Marketing Dopamine • October 19, 2026
What Would You Stop Doing?
When marketing feels stuck, the instinct is to ask what else we should be doing.
One more platform. One more campaign. One more offer. The question always points toward addition, because adding feels like action.
But there is a better question, and it is much less comfortable.
What would you stop doing?
Sometimes the most strategic decision is subtraction.
Every activity in your business takes time, attention, and energy. Some of them earn that investment. Others continue simply because they were started once and never questioned. They feel responsible to keep. They are rarely reviewed.
Stopping something can feel like giving up. In reality, it frees up the attention your best work has been missing. One fewer platform can mean better conversations on the one that matters. One fewer offer can mean a clearer message about the one people actually want.
You do not need permission to stop. You need a reason to keep going, and if you cannot find one, that is your answer.
Less, chosen on purpose, is often where momentum returns.
The goal was never to do everything. It was to do the right things well.
Lisa Carmichael is the author of The Marketing Dopamine Workbook: From Awareness to Action, available now, a companion to her book Marketing Dopamine: What Your Brain Is Really Doing When You Think You’re Building a Business, coming soon. Learn more at marketingdopamine.com
You are so right, every activity in your business takes time, attention, and energy.
As per what I once learned, 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts – so you should courageously drop 80% of the non-effective activities?!
The 80/20 rule is such a good way to look at it! I think the hardest part is recognizing which activities are actually producing results and then having the courage to let go of the rest. We’re so used to thinking that doing more means accomplishing more, when sometimes the opposite is true. Thanks for sharing!
This is a nice follow-up to your post about finding what’s already working, because once you know that, the next step is letting go of what isn’t. Your test is the part I’ll remember: if you can’t come up with a good reason to keep doing something, that’s your answer. I’ve been working on a simpler life this year, Lisa, and I frequently ask myself four questions: What should I stop doing? What should I start doing? What should I do more of? What should I do less of?
I love those four questions! They’re simple, but they really make you stop and think about how you’re spending your time and energy. I’ve been asking myself some similar questions lately, and I’m realizing that doing less can actually help us accomplish more of what matters. Thanks for sharing your approach, Paul!
I agree that lessening is a good strategy. I attempt to prioritize the things that really matter.
I think that’s the challenge, isn’t it? There’s always something competing for our time and attention. I’ve been learning that making room for what matters often means letting go of something else. Thanks for sharing!