"Getting Things Done" by David Allen

• It’s a waste of time and energy to keep thinking about something that you make no progress on.
• In training and coaching thousands of professionals, I have found that lack of time is not the major issue for them (though they themselves may think it is); the real problem is a lack of clarity and definition about what a project really is, and what the associated next-action steps required are.
• There is no reason to have the same thought twice, unless you like having that thought.
• I don’t want to waste time thinking about things more than once. That’s an inefficient use of creative energy and a source of frustration and stress.
• No matter what the setting, there are five discrete stages that we go through as we deal with our work. We (1) collect things that command our attention; (2) process what they mean and what to do about them; and (3) organize the results, which we (4) review as options for what we choose to (5) do.
• If an action will take less than two minutes, it should be done at the moment it is defined.
• You don’t actually do a project; you can only do action steps related to it.
• Throw away anything that has no potential future action or reference value.
• You have more to do than you can possibly do. You just need to feel good about your choices.
• The key ingredients of relaxed control are (1) clearly defined outcomes (projects) and the next actions required to move them toward closure, and (2) reminders placed in a trusted system that is reviewed regularly.
• The habit of clarifying the next action on projects, no matter what the situation, is fundamental to you staying in relaxed control.
• If the next action can be done in two minutes or less, do it when you first pick the item up.
• It’s important that you record the date on everything you hand off to others.
• You’re going to have to learn to say no -- faster, and to more things -- in order to stay afloat and comfortable.
• If you’re not totally sure what your job is, it will always feel overwhelming.
• If you aren’t writing anything down, it’s extremely difficult to stay focused on anything for more than a few minutes, especially if you’re by yourself.
• A renegotiated agreement is not a broken one.
• Often even the simplest things are stuck because we haven’t made a final decision yet about the next action.
• “The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.” -- Mark Twain