 rules. You will remember none of them. Start with three.
- Rules that are too vague. "Waste less time" cannot be kept or broken. Name the action and the time or place.
- Rules that punish. A list of things you hate doing to yourself will not last. Keep rules that protect something you care about.
- No replacement. Removing the evening scroll without a book, a walk or an earlier bedtime leaves a gap that the scroll fills again.
- Never reviewing. Your leaks change with your job and season; your list should too.
Turn your top rule into a 30-day habit with the 30-day productivity habits plan, browse more productivity guides or build a personal plan.
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