Quotes from David Allen

Whereas your purpose was the why of your going out to dinner, your vision was an image of the what—of the physical world's looking, sounding, and feeling the ways that best fulfilled your purpose.

your vision, what did your mind naturally begin doing? What did it start to think about? "What time should we go?" "Is it open tonight?" "Will it be crowded?" "What's the weather like?" "Should we change clothes?" "Is there gas in the car?" "How hungry are we?" That was brainstorming.

Often, on the low-tech side, the more "executive" something looks, the more dysfunctional it really is.

Others need more physical horsepower. Some need very little of either.

Tu trabajo consiste en descubrir tu trabajo y luego entregarte a él en cuerpo y alma. —BUDA

Finally (assuming that you're really committed to the project—in this case, going out to dinner), you focus on the next action that you need to take to make the first component actually happen. "Call Café Rouge to see if it's open, and make the reservation.

Klara Sztucinski, and Elliott Kellman. The administrative

Not being aware of all you have to do is much like having a credit card for which you don't know the balance or the limit - it's a lot easier to be irresponsible.

The man who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have trouble.

First of all, if it's on your mind, your mind isn't clear.

Similarly, when you are away at a conference, an off-site meeting, or on vacation, you need to expect that it will require one hour to get caught up for each day you are out of the office!

An ambient angst pervades our society—there's a sense that somehow there's probably something we should be doing that we're not, which creates a tension for which there is no resolution and from which there is no rest.

Most people have lived in a semistressful experience so consistently, for so long, they don't know that it could be quite different—that there is another and more positive place from which to engage with their world.

Lo que importa no es lo que tenemos en la vida, sino a quién tenemos en la vida. —J. M. LAURENCE

As Peter Drucker has written, "In knowledge work . . . the task is not given; it has to be determined.

We (1) capture what has our attention; (2) clarify what each item means and what to do about it; (3) organize the results, which presents the options we (4) reflect on, which we then choose to (5) engage with.

is possible to be effectively doing while you are delightfully being, in your ordinary workaday world.

Think carefully about where and when and under what circumstances you can do which actions, and organize your lists accordingly.

Let's examine the three requirements to make the collection phase work: 1. | Every open loop must be in your collection system and out of your head. 2. | You must have as few collection buckets as you can get by with. 3. | You must empty them regularly.

Simple, clear purpose and principles give rise to complex and intelligent behavior. Complex rules and regulations give rise to simple and stupid behavior.—Dee Hock

next actions. Those ideas fall into the broad category of "project support materials," and may be anything from a notion about something you might want to do on your next vacation

Instead, the key to managing all of your stuff is managing your actions.

The ability to leverage that thinking with good collection devices that are always at hand is key to increased productivity.

It does not take much strength to do things, but it requires a great deal of strength to decide what to do.