What I am reflecting?
Manifested Friday: The Power of Decision
Hey, readers of Manifested Friday.
This week, as we head into another weekend, I’d like to share something I learned with you.
This week, I was listening to David Allen. David Allen is the famous author of Getting Things Done, a book about stress-free productivity. The methodology is built around moving all your tasks and thoughts out of your head and into an external system or archive.
His concept is simple: our minds are really good at being creative and thinking of ideas, but they’re not so great at holding all those ideas and contexts. That’s why dumping everything into an external storage or archive system is such a good idea.
There are five core strategies in Getting Things Done (GTD):
- Capture – Gather every task, idea, and reminder into an inbox to clear your mind.
- Clarify – Process what each item means and decide whether it is immediately actionable.
- Organize – File non-actionable items away, and put actionable tasks into the appropriate structure and lists.
- Reflect – Review your lists regularly to keep the system updated and functional.
- Engage – Confidently choose which action to take based on your current context and energy.
What struck me is how similar this is to the coaching process.
When we coach, there are two important parts. The first is alignment, where we often use the GROW Model:
- G – Goal
- R – Reality
- O – Options
- W – Way Forward
If you look closely, the Goal and Reality stages are really about alignment—getting things out of your mind. Once you express your thoughts, your mind immediately feels lighter because it no longer has to hold everything. And when those thoughts come back later, you know you’ve already processed them.
Then comes the second part: Options and Way Forward.
The Options stage is where you explore the possibilities available to you. Then, in Way Forward, you make a decision. For every task or thought you’ve pulled out of your mind, you decide what is truly important.
If something isn’t necessary for you to work on, simply let it go. Don’t carry it. Move on.
The next time that thought pops back into your mind, you’ll remember that you’ve already made a decision not to give it your attention. That allows you to confidently focus on the things you’ve chosen to work on.
Getting to an agreement with yourself—knowing what you want and what you don’t want—is a wonderful way to find peace. It helps you make peace with your decisions and with the endless to-do list that keeps appearing in your mind.
This was a great reminder for me as well.
Whenever something comes up, make a decision. File it away. Review it when needed. Most importantly, decide whether to move forward with it or simply let it go.
I remember one of my coaches once said to me: “Billy, there’s always power in decision.”
Once you decide, it reinforces your mind. It helps you relax, become calmer, and align yourself with the actions you’re going to take.
I’ll include the link to Getting Things Done below if you’d like to explore it.
As you head into this week, I hope you make the decisions you’ve been putting off.
May you find peace, calm, and confidence in your decisions.
Have a wonderful weekend.
If you’d like to dive deeper into David Allen’s productivity system, I highly recommend reading Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity. It’s one of the classic books on personal productivity and has helped millions of people build a trusted system to clear their minds and focus on what truly matters.
📖 Goodreads: Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
I hope you find it as insightful as I did. Happy reading!
Quote I’m pondering
“When you make a choice, you change the future.” – Deepak Chopra
Affirmation I used
I am defining in compelling detail what I want to be, what I want to do, and what I want to have.