When it comes to making time for innovation, the urgent often gets inthe way of the essential. I often get the question of “how do wemake time for innovation when we have so much on our platesalready?”

With the pace of change getting faster and information flowbeing infinite, it is difficult not to mistake working hard withworking on the right things. Moreimportant, it’s hard to generate a “mind space clearing” forthinking about the future in a productive and effective way.

If that sounds like you, you’re not alone. We’ve heard thisconcern expressed over and over. And it becomes a really logicaland believable excuse to put off innovation.

One way out of this dilemma is to make your “to-don’t” list.Almost everyone has things they can put on this list. These couldbe things that are discreet tasks or, more likely, habits that takeup a lot of time and mind space that are unconscious. And riddingyourself of these things feels like it does after you clean outyour garage, a closet or a junk drawer.

I’ve become very conscious of this in recent months and daysbecause I set a goal for myself. In fact, as this is being written,I am in preparation to leave for a six-week sabbatical toreacquaint myself with what’s truly important before I take on anew and challenging assignment. And as a result of that, my“to-don’t” list was much easier to create and adhere to.

What might be on your “to-don’t” list? First, deal with thediscreet things that you and everyone else can actually see. To getat these, you should ask yourself the following questions:

1. What business activities have I been doing for more than ayear where I am not sure what the impact to the business actuallyis? (Common things in this category include generating reports,updating old websites, standing meetings and conference calls,attending conferences, etc.)

2. What activities I am doing personally that can bedelegated to someone else who iseither up-and-coming in a similar role to mine or is better at theactivity than I am?

3. If I had to make a list of the top three to five activitiesthat make or break my success, what would they be? What wouldhappen if I didn’t do the other things? What would happen if nobodydid those things?

Beyond the obvious, let’s go to the less obvious. This is hardbut potentially more impactful. The issue you need to address hereis “what am I laboring over for too long and why?” To get at thispart of your list, consider these things:

1. How do I decide which emails to answer and which ones to notanswer?

2. How do you gracefully but swiftly say no to certainopportunities? (Swift no’s are better than slow maybes, both foryou and for the other party)

3. How do we get more efficient in meetings? Stop and thinkabout how many times your team is in agreement yet continues todiscuss the same issue.

When it comes to making time for innovation, there’s amisconception that a longer list and more ideas is necessary. Bymaking your “to-do” and “to-don’t” lists, you not only narrow thefocus but also eliminate the risk of spending time and resourceswhere they don’t belong. You’d be surprised how quickly you canmake room on your plate for innovation when you do this.

Take the chaos out of trying to check off every bullet point andallow yourself to regain control by getting rid of what won’t getdone. It’s time for our “to-don’t” list to hang just as clearlynext to our “to-do” list, creating the time and mind spacenecessary for cultivating innovation.

I challenge you to try it out. Benchmark your successes by notdoing things. Acknowledge what you have gained by what you didn’tdo. Whether you are facing a new challenge or are simply stuck inthe same routine, start making two lists for prioritization andstick to them both.