David Allen on goal setting

goalsDavid Allen was recently interviewed by Scientific American on goal setting. Do goals really work? Have most people already broken what they set just 3 weeks ago? LISTEN NOW (4 min)

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4 Comments

  1. The idea about the importance of always setting goals and being cool with never achieving most of them, may be startling at first. But it is brilliant.

    What David Allen is doing here is distinguishing collecting from processing, and doing. The first thing to do is collect! Then process! The do those things you decide to do!

    So collect as many goals as you can. Then process them. Some may be for “today” or be a project, or may be pending, or someday/maybe. In a weekly review, you might say, “I don’t care about reading that book any more, because I found more interesting books since then.” But do those that you choose to do, when the time is right, if that happens.

    What we need to learn to do is to stop being afraid to dream of goals, because we are aware most goals won’t be achieved, and we will feel like failures.

    Rather, what we need is to free ourselves from the idea that choosing a goal is an obligation, mandate, or duty. NO! It is an idea that needs to be collected and processed. Have a lot of them, all the time, and you will learn how many can go in the trash can, unfulfilled, but still they have served you by exercising your mind and creating those habits, and nourishing your exuberance for life, enabling you to achieve some of those goals that you never would have allowed yourself to dream of, in the first place. And being a much more fulfilled person in the process.

  2. Man DA is so awesome. I love the idea of spending time to envision what I want life to be like in the future. Go deep, focus, and be free of all constraints. Capture the data somewhere…..and then move on with your life. Things will change without you even knowing it. Sure you may not have hit the same goals you start with…but like DA says…easier to adjust when you’re moving then when you are standing still.

    I’m so glad I GTD.

  3. Thanks David Allen for all your great work! You’ve made my life do a 180 in just one reading!

  4. Hi dave
    I still cant figure out how to get things done. I read all your books studied all the material I just dont understand why things dont work out well.

    Please let me know if I should try somewherelese or another approach.

    Sincerely
    Charlie

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