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Am I inventing things to do to avoid the important?
(1) Define a to-do list and (2) define a not-to-do list.
you should have, at most, two primary goals or tasks per day. Do them separately from start to finish without distraction.
wealth of information creates a poverty of attention and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it.
“just-in-time” information instead of “just-in-case” information.
More is not better, and stopping something is often 10 times better than finishing it. Develop the habit of nonfinishing that which is boring or unproductive
Do your own thinking independently. Be the chess player, not the chess piece.
Learn to be difficult when it counts. In school as in life, having a reputation for being assertive will help you receive preferential treatment without having to beg or fight for it every time.
This “if … then” structure becomes more important as you check e-mail less often.
The Puppy Dog Close is invaluable whenever you face resistance to permanent changes. Get your foot in the door with a “let’s just try it once” reversible trial.
wait until you have a larger order, an approach called “batching.”
Empower others to act without interrupting you.
Create systems to limit your availability via e-mail and phone and deflect inappropriate contact.
Get specific and remember—no stories. Focus on immediate actions. Set and practice interruption-killing policies.
Batch activities to limit setup cost and provide more time for dreamline milestones.
Eliminate the decision bottleneck for all things that are nonfatal if misperformed.
Never automate something that can be eliminated, and never delegate something that can be automated or streamlined.
Principle number one is to refine rules and processes before adding people. Using people to leverage a refined process multiplies production; using people as a solution to a poor process multiplies problems.
Each delegated task must be both time-consuming and well-defined.
praise the person for something, then deliver the criticism, and then close with topic-shifting praise to exit the sensitive topic.
Step One: Pick an Affordably Reachable Niche Market
Find a market—define your customers—then find or develop a product for them.
1. Which social, industry, and professional groups do you belong to, have you belonged to, or do you understand,
creating a premium, high-end image and charging more than the competition.
1. How can you tailor a general skill for your market—what I call “niching down”—or add to what is being sold successfully in your target magazines? Think narrow and deep rather than broad. 2. What skills are you interested in that you—and others in your markets—would pay to learn? Become an expert in this skill for yourself and then create a product to teach the same.
If you must play, decide on three things at the start: the rules of the game, the stakes, and the quitting time.
There are two types of mistakes: mistakes of ambition and mistakes of sloth.
If you cannot find meaning in your life, it is your responsibility as a human being to create it, whether that is fulfilling dreams or finding work that gives you purpose and selfworth—ideally a combination of both.
SLOW DANCE Have you ever watched kids On a merry-go-round? Or listened to the rain Slapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly’s erratic flight? Or gazed at the sun into the fading night? You better slow down. Don’t dance so fast. Time is short. The music won’t last. Do you run through each day On the fly? When you ask: How are you? Do you hear the reply? When the day is done, do you lie in your bed With the next hundred chores Running through your head? You’d better slow down. Don’t dance so fast. Time is short. The music won’t last. Ever told your child, We’ll do it tomorrow? And in
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Be focused on work or focused on something else, never in-between.
Time without attention is worthless, so value attention over time.
Let the small bad things happen and make the big good things happen.
Money doesn’t change you; it reveals who you are when you no longer have to be nice.
It doesn’t matter how many people don’t get it. What matters is how many people do.
The more options you consider, the more buyer’s regret you’ll have. The more options you encounter, the less fulfilling your ultimate outcome will be.
Attention is necessary for not only productivity but appreciation.
Too many choices = less or no productivity Too many choices = less or no appreciation
Fast decisions preserve usable attention for what matters.
Don’t strive for variation—and thus increase option consideration—when it’s not needed. Routine enables innovation where it’s most valuable.
Don’t confuse what should be results-driven with routine (e.g., exercise) with something enjoyment-driven that benefits from variation (e.g., recreation).
Regret is past-tense decision making. Eliminate complaining to minimize regret.
Do not agree to meetings or calls with no clear agenda or end time.
A big part of GTD (Getting Things Done) is GTP—Getting To the Point.
batch” and check at set times only.
