As an adult, you have one major privilege: You don’t have to do anything if you don’t understand why you’re doing it.

You’re not a kid anymore—there’s no need to follow rules just because someone said so.

If you don’t have a solid why, don’t do it.

One of the biggest time drains in our lives is doing things without a clear reason. It’s why we procrastinate, overcomplicate, and resist our own work.

We pile up endless to-do lists but never seem to make progress. The real issue? Most of what’s on those lists doesn’t have a strong why behind it.

We read somewhere that we should do something, so we add it to our list. Then, instead of actually doing it, we just keep circling around it.

If I could give you just one productivity tip, it would be this: Don’t do things without a clear why. Before committing to any goal, write down your reason for it. Spell it out. You’ll quickly realize that most tasks on your list don’t pass the test. So don’t do them. Cross them off. Or put them on hold until you find a reason strong enough to make them worth your time.

This is exactly what I have every client of mine do before adding anything to their sprint board during our sprint planning call. I set a timer and I wait. Yes, I get a lot of eye rolls at first. But later, I get a lot of thank-yous for saving them a tonne of time and frustration. Clients often change their sprint goals after this excercise.

An okay why isn’t good enough. You need a strong why. If it’s lukewarm, don’t bother.

Here is why it matters: When you have a solid why, tasks don’t linger in “to-do” or “in progress” for long. They move smoothly to “done.” And if something does get stuck, it’s because of external factors—not your own mental merry-go-round.

For example, people keep telling me I should create a polished Instagram page with viral reels for my businesses. When I ask why, the best answer I’ve heard is, “Because that’s what everyone else is doing.” No one has shown me a clear ROI with dollars in it, not some vanity metrics. That’s a terrible why for something that requires so much time and money to execute. So I’m not doing it—at least, not until I have a compelling reason that actually makes sense. And if, for some unknown, I committed to this as my sprint goal, I can guarantee, it would never reach the “Done” column. I would sabotage the hell out of it.

You probably have a list of so-called “best practices” sitting on your to-do list. I suggest you don’t do a single thing from that list unless you have a clear why for it. And next time someone tries to add something to your to-do list, ask them why it needs to be done. Make them sell you on the idea. Don’t simply accept it at face value because it sounds like a reasonable to do.

Enough with the shoulds. Shoulds lead to never-ending busy-work. Let’s switch to the whys. Whys cut waste and lead to purposeful actions.

As a side bonus, you’ll quickly learn to tell the difference between an expert and a salesperson—because a true expert will be able to break things down for you in a way that makes sense.

And just like that, you can spring-clean your to-do list of all the nonsense we tend to pile on it, thanks to our never-ending, all-you-can-eat information buffet. Cut out all the shoulds and only commit to the things you can write down a solid why for. And actually write it down. I’m serious. Don’t make me pull out my timer.

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