HOW TO BE EFFECTIVE, NOT JUST EFFICIENT.

For many years I have had a "To-do list" that I have tried following though often times I have failed to do so. But I must confess that it has helped me a great deal in trying to organize myself. You, like me perhaps have a "To-do" list that helps you focus on what should be done but more importantly you need a "Stop-To-Do" list that will make you effective.

In order for you to be effective and not just efficient, there are certain things that steal your time that you need to stop doing in order to fully do what is in your "To- Do" list. Once you clearly understand your priorities, things that are important to you and it is only you who can do them like spending time with your family, the next step is learning how to say "NO". It is only a two letter word and yet one of the most difficult to speak.

Regaining margin and control in our lives will never happen unless we develop the ability to say "NO"-yes even to good things. Things we enjoy doing like spending time on Facebook for me. It is easy to say no to bad things, but it is hard to say no to things we enjoy doing. And some of these things are the things we need to put down in our "Stop-to-Do" lists. According to Jim Colins, author of 'Good to Great', we must have the discipline to say “No thank you” to big opportunities that do not fit within our priorities. A “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” is irrelevant if it is the wrong opportunity.

Saying no is not an excuse for non involvement, laziness, or insensitivity. Instead, it is purely a mechanism for living by our priorities and preserving our vitality for the things that really matter. One Pastor told me that in his church, no is a holy word. So don't shy from saying no to the good that is trying to rob you of the great. Just say "NO", that is what a "Stop To Do" list is all about. And once you make your "Stop To Do"list, make sure you execute it ruthlessly.

Have an effective week.