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The Not To Do List: The Life-Changing Instant Bestseller from the author of The Art of Thinking Clearly

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The new book from the multi-million-copy bestselling author of The Art of Thinking Clearly

Have you

Got stuck in your career?

Said 'yes, sure' when you should have said 'sorry, no'?

Tried to change someone?

Listened to your inner voice?



These are all examples of habits, decisions and behaviours that will derail your efforts to build a life of success - of better decisions, career and relationships; of happier and healthier living.


In his new international bestseller, Rolf Dobelli reveals 52 of life's biggest mistakes, and shows why the key to living well is so much simpler than you might think. Just understand what the pitfalls are... then avoid them.

222 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 27, 2025

68 people are currently reading
258 people want to read

About the author

Rolf Dobelli

64books1,057followers
Rolf Dobelli is a Swiss author and businessman. He began his writing career as a novelist in 2002, but he is best known internationally for his bestselling non-fiction The Art of Thinking Clearly (2011, English 2013), for which The Times has called him "the self-help guru the Germans love".

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Profile Image for Sambasivan.
1,069 reviews43 followers
March 30, 2025
Ralf Dobelli is one of my favorite authors. The art of thinking clearly is one of the best books that I have read on the subject of thinking.

In this book he adopts an inversion method to call out the negative practices and then tells us why one should stay away from it.

If you keep away from the 52 practices life can be good.

Go for it.
Profile Image for Sushil Kumar.
34 reviews1 follower
March 23, 2025
If you've ever found yourself making the same life mistakes over and over, Dobelli's "The Not To Do List", instead of telling you what to do (like most self-help books), this one flips the script and focuses on 52 things you should avoid.

The book's central philosophy borrows from Charlie Munger's wisdom: "All I want to know is where I'm going to die, so that I'll never go there." Each short chapter identifies a common pitfall, explains why it's problematic, and then offers "the quiet voice of reason" - practical advice for steering clear.

For newcomers to self-help literature, this is an accessible, quick read with straightforward language and a unique negative-to-positive approach that makes lessons stick. Experienced readers will find majority of chapters familiar territory, despite that they will find it as a good read.

Overall, it's a good addition to your reading list if you're looking for practical life advice presented in a novel way - just don't expect mind-blowing revelations if you're already well-versed in self-improvement literature.
Profile Image for Liong.
269 reviews479 followers
May 5, 2025
This book is totally different from other self-help books. 🧐

It tells you what to avoid, rather than what you should do.

It includes many historical examples of mistakes to steer clear of.

It offers 52 practical Not-To-Do Lists you can learn from.

The goal is not to do more, but to do less, better. 👍

It’s about gaining clarity, focus, and peace by consciously removing the unnecessary.

The Not-To-Do List is a powerful reminder that what you choose not to do is just as important as what you do.
18 reviews
May 5, 2025
Some good parts, some less good parts. I feel like the author tries to gloss over a lot of complex topics, providing oversimplified solutions (and for some chapters I just flat out disagree with him).
Profile Image for Jack Horton.
Author1 book2 followers
April 26, 2025
Patronising. Mentions warren buffet so many times. Not practical. An example, don’t kill yourself, take anti depressants. Such a general view and out of touch
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews

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