Do you managing not-to-do list?

[oneman]

In my project I also have a project to get rid of habits.
Like quitting smoking, for example. one of those next action is
'don't buy cigarettes'
'don't go smoking'
There are things you shouldn't do.
How are you managing them?

 

[mcogilvie]

I have found intrinsic motivation works best for bad habits, and really for good habits too. Not much management there, and sometimes not.much GTD either. Suppose I want to eat a healthier diet. When shopping, I buy fewer processed foods, less fatty foods, more fresh vegetables, et cetera. I feel better, which establishes a positive feedback loop. My tastes change: less fast food, more fresh healthy food. Now a couple of caveats: I shop at a store which has a lot of interesting and healthy food, and I can absorb the cost of eating more healthy food. I am an experienced cook, and I continue to expand my abilities there. As you should see, this is a very favorable example for easy change over time (and happens to be factually the case). Possible major obstaclues, like availability of healthier food, cost of food, and changes in cooking presented no difficulties. If they had, then there would have been projects and next actions to overcome those specific issues: find better places to shop, re-allocate budget, learn to cook vegetables, et cetera. Absent those barriers, the process can be gradual and natural if the motivation is there.

Recognizing the barriers and dealing with them is where GTD is valuable. If you want to look at it from a more top-down point of view, you might have a life goal (Level 5) to be as healthy as possible throughout your life. This might give rise to various projects and next actions in Areas of Focus like Health and Household. However, if you lack motivation, you will have problems, even if the path is forward is very easy.

 

[TesTeq]

In my project I also have a project to get rid of habits.
Like quitting smoking, for example. one of those next action is
'don't buy cigarettes'
'don't go smoking'
There are things you shouldn't do.
How are you managing them?

@oneman Don't use the "Not To Do" list. A human brain ignores "not". Try not to think about the elephant now.

Replace bad habits with good ones. Buy fruits instead of cigarettes. Eat a banana instead of smoking a cigarette.

 

[Murray]

I agree go for positive, doable actions rather than "don'ts".

Maybe research what people do, who are successful at the habit changes you want to install. There is often lots of research on this, especially for quitting smoking and other addictive substances. Then create actions/projects to achieve those positive outcomes.

Best wishes for creating the life you want!

 

[René Lie]

I'd probably try something that can be checked off as "done", such as "avoid smoking for one hour", or something like that.
Could be a nice trick to avoid gaining weight from eating too many bananas!

 

[dtj]

A dont's list probably isn't something you should "manage", apart from probably doing some sort of "Don't break the chain" Seinfeld-ian chain.

 

[KachriT]

An idea: create a list of the things a non-smoker would do (or a 'healthy person') or choices they would make, how they would spend their time, etc. Picture yourself as that person and do those things. #FakeItTilYouMakeIt.

 

[Gardener]

In my project I also have a project to get rid of habits.
Like quitting smoking, for example. one of those next action is
'don't buy cigarettes'
'don't go smoking'
There are things you shouldn't do.
How are you managing them?

I would transform these into "do" actions.

For example, when my father was quitting smoking, if he were using GTD his list would have included "buy licorice" and a bunch of associated tasks designed to ensure that EVERYWHERE he used to smoke was stocked with a bag of individually wrapped ultra-bitter ultra-chewy licorice candies--they were a core substitute-for-smoking habit for him. (A manual unwrapping ceremony, a bitter taste, and a few minutes of chewing, replacing a manual lighting ceremony, a bitter taste, and a few minutes of smoking.)

If I want to break the habit of overstocking the pantry, I won't have "don't buy dry goods." I will have tasks like, "Inventory pantry" and "Make permissible pantry buy list."

 

[mcogilvie]

For example, when my father was quitting smoking, if he were using GTD his list would have included "buy licorice" and a bunch of associated tasks designed to ensure that EVERYWHERE he used to smoke was stocked with a bag of individually wrapped ultra-bitter ultra-chewy licorice candies--they were a core substitute-for-smoking habit for him. (A manual unwrapping ceremony, a bitter taste, and a few minutes of chewing, replacing a manual lighting ceremony, a bitter taste, and a few minutes of smoking.)

Just in case people don’t know: Licorice is not safe to eat regularly in significant amounts. The WHO suggests that most healthy adults can safely eat up to 100 mg per day of glycyrrhizic acid, or about 2–2.5 ounces (60–70 grams) of licorice. This only applies to real licorice, not the red-colored sweet candy.

 

[dtj]

Just in case people don’t know: Licorice is not safe to eat regularly in significant amounts. The WHO suggests that most healthy adults can safely eat up to 100 mg per day of glycyrrhizic acid, or about 2–2.5 ounces (60–70 grams) of licorice. This only applies to real licorice, not the red-colored sweet candy.

I was surprised to see that a while back. You could always get the uber salty kind. If you can eat that crap to the point of health problems, you got much deeper issues. Bought a bag and survived like 20 secs of one piece, before I spit it out and gave the rest of the bag to my Mom.

 

[Tiago]

You may need to do some higher horizon reflection first. What is the area of focus (Horizon 2) that you need to flesh out before adding projects related to getting rid of bad habits? What is/are your goal/goals (Horizon 3)? How do you picture yourself in 4 - 5 years (Horizon 4)? Why do you want to get rid of those bad habits (Horizon 5)? I'd start with a project called Look into the behavior change literature and my next action would be Buy "Atomic Habits" by James Clear.