A lot of productivity and time management advice includes all the things you should not do.

• Don’t sleep in.
• Don’t use your phone in the morning.
• Don’t check email before lunchtime.
• Don’t binge watch Netflix late into the night.
• Don’t have social media on your phone, etc…
• Don’t leave any emails in your inbox.
• Don’t sleep with your phone in the room.

Why is so much productivity advice about what NOT to do?

The choices you make about your time and focus should be about what you are saying YES to.

The problem is that it is a lot harder to figure out what you want.

It’s far easier (and more dramatic) to focus on what to avoid than it is to take the time to figure out what to embrace.

In fact, the whole reason we are saying NO to some of those things is so that we can actually say YES to what we really want to do.

I am not going to check my email before lunch because I would rather spend that time writing.

Having a long list of things you don’t do will not make you productive.

What do you do in the time you’ve created for yourself? What do you choose to say YES to? Saying YES to the right thing is what makes you productive.

No is easy. Yes requires focus.