Gunjan Doshi

I am reading ‘Getting things done’ by Paul Allen. Paul challenges the traditional time- management approach of making priority lists and maintaing the to-dos. Instead, he talks about achieving relaxed control, clear head, and 100% attention in everything we do. I am done with the first chapter in which he talks about a major change: Getting it all out of your head. I like the following quotes from the first chapter:

• There is usually an inverse proportion between how much something is on your mind and how much it is getting done.
• There is no reason ever to have the same thought twice, unless you like having that thought.
• It is hard to fight an enemy who has outposts in your head.

I also like the “Mind like water” simile, where he says that water does not overreact or underreact, when a pebble gets thrown in. Instead it responds appropriately to the force and mass of the input and then turns to calm (pg. 11). Anything that causes you to overreact or underreact can control you, and often does.

He says your ability to generate power is directly propotional to your ability to relax.

Finally, the quote from Mark Van Doren, that made my day. Here it goes:
There is one thing we can do, and the happiest people are those who can do it to the limit of their ability. We can be completely present. We can be all there. We can…give all our attention to the opportunity before us.

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