Womankind – August 2019

NOT TO DO LIST 60 Flourish

To do lists are popular tools for

prioritising the day ahead, allowing

us to focus on certain tasks that we

think are important to get done in

a day, or in a life. But rarely do we

write out a ‘not to do’ list, listing

those activities we don’t wish to

do in a day, or year, or lifetime. It’s

these activities and habits that often

eat away at our best intentions - the

midnight viewing of some dread-

ful soap opera when we’d be better

off in bed, or the mindless scrolling

on the internet eating into time

that would otherwise be devoted to

painting or studying. The ‘not to do’

list can be referenced to better assess

our lifetime achievements as well -

allowing us to celebrate the accom-

plishments of ‘not doing’. Let’s say,

for instance, you don’t smoke, and

you think this is deserving of praise,

then you might say to yourself, “I’m

grateful for the fact that I don’t

smoke”. Having a regularly updated

‘not to do’ list can make us feel hap-

py and grateful for our self-discipline

and self-regulation, for all those ev-

eryday efforts that require daily will-

power to ‘not do’. And by having a

‘not to do’ list we may find that some

of those wishful activities on our ‘to

do’ list actually get done.

BY ANTONIA CASE

Not to

do list

Illustration by Monica Barengo

NOT TO DO LIST 60 Flourish

To do lists are popular tools for
prioritising the day ahead, allowing
us to focus on certain tasks that we
think are important to get done in
a day, or in a life. But rarely do we
write out a ‘not to do’ list, listing
those activities we don’t wish to
do in a day, or year, or lifetime. It’s
these activities and habits that often
eat away at our best intentions - the
midnight viewing of some dread-

ful soap opera when we’d be better

off in bed, or the mindless scrolling

on the internet eating into time

that would otherwise be devoted to

painting or studying. The ‘not to do’

list can be referenced to better assess

our lifetime achievements as well -

allowing us to celebrate the accom-

plishments of ‘not doing’. Let’s say,

for instance, you don’t smoke, and

you think this is deserving of praise,

then you might say to yourself, “I’m

grateful for the fact that I don’t

smoke”. Having a regularly updated

‘not to do’ list can make us feel hap-

py and grateful for our self-discipline

and self-regulation, for all those ev-

eryday efforts that require daily will-

power to ‘not do’. And by having a

‘not to do’ list we may find that some

of those wishful activities on our ‘to

do’ list actually get done.

BY ANTONIA CASE

Not to

do list

Illustration by Monica Barengo