David Allen Quotes

Sometimes the biggest gain in productive energy will come from cleaning the cobwebs, dealing with old business, and clearing the desks—cutting loose debris that's impeding forward motion.

You can fool everyone else, but you can't fool your own mind.

The better you get, the better you better get.

A successful executive is one that solves bigger problems than he/she creates.

The sense of anxiety and guilt doesn't come from having too much to do; it's the automatic result of breaking agreements with yourself.

The great secret about goals and visions is not the future they describe but the change in the present they engender.

Some people have to move, physically, to "get" something. But if you're stuck in a chair, that's not your limitation - it's simply not an optimal condition for you.

The problem is, is when your focus is created by a crisis, then the frontal lobe shuts down essentially, the frontal cortex which is your intuitive intelligence. So you get very clever and very stupid in a crisis. Also, you pump adrenalin into your body from what you - physiologically you'll crash.

Focusing on your values may provide you with meaning, but it won't simplify things.

Distracting reactions about anything undermine a clear mind about anything else.

In Ireland we have a very old saying, When you can see the mountains it's going to rain and when you can't see the mountains it's raining.

You can't manage time, you actually only manage what you do during time. So the management issue is not so much about time, it's more about how do you manage your focus, how do you manage your actions and your activities in terms of what you do.

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.

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.

It's easier to change directions if you are in motion.

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

A Keyring? Achievements? These are not WoW-specific things. They are common sense. They exist in the real world.

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.

Most people feel best about their work the week before their vacation, but it's not because of the vacation itself. What do you do the last week before you leave on a big trip? You clean up, close up, clarify, and renegotiate all your agreements with yourself and others. I just suggest that you do this weekly instead of yearly.

A vision of a desired future allows you to engage and identify immediately in your focus with an improved condition. It changes what you perceive and how you perform NOW. It's not about achieving something in time. It's rather about the quality of choices you are making in this moment - what you choose to perceive, feel, and do. It's about getting the most out of your experience.

Small things done consistently, in strategic places, create major impact.

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

Your ability to generate power is directly proportional to your ability to relax

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

The balance you have between drive and patience may be your master key to success.

Isn't it interesting that people feel best about themselves right before they go on vacation? They've cleared up all of their to-do piles, closed up transactions, renewed old promises with themselves. My most basic suggestion is that people should do that more than just once a year.

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.

Much of the stress that people feel doesn't come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they've started.

You can do anything, but not everything.

Things rarely get stuck because of lack of time. They get stuck because the doing of them has not been defined.

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

'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'.

Change - even change meant to improve our lives - creates stress. We can get comfortable with our problems.

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

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