Donald Roos

How do you decide what you will do today - and what you won't do? There simply isn't time to realise every brilliant idea and to execute every little task. And as we cannot create extra time, we need to make choices. The To Don't List is a notebook and planner that helps you make those choices, whether they concern your daily tasks, your new projects or even your professional or creative life. It gives you the gift of simplicity: Just make a list for your life/work/project/year/month/day and throw out everything after the 3rd item. It will give you time and focus. The author used the To Don't List concept a lot in his studio while brainstorming, developing new ideas or working on projects: "That's a good idea, but let's put it on the To Don't List for now." In that way, he kept his focus on his goals. The To Don't List concept became a method, and the method became the inspiration for writing Don't Read This Book. Like the Don't/Do This - Game, the To Don't List is an addition to the ToDon't--Family.

Whatever kind of creative you are, this game will get you out of your comfort zone. This mind experiment game based on the ‘ToDon’tList Method’ stimulates creativity through limitation. How to play You take 3 “Do” cards that define a unique imaginary project. You need to come up with a solution for this project. But you also get 3 “Don’t” cards, which give you a set of rules. For Example Don’t: Don’t use any other forms than squares | Don’t make the height less than 3 times the width | Don’t use less than 2 colours Do : Create clothing that is also a landmark | For two persons | To become more productive Don’t: Don’t use straight shapes | Don’t make the size static | Don’t use non-recyclable material The “Do” and “Don’t” cards make you think differently than you normally would. In the beginning, the rules might feel like a big obstacle. But once you start playing, you will see that limitations also give you possibilities. Rules make you think about loopholes. Play the game by yourself to get inspired, use it as a conversation starter or play it in teams to find out who comes up with the most surprising solution. The outcome could even be the beginning of a real project! ‘Don’t/Do This’ picks up where the book ‘Don’t Read This Book ? Time Management for Creative People’ leaves off. Like the book, the game is based on the ‘ToDon’tList Method’: the more you subtract, the more focus and time you gain.