Exclusion List
Just think about the above list of six to do items. At the beginning of the day item number one is your “to do” item. Items two through six are your exclusion items list. You do NOT work on them until the previous items are completed.
So, the exclusion list is really your “not to do” list until you’ve completed the items listed before them. So, the exclusion list is just as important as the to do list. It lists the things that you should NOT be coerced into doing until their proper time comes.
Warren Buffett, one of the richest men in the world, also has a productivity strategy. It’s called the “two list” method. Here’s how he explained it to the pilot of his plane when the pilot asked him how he could become more productive.
He told the pilot to write down 25 things he would like to accomplish. Now these 25 things could be during his life span, per year, per month, per week, per day, the time span doesn’t matter. What matters is writing down the 25 things you would like to accomplish in whatever time span.
Then prioritize the list to come up with the top five things you would like to accomplish— the five items, on the list, that are most important to you.
You now have two lists. The first list with 20 of the 25 items and the second list with the remaining, top five, items.
Read the following phrasing very carefully, it is very important.
The list of 20 is the list to “avoid at all costs” until you’ve accomplished the list of five!
You can use this method in all aspects of your personal and business life. You can have multiple lists. One for your entire life. One for the year. One for the day, etc.
