Quote

Why do people complain that there's no time to get their work done? Because there is more work to do than the work they think they have to do.

David Allen

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

David Allen
Think
Thinking
People
Complain
Complaining
Done
Work
Time

More quotes by David Allen

Image
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
Image
The reason that deadline actually can work very well for you is what it forces you to do is make decisions.
David Allen
Image
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.
David Allen
Image
The hardest thing about being productive is not the work, but the split second it takes to decide to take control.
David Allen
Image
There's a lot of reasons why deadline-driven may actually - it's not necessarily a bad thing, it just all it does is it speeds up and makes you a little proactive about decision making.
David Allen
Image
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.
David Allen
Image
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
Image
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
Image
What you'll tend to avoid doing is probably the most important thing you need to do because it'll probably be the most daunting and the most potentially successful thing you could be doing and that's usually out of people's comfort zone.
David Allen
Image
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
Image
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
Image
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.
David Allen
Image
You don't actually do a project you can only do action steps related to it.
David Allen
Image
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
Image
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
Image
You can do anything, but not everything.
David Allen
Image
Distracting reactions about anything undermine a clear mind about anything else.
David Allen
Image
The ancestor of every action is a thought. —Ralph Waldo Emerson
David Allen
Image
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
Image
There is usually an inverse proportion between how much something is on your mind and how much it´s getting done!
David Allen