Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

1. Do it. If an action will take less than two minutes, it should be done at the moment it is defined.

Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought. —Henri Bergson

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

Collect Loose Papers and Materials Pull out all miscellaneous pieces of paper, business cards, receipts, and so on that have crept into the crevices of your desk, clothing, and accessories. Put it all in your in-tray for processing. Get “In” to Empty Review any meeting notes and miscellaneous scribbles on notepaper or in your mobile devices. Decide

A signpost of GTD mastery at this stage—and, indeed, life mastery!—is when one recognizes anything that has his or her attention (concerns, worries, problems, issues, tensions) and translates them into achievable outcomes (projects), to be executed with concrete next actions.

I have learned over the years that the most important thing to deal with is whatever is most on your mind. The fact that you think it shouldn’t be on your mind is irrelevant. It’s there, and it’s there for a reason.

Handle what has your attention and you’ll then discover what really has your attention.

Nothing is really new in this high-tech, globally wired world, except how frequently it is. When the pace of change in life and work was much slower, once people got past the inevitable discomfort of the new, they could hang out on cruise control for greatly extended periods of time. Most of us are now living in a world that does not afford that ti

From a practical perspective, I suggest going from the bottom up instead. I’ve coached people from both directions, and in terms of lasting value, I can honestly say that getting someone in control of the details of his or her current physical world, and then elevating the focus from there, has never missed.