Quotes About Prioritization

thousands of people is that most stress they experience comes from inappropriately managed commitments they make or accept.

I have discovered that one of the major reasons many people haven't had a lot of success with "getting organized" is simply that they have tried to do all five phases at one time.

Open loops can include everything from really big to-do items like "End world hunger" to the more modest "Hire new assistant" to the tiniest task such as "Replace porch lightbulb.

Handle what has your attention and you'll then discover what really has your attention.

You've got to think about the big things while you're doing small things, so that all the small things go in the right direction.

The substantive issue is how to make appropriate choices about what to do at any point in time. The real work is to manage our actions. That

Things rarely get stuck because of lack of time. They get stuck because what "doing" would look like, and where it happens, hasn't been decided. In

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.

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

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

have discovered that one of the major reasons many people haven't had a lot of success with getting organized is simply that they have tried to do all five steps at one time.

how they might be articulated into productive shape.

You can't organize what's incoming—you can only capture it and process it. Instead, you organize the actions you'll need to take based on the decisions you've made about what needs to be done.

many people let themselves get sucked into the second activity—dealing with unplanned and unexpected things that show up—much too easily, and let the other two slide, to their detriment. It is often easier to get wrapped up in the urgent demands of the moment than to deal with your in-tray, e-mail, and the rest of your open loops.

it is championing appropriate engagement with your world—guiding you to make the best choice of what to do in each moment, and to eliminate distraction and stress about what you're not doing.

next actions will make sense for you: • "Calls" • "At Computer" • "Errands" • "Office Actions" or "At Office" (miscellaneous) • "At Home" • "Agendas" (for people and meetings) • "Read/Review

you have to think about your stuff more than you realize but not as much as you're afraid you might.

A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life. —CHARLES DARWIN

Creating "ABC" priority codes and daily "to-do" lists were key techniques developed to help people sort through their choices in some meaningful way.

Bailing water in a leaky boat diverts energy from rowing the boat.

There are no interruptions—there are only mismanaged inputs.

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

capturing all the things that might need to get done or have usefulness for you—

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