Quotes from David Allen

Most often, the reason something is on your mind is that you want it to be different than it currently is, and yet: you haven't clarified exactly what the intended outcome is;

If your head is your only system for placeholding, you will experience an attempted multitasking internally, which is psychologically impossible and the source of much stress for many people.

The beginning is half of every action. —Greek proverb

you haven't decided what the very next physical action step is; and/or you haven't put reminders of the outcome and the action required in a system you trust.

Most of us have, in the past seventy-two hours, received more change-producing, project-creating, and priority-shifting inputs than our parents did in a month, maybe even in a year.

Much of what sophisticates loftily refer to as the "complexity" of the real world is in fact the inconsistency in their own minds. —Thomas Sowell

The big problem is that your mind keeps reminding you of things when you can't do anything about them.

The way I look at it, the calendar should be sacred territory. If you write something there, it must get done that day or not at all. The only rewriting should be for changed appointments.

The best way to get a good idea is to get lots of ideas. —Linus Pauling

Just like a computer, your brain has a search function—but it's even more phenomenal than a computer's. It seems to be programmed by what we focus on and, more primarily, what we identify with.

There is one thing we can do, and the happiest people are those who can do it to the limit of their ability. We can be completely present. We can be all here. We can give . . . our attention to the opportunity before us. —Mark Van Doren

The goal for managing horizontally and vertically is the same: to get things off your mind and get things done. Appropriate action management lets you feel comfortable and in control as you move through your broad spectrum of work and life, while appropriate project focusing gets you clear about and on track with the specifics needed.

Three things go on your calendar: • time-specific actions; • day-specific actions; and • day-specific information.

What's the first level of focus when the stuff hits the fan? Action! Work harder! Overtime! More people! Get busier! And a lot of stressed-out people are thrown at the situation.

The sense of anxiety and guilt doesn't come from having too much to do; it's the automatic result of breaking agreements with yourself.

There is a simple but profound principle that emerges from understanding the way your perceptive filters work: you won't see how to do it until you see yourself doing it.

Una visión sin una tarea no es sino un sueño; una tarea sin una misión no es sino un trabajo penoso. La conjunción de una visión y una tarea es la esperanza del mundo. —INSCRIPCIÓN EN UNA IGLESIA DE SUSSEX, INGLATERRA, ALREDEDOR DE 1730.

What you've probably discovered, at least at some level, is that a calendar, though important, can really effectively manage only a small portion of what you need to organize. And daily to-do lists and simplified priority coding have proven inadequate to deal with the volume and variable nature of the average professional's workload.

Much of the stress that people feel doesn't come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they've started.

Virtually every problem that would show up in your business can be traced back to communications; somebody didn't talk to somebody about something.

If the only tool you have is a hammer, it's hard to eat spaghetti.

Whereas purpose provides the juice and the direction, principles define the parameters of action and the criteria for excellence of behavior.

You can do anything, but not everything.

Focusing on your values may provide you with meaning, but it won't simplify things.