Chapter 1 - A New Practice for a New Reality
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The “Ready State” is:
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The state just after the ôAction Stateö
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A situation in which one is ôon guardö for attacks
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A condition of working, doing, and being in which the mind is clear and constructive things are happening
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A state of preparedness
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A major factor in the mounting stress level is that the actual nature of our jobs has changed much more dramatically and rapidly than have our training for and our ability to deal with work.
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An "open loop" is anything that does not belong where it is, the way it is and pulls on your attention.
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The first basic requirement for managing commitments is to realize that 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.
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Managing thoughts is the prime challenge.
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6.
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Outcome thinking is one of the most effective means available for making wishes reality.
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7.
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There is usually an inverse relationship between how much something is on your mind and:
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Its importance to you
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How much it will cost to complete
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How much its getting done
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How much time will be required to complete it
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Chapter 2 - Getting Control of Your Life: The Five Stages of Mastering Workflow
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The following is not a stage of mastering workflow.
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9.
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The "collect" stage allows you to:
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Micromanage your life
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Implement multiple methodologies to organize mission critical objectives
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Let go of the lower-level task of trying to hang on to everything
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Become a pack rat
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10.
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Having as many collection buckets as possible is a critical success factor.
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11.
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If an item is determined to be non-actionable, it might end up in your:
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Trash
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Calendar
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In-box
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Voicemail box
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12.
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You determine what to do and what not to do by trusting your intuition.
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13.
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“Next action” lists and the calendar are at the heart of daily action-management organization.
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14.
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A "project" is defined as:
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A mission critical objective
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Any desired result that requires more than one action step
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A plan which leads to the completion of an organizational objective
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An organized set of instructions required for achieving priority goals
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15.
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A weekly review of everything that might potentially require action is a critical success factor.
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Chapter 3 - Getting Projects Creatively under Way: The Five Phases of Project Planning
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The first step to the Natural Planning Model is to visualize the outcome.
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Asking why helps us to define success.
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18.
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The principle that emerges from understanding the way your perceptive filters work is:
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You must believe to achieve
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You won't see how to do it until you see yourself doing it
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Anything worth doing is worth doing right
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If the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit
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19.
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When brainstorming, one should go for quality and not quantity.
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20.
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A project is sufficiently planned for implementation when every next-action step has been decided on every front that can actually be moved on without some other component’s having to be completed first.
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Chapter 4 - Getting Started: Setting Up the Time, Space, and Tools
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The basics for a workspace are:
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A modular unit
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An intricate system of record retention
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A writing surface and room for an in-basket
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A good chair and a trash can
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22.
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Implementation, whether all out or casual, is a lot about tricks.
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23.
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One of the best tricks for enhancing your personal productivity is having organizing tools that you love to use.
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24.
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Your filing system should be fast, functional and:
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fun
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efficient
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alphabetical
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numerical
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25.
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A labeler is usually unnecessary.
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Chapter 5 - Collection: Corralling Your “Stuff”
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Supplies should go into your in basket.
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27.
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In the mind sweep, it’s best to go for quantity.
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28.
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Once you feel you’ve collected all the physical things in your environment that need processing, you’ll want to collect anything else that may be residing in your psychic RAM.
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29.
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Your “In” inventory should include emails and voice mails.
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Chapter 6 - Processing: Getting “In” to Empty
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If the next action will take less than two minutes, you should:
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Add it to your under two minute list
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Defer it
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Delegate it
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Do it
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31.
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The two minute rule is magic.
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32.
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When processing your in basket, it’s most efficient to process multiple items at a time.
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33.
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You should never put anything back into “in”.
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34.
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“Next actions” means the next physical, visible activity that would be required to move the situation toward closure.
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Chapter 7 - Organizing: Setting up the Right Buckets
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Airtight organization is required for your focus to remain on the broader horizon.
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36.
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It’s important to put actions on your calendar that you think you’d like to complete that day.
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37.
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One elegant way to manage nonactionable items that may need an action in the future is:
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The reference organizer
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The tickler file
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The holding pile
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The in basket
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38.
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It’s critical to keep the seven organizational categories pristinely distinct from one another.
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39.
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Checklists can be highly useful to let you know what you don’t need to be concerned about.
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40.
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A desired outcome that may require more than one action step to complete is called a:
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Project
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Multi-step action
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Dream
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Process
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Chapter 8 - Reviewing: Keeping Your System Functional
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The purpose of workflow management is to:
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Let your brain become lax
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Make organization fun
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Enable your brain to move toward more elegant and productive activity
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Synchronize your brain with organizational priorities
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42.
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A few hours a day is usually all you need for review.
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43.
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Your most frequent review will probably be of your daily calendar.
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44.
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The weekly review is whatever you need to do to get your head empty again.
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Chapter 9 - Doing: Making the Best Action Choices
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According to Charles Schwab, the best place to succeed is:
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In the stock market
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With the familiar
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At the beginning
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Where you are with what you have
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46.
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Taking the inventory of your current work at all levels will automatically produce greater focus, alignment, and sense of priorities.
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47.
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The first consideration according to the four-criteria model for choosing actions in the moment is:
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Time available
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Energy available
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Context
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Priority
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48.
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According to the six-level model for reviewing your own work, the 20,000 feet review focuses on areas of responsibility.
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Chapter 10 - Getting Projects under Control
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Great tools can trigger good thinking.
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50.
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The biggest improvement opportunity in planning consists of techniques for the highly elaborate and complex kinds of project organizing.
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51.
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You need to set up systems and tricks that get you to think about your projects and situations more frequently, more easily, and in more depth.
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Chapter 11 - The power of the Collection Habit
52.
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It’s important to use your mind to think about things rather than of them.
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53.
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One option for eliminating the negative consequences that comes from broken agreements is to:
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Renegotiate the agreement
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Deny the agreement
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Avoid the agreement
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Forget the agreement
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54.
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Maintaining an objective inventory of your work makes it much easier to say no with integrity.
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Chapter 12 - The power of the next-Action Decision
55.
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Avoiding action decisions until the pressure of the last minute creates huge inefficiencies and unnecessary stress.
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56.
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Clarity, accountability, productivity and empowerment are the results of:
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A good education
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Strong willpower
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Micromanagement
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A next-action decision making standard
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57.
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When a culture adopts “What’s the next action?” as a standard operating query, there’s an automatic increase in energy, productivity, clarity, and focus.
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Chapter 13 - The Power of Outcome Focusing
58.
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Defining specific projects and next actions that address real quality of life issues is productivity at its best.
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59.
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The value of natural project planning is that it provides an integrated, flexible, aligned way to think through any situation.
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60.
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Empowerment naturally ensues for individuals as they move from complaining and victim modalities into outcomes and actions defined for direction.
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