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Make the Most Out of Your Day With a “Won’t Do” List—Twitter’s CEO Swears by It

Tehrene Firman

October 22, 2018

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Photo: Getty Images/M-Image Photography

Every morning, you probably wake up with a to-do list of everything you need to check off within the next 24 hours, from work responsibilities to things that need attention at home. While Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is right there with you, one of his best strategies for success—as well as being more productive throughout the day—is that he also keeps a "won't do" list.

On Twitter—because where else?—he revealed a smart checklist tactic he's been doing on and off for years—and it's worked really well for him. (He is the co-creator of—and still runs—one of the world's most successful social media platforms, after all.) "Every morning, I write a checklist of work I intend to do today, and work I won’t do today. It's focused on more strategic efforts rather than calendar stuff," Dorsey writes. "I check off the 'won’t do' before I go to sleep, and eventually move them up to 'do.'"

https://twitter.com/jack/status/1052383053094350848

On his "do" list, Dorsey has tasks like meditate, work out, and follow-up on conversations. And on his "won't do" list, he has alcohol (a #SoberOctober challenge he's doing with his brothers and friends) and memos he eventually needs to write. While the "do" list might seem like the most crucial to pay attention to, that's not the case: "The 'won’t do' list is often more important than the 'do' list," he explains. "Setting the intention to deliberately not work on something gives me clearer space to think and work, and be less reactive. Some items stay on the lists for days/weeks/months, some I want to make sure I do every day."

Smart tactic, huh? If you're getting overwhelmed by having one long to-do list, this method of separating the urgent items from the ones that can wait might just be exactly what you've been looking for to keep your #girlboss goals on track.

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