What are you going to stop doing?

We're a few days into the new year, still full of inspiration and drive to make this year better than the last. Whether you have made resolutions or developed a business plan or neither of the above, the possibilities stretch before you. BUT - if you are going to make room to chase all of the possibilities, what are you going to choose to stop doing?

Replacement vs. Open Space

You might choose to implement one behavior to replace another one. Instead of cookies, you're going to choose an apple for a snack. It's a direct trade - this for that. Start eating fruits and veggies, stop eating sweets. But you're still eating, and your stomach is getting full. Start taking the stairs and stop taking the elevator - whether you're exercising to do it or not, you're still reaching another floor.

Even straightforward replacement choices can be difficult to stick to - there has to be a "want to" rather than a "should" attached to them for you to continue to choose them, over and over again, until they become habits. What can be even more challenging is to open up some space for something that is not necessarily a direct replacement for another - to make room for opportunity. After all, space abhors a vacuum, right? 

Alignment with Goals, Priorities

When you choose to stop doing something, it's because something else is more important, more directly in line with your goals. Your time and energy are not unlimited resources, so you can only fit so much into your day. Yet there are some activities that are consuming space but not providing the kinds of outcomes that you want.

Stephen Covey called these disposable activities Quadrant 3 activities - things that are pulling at you and feeling urgent, but that are not important. They are the first things to go when you want to make room for the important things. And as you focus on the important things, especially the things that are not crises pulling at you but rather capacity building and crisis prevention activities, you will find that the number of crises will shrink and the progress toward your goals will gain velocity.