Make your list; and check it twice.

Decide what’s naughty… and what’s nice.

I’m not talking about your Christmas list or your holiday card list or your To-Do list.

No, I’m talking about your most important list of all: your Stop Doing List.

We get caught up in the myriad tasks we have; we lose ourselves in the vortex. We forget that, as Mark Devine, author of The Way of the Seal, says, there are really only a few “high value” targets.

Think Pareto. Old Vilfredo was an economist. He was also a gardener. One day, Pareto looked out at his peas and made a stunning discovery: 20% of his peapods had 80% of the peas. Well Pareto, being the intellectual that he was, decided to explore whether this ratio could be found in areas other than his garden. And lo, the Pareto Principle, also know as the 80/20 rule, was born.

Here’s what’s true: 20% of your clients lead to 80% of your profits; 20% of your products are responsible for 80% of your revenues; 20% of your team is responsible for 80% of sales; 20% of your efforts yield 80% of your outcomes. (And, oh, by the way: 20% of your customers cause 80% of your headaches!)

So why not focus on that significant 20%… and chuck the rest?

Think back over the last year. There are certain efforts that didn’t yield any measurable results. Stop doing them. There were certain networking functions that didn’t yield any real viable leads. Stop going to them. There were certain customers that were way too high maintenance (or dangerous) to work with. Stop working with them.

Now think back to the last holiday season: There were certain gatherings you went to that left you wondering why you ever went. Don’t go back this year. There were certain functions that left you feeling drained and down. Don’t do them again. There were certain toxic, soul-sucking people that were just unpleasant to be around. Stay away from them!

Just because you’ve done something before doesn’t mean that you should keep on doing it.

Stop running around giving everything the same level of import.

Focus on what matters most. Focus on what’s high value.

Apply Pareto. Ruthlessly.

Make your Stop Doing List. Today.

I’d hate to have to send you coal.