David Allen Quotes

28 Sourced Quotes

It is a tricky business to know when you should set goals and objectives in order to achieve a focus, and when you would be better off dealing with the acceptance and management of your current reality so you can later step into new directions and responsibilities with greater stability and clarity. Only you will know the answer to that, and only in the moment.

David Allen
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.

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

David Allen
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

David Allen
Without a gut-level sense that you are ultimately in control of what's happening to you, you won't even consider the option that you could manage it better.

David Allen
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.

David Allen
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.

David Allen
The real issue is how to make appropriate choices about what to do at any point in time. The real issue is how we manage actions.

David Allen
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.

David Allen
Focusing on values does not simplify your life. It gives meaning and direction-and a lot more complexity.

David Allen
'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'.

David Allen
First of all, if it's on your mind, your mind isn't clear. Anything you consider unfinished in any way must be captured in a trusted system outside your mind, or what I call a collection bucket, that you know you'll come back to regularly and sort through.

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

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

David Allen
Here's how I define "stuff": anything you have allowed into your psychological or physical world that doesn't belong where it is, but for which you haven't yet determined the desired outcome and the next action step.

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

David Allen
Most often, the reason something is "on your mind" is that you want it to be different than it currently is, and yet: you haven't clarified exactly what the intended outcomes is; you haven't decided what the very next physical action step is; and/or you haven't put reminders of the outcome and the action required in a system you trust. That's why it's on your mind.

David Allen
Most of the stress people experience comes from inappropriately managed commitments they make or accept.

David Allen
There is no reason ever to have the same thought twice, unless you like having that thought.

David Allen
You don't actually do a project; you can only do action steps related to it. When enough of the right action steps have been taken, some situation will have been created that matches your initial picture of the outcome closely enough that you can call it "done.

David Allen
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.

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

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

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

David Allen
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.

David Allen
When you "have to get organized," you're probably not appropriately invested yet in what you need to get organized for.

David Allen
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.

David Allen
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.

David Allen