Paperback, 282 pages
Published Jan. 24, 2002 by Piatkus Books.
In today's world, yesterday's methods just don't work. In Getting Things Done, veteran coach and management consultant David Allen shares the breakthrough methods for stress-free performance that he has introduced to tens of thousands of people across the country. Allen's premise is simple: our productivity is directly proportional to our ability to relax. Only when our minds are clear and our thoughts are organized can we achieve effective productivity and unleash our creative potential.
Scanned instead of read it, only a madman would read this cover to cover.
Don't know if I'll have the commitment to actually do what he recommends but at the very least after finishing the book I get to feel the warm glow of what it would be like if I did do it, and that feels pretty great.
About what you'd expect from an early 2000's how to organize book, lotsa talk about paper
Part of this method works for me, but another large part is just something I don’t want to do. At least the book is a reminder that whatever I’m doing is good.
David Allen puts things in a super practical light. I have struggled with anxiety and worrying about the future and thus often find it hard to push forward to get things done 100% of the time. With his systems that he invites his readers to set in place, I have started to overcome this anxiety and be more systematic and productive in my life. These things are, as he says, "worth their weight in gold!" Thanks, Mr. Allen!
The Getting Things Done methodology has become a buzzword at my work place, considered as the ultimate solution to personal task and project management. Well then, time to take a look into this classic piece of self-improvement.
There is criticism that this book is too long and that Allen could have described the technique much more condensed. On the hand this is true and it takes some effort to keep reading, on the other hand the repetition of the key principles, in an almost preaching manner, makes it so persuasive in adopting this methodology. Probably, this is the reason why it is so popular. There are no spectacular new insights. For instance, having some sort of physical in-tray, a calendar, an organized email in-box and a check list for tasks are things are so essential and common tools, that no one probably remembers having learned to utilize these things. But …
The Getting Things Done methodology has become a buzzword at my work place, considered as the ultimate solution to personal task and project management. Well then, time to take a look into this classic piece of self-improvement.
There is criticism that this book is too long and that Allen could have described the technique much more condensed. On the hand this is true and it takes some effort to keep reading, on the other hand the repetition of the key principles, in an almost preaching manner, makes it so persuasive in adopting this methodology. Probably, this is the reason why it is so popular. There are no spectacular new insights. For instance, having some sort of physical in-tray, a calendar, an organized email in-box and a check list for tasks are things are so essential and common tools, that no one probably remembers having learned to utilize these things. But the message of the book is strong, really putting emphasis on the right utilization of these basic tools, so that you most effectively manage your work and life. I decided to follow this methodology and also research and experiment to find the right task manager tools, so that I can implement GTD most conveniently. Because there is no exact practice about how you keep track of your tasks. It could be conventional with Post-its and ticker files or fully electronic with integration of all kinds of software tools.
This book is boring to read, though it seems helped lots of people. The concept of the book is well-known for many years and makes quiet sense. But the hard part is how to implement this system into the daily life.
- When to read this book?
When you have multiple projects going at the same time and tons of things have to be done, and when the complexity and priority of those things cannot be organized into a simple to-do list.
- What benefits you will get?
After getting all of the tasks out of your mind and writing them down, you would immediately be relieved from the feeling that too many thing have not done yet.
- And then?
Collecting to-dos is easy and creating a lot of good feeling, but getting things done is another thing. The system would collapse very quickly if it has not been …
This book is boring to read, though it seems helped lots of people. The concept of the book is well-known for many years and makes quiet sense. But the hard part is how to implement this system into the daily life.
- When to read this book?
When you have multiple projects going at the same time and tons of things have to be done, and when the complexity and priority of those things cannot be organized into a simple to-do list.
- What benefits you will get?
After getting all of the tasks out of your mind and writing them down, you would immediately be relieved from the feeling that too many thing have not done yet.
- And then?
Collecting to-dos is easy and creating a lot of good feeling, but getting things done is another thing. The system would collapse very quickly if it has not been maintained very well. It is so called "GTD bankruptcy".
- Does the book tell you how to get things done?
Definitely not! To get things done, you have to know the things you are passionate, to know how to prioritize the tasks you need to do, and most importantly, to do the job. This book would not teach you how to do that.
- One more thing
Is GTD killing creativity?
It was my second read of this edition.
I noticed that I have missed many things the first time through, and it really seemed like a whole new book. I learned a lot with this second read and I realized how many details I havent't implemented on my own system because I was still so focused on the Ground and Projects level.
I am a big fan of this book. GTD is often hailed as a god-system that you need to implement every part of to gain benefits from. I found, though, that just reading it and making small changes in your life yields big gains. Stress-free my life is not, but it is less stressful than before.
Finally got through it! I figured out why I put it down halfway through before -- the second half is basically just reitaration / in-depth discussion / examples of what he's already established in the first half.
While this may be more useful for high-powered CEOs than the rest of us, there are some good techniques here. I think it's worth reading to see what you might be able to apply to your life. For me, it was the "two minute rule", universal collection, and the concept of open loops.
It didn't change my life or anything but it did give me more tools and models, always a good thing.
I read this a few years ago and thought the system and techniques had the potential to be incredible, but felt a literal application of them may feel too much like an accountant with OCD. Applying the methodology outlined in this book along with some of the fine-tuning applied by people like Merlin Mann (and others) may lead to a more workable solutions.
Either way, I strongly recommend this book as an introduction to the concepts of brain-dumping your responsibilities into a system (any system that works for you) that then refreshes and reminds you as appropriate. No matter how much of a steel trap you think your memory is... it isn't.
I didn't get this done. HA! I kill me.
(I probably shouldn't write reviews after midnight....)
currently trying to implement the Zero based inbox and hipster pda
Writing "this book changed my life" can be a cliche, but in this case, it's true. I'm a sucker for organizational schemes, and have tried many over the years, but this one works best for me.
