Quotes About Prioritization

The art of reading and studying consists in remembering the essentials and forgetting what is not essential.

We are cutting things kids like-music, art, and gym classes; stuff that kept me in school. This country can't survive without you kids. It's all about you kids.

You do have to be fairly selfish when you have a gift. You cannot afford to let too many outside things get in the way.

You cannot cross the narrow bridge of art carrying all its tools in your hands. Some you must leave behind.

Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone

To exist here, I'll have to become skilled in saying no—an art in which I was once well accomplished, but one I no longer care to practice.

Frame every so-called disaster with these words: In five years, will this matter?

his schedule and the fact that he was

It sucks enough when girlfriends break plans with each other for a boy, but at least that's not against the natural order of things, like when a boy blows off his girlfriend for friends. . . . Or maybe I've had it wrong all along. Since friendships usually outlast relationships, why shouldn't friends receive preferential treatment? Because you don't sleep with your friends!

science of economics should focus on the best use of scarce means to satisfy social ends.

Live long enough and you'll disappoint everyone. People think you're able to help them and usually you can't. And so it becomes a process of choosing the one or two people you try hardest not to disappoint. The person in my life I am determined not to disappoint is you.

That was last week's messages? Eight thousand?" "You can catch up

Instead of focusing on what we can have for "free," or on who we can take from to fund trendy, idealistic projects like the Green New Deal, let's focus on keeping what we earn and cutting spending wherever possible.

At at any point in time, knowing what has to get done, and when, creates a terrain for maneuvering.

Interestingly, one of the biggest problems with most people's personal management systems is that they blend a few actionable things with a large amount of data and material that has value but no action attached.

But if you don't decide what needs to be done about your secretary's birthday, because it's "not that important" right now, that open loop will take up energy and prevent you from having a totally effective, clear focus on what is important.

There is usually an inverse relationship between how much something is on your mind and how much it's getting done.

most stress they experience comes from inappropriately managed commitments they make or accept.

That said, there's absolutely nothing wrong with creating a quick, informal, short list of "if I have time, I'd really like to . . ." kinds of things, picked from your Next Actions inventory.

Lots of people have been making lists for years but have never found the procedure to be particularly effective.

Anything that does not belong where it is, the way it is, is an "open loop," which will be pulling on your attention if it's not appropriately managed. In

I have learned over the years that the most important thing to deal with is whatever is most on your mind. The fact that you think it shouldn't be on your mind is irrelevant. It's there, and it's there for a reason.

sort of planning activity: (1) those that still have your attention even after you've determined their next actions, and (2) those about which potentially

A Projects list Project support material Calendar actions and information Next Actions lists A Waiting For list Reference material A Someday/Maybe list