Periodically, I like to step back and think about the things that I’m not doing.

I’m not talking about the things that are on my list, but that I haven’t done yet, or the things that I’m actively choosing not to do.

I’m talking about the things that I didn’t have time to think about. I ask myself questions like:

• What would I do, if I was free of $responsibility?
• What would I do, if $area was a priority?
• If I had a clone, what would I ask them to do?
• What would I do if I were more inclined to enforce things?
• What would I do if I was more inclined to be democratic?
• What would I do, if I knew I was going to leave in 6 months?
• What would I do, if I was optimizing for a year from now?
• … two years from now?

Often this exercise results in things that I’m definitely not going to do. That’s okay, at least I know what they are. But sometimes it opens up my thinking in useful ways.

Try it! And if you want to, let me know how you get on.