David Allen
Your power is proportional to your ability to relax.
Your brain has an in-built mechanism for finding patterns you've programmed because of where you've put your attention. Solutions, innovations, and success come not from greater intelligence or creativity but from what we notice because of where we point those attributes.
You don't have time to do any project, because you actually can't do a project - you can only take action steps.
Where do most people hang out socially at home? The kitchen. No more maids, no more servants. Today, most of us live another lifestyle entirely, in which we're all in it together, and that's the fun.
When most people sit down to make a list, they're actually trying to combine all five of the phases we've defined for mastering workflow: collect, process, organize, review and do.
Well, guess where most of those fires and crises come from? Correct - from secondary things that were ignored because of all the fires and crises. This syndrome does not self-correct, it self-perpetuates.
Tricks are for the not-so-smart, not-so-conscious part of us. To a great degree, the highest performing people I know are those who have installed the best tricks in their lives.
There's a subtle but critical difference between something that is long term and something in the category of 'someday/maybe'. Either a project is an open loop to close, as soon as possible, or it is not.
The next time you want to hires someone and are evaluating performance and skill sets, look at the person's ability to get ready fast. When has she been really surprised (positively or negatively)? How long did it take her to integrate it and navigate a positive response?
Sometimes the greatest gain in productive energy will come from cleaning the cobwebs, dealing with old business, and clearing the decks.
So in order to achieve clarity and be fully and positively engaged in what you're doing, you must (1) know the goal or outcome you're intending and (2) decide and take the next physical move to propel you in that direction.
Once a week, do a thorough review of all your projects in as much detail as you need to. If you do, your systems will work. If you don't, no system will work.
My opinion is that anybody offended by breastfeeding is staring too hard.
Mosquitoes can ruin the hunt for big game.
'Land on Mars' as a project still comes down to something like 'Call Fred about the Mars budget proposal' that can be accomplished as soon and as easily as any other activity in our inventory of work at hand.
It's hard to be fully creative without structure and constraint. Try to paint without a canvas. Creativity and freedom are two sides of the same coin. I like the best of both worlds. Want freedom? Get organized. Want to get organized? Get creative.
If you want to catch fish, and really enjoy the sport, you will maintain your lures and line in some organized fashion. The best at it will always have their tackle ready.
I've experienced (more times than I like to admit) avoiding slightly uncomfortable conversations with others I should have had on the front end and then endured much more excruciating ones on the back end.
'I need milk' and 'I need to decide whether to buy this company' both tie up space in psychic RAM. The solution is simple. Write it down. Look at it. Do it or say to yourself 'not now'.
Decide the outcome and the action step, put reminders of those somewhere your brain trusts you'll see them at the right time, and listen to your brain breathe easier.