David Allen Quotes - Page 2

The right amount of complexity is what creates the optimal simplicity

A complete and accurately defined list of projects, kept current and reviewed on at least a weekly basis, is a master key to stress-free productivity.

The better you get, the better you better get.

When we truly need to do is often what we most feel like avoiding.

The reason that deadline actually can work very well for you is what it forces you to do is make decisions.

Review your list as often as you need to get them off your mind.

You don't manage priorities, you have them.

Anything that causes you to overreact or underreact can control you, and often does.

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

Trust yourself to do what you really feel like doing, and what you feel like doing will change. Don't, and it will plague you.

You don't actually do a project; you can only do action steps related to it.

Decide the outcome and the action step, put reminders of those somewhere your brain trusts youll see them at the right time, and listen to your brain breathe easier.

Use your mind to think about things, rather than think of them. You want to be adding value as you think about projects and people, not simply reminding yourself they exist.

Procastination is not about not doing is about not doing and feeling crappy.

If you don't fall off the wagon regularly, you're not playing a big enough game.

You won't see how to do it until you see yourself doing it.

We suffer the stress of infinite opportunity: There are so many things that we could do, and all we see are people who seem to be performing at star quality. It's very hard not to try to be like them. The problem is, if you get wrapped up in that game, you'll get eaten alive. You can do anything-but not everything. The universe is full of creative projects that are waiting to be done. So, if you really care about quality of life, if you want to relax, then ... control your aspirations. That will simplify things. Learning to set boundaries is incredibly difficult for most people.

Every decision to act is an intuitive one. The challenge is to migrate from hoping it's the right choice to trusting it's the right choice.

There is usually an inverse proportion between how much something is on your mind and how much it´s getting done!

The ancestor of every action is a thought. —Ralph Waldo Emerson

It was helpful to be able to call a lawyer...it turns out, that not only did they help me, but they really helped the whole community.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but the way out is through.

Decision-making when things show up instead of when they blow up is actually a habit that can be developed and enhanced. The trick is to get used the clean feeling of having decided, instead of sitting on a fence.

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

Anything that does not belong where it is, is an "open loop" pulling on your attention.