Product Description

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. In Getting Things Done Allen shows how to:

€ Apply the "do it, delegate it, defer it, drop it" rule to get your in-box to empty
€ Reassess goals and stay focused in changing situations
€ Plan projects as well as get them unstuck
€ Overcome feelings of confusion, anxiety, and being overwhelmed
€ Feel fine about what you're not doing

From core principles to proven tricks, Getting Things Done can transform the way you work, showing you how to pick up the pace without wearing yourself down.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #75 in Books
• Published on: 2002-12-31
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 267 pages

Amazon.com
With first-chapter allusions to martial arts, "flow," "mind like water," and other concepts borrowed from the East (and usually mangled), you'd almost think this self-helper from David Allen should have been called Zen and the Art of Schedule Maintenance.

Not quite. Yes, Getting Things Done offers a complete system for downloading all those free-floating gotta-do's clogging your brain into a sophisticated framework of files and action lists--all purportedly to free your mind to focus on whatever you're working on. However, it still operates from the decidedly Western notion that if we could just get really, really organized, we could turn ourselves into 24/7 productivity machines. (To wit, Allen, whom the New Economy bible Fast Company has dubbed "the personal productivity guru," suggests that instead of meditating on crouching tigers and hidden dragons while you wait for a plane, you should unsheathe that high-tech saber known as the cell phone and attack that list of calls you need to return.)

As whole-life-organizing systems go, Allen's is pretty good, even fun and therapeutic. It starts with the exhortation to take every unaccounted-for scrap of paper in your workstation that you can't junk, The next step is to write down every unaccounted-for gotta-do cramming your head onto its own scrap of paper. Finally, throw the whole stew into a giant "in-basket"

That's where the processing and prioritizing begin; in Allen's system, it get a little convoluted at times, rife as it is with fancy terms, subterms, and sub-subterms for even the simplest concepts. Thank goodness the spine of his system is captured on a straightforward, one-page flowchart that you can pin over your desk and repeatedly consult without having to refer back to the book. That alone is worth the purchase price. Also of value is Allen's ingenious Two-Minute Rule: if there's anything you absolutely must do that you can do right now in two minutes or less, then do it now, thus freeing up your time and mind tenfold over the long term. It's commonsense advice so obvious that most of us completely overlook it, much to our detriment; Allen excels at dispensing such wisdom in this useful, if somewhat belabored, self-improver aimed at everyone from CEOs to soccer moms (who we all know are more organized than most CEOs to start with). --Timothy Murphy

From AudioFile
Productivity trainer and consultant David Allen offers a crash course in basic time management and personal organization. While Allen's reading is a little stiff, his enthusiasm for the topic and his passion for systems comes across loud and clear. Allen's message is concise: Organize yourself to free your mind for greater pursuits. And this simple production makes that daunting task seem possible. It's a quick glimpse at setting goals, clearing clutter, and staying focused. Allen's reading, although one dimensional, suits the nature of the topic, making this worth the time for the effort it will save down the road. H.L.S. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Allen, a management consultant and executive coach, provides insights into attaining maximum efficiency and at the same time relaxing whenever one needs or wants to. Readers learn that there is no single means for perfecting organizational efficiency or productivity; rather, the author offers tools to focus energies strategically and tactically without letting anything fall through the cracks. He provides tips, techniques, and tricks for implementation of his workflow management plan, which has two basic components: capture all the things that need to get done into a workable, dependable system; and discipline oneself to make front-end decisions with an action plan for all inputs into that system. In short, do it (quickly), delegate it (appropriately), or defer it. While an infomercial for the author's consulting practice, this road map for organizational efficiency may help many who have too much to do in too little time, both professionally and in their personal lives. Mary Whaley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Changed My Day-to-Day Life
This is the only book I've read that has changed my day-to-day life every day in visible ways. I say that having read it over a year ago, not just last week. My desk was cluttered and piled with papers; it's now clear every day. My inbox had over 6,000 emails; there are four unread in my inbox as I write this. My folders are all uniformly labeled. Administravia that would barely get done is efficiently processed in a timely manner unless I've consciously decided to do it later. This is a must read for everyone.

Great Methods That May Require Patience
The workflow David Allen presents in Getting Things Done is incredibly useful. So much so, in fact, that it can make the book difficult to read. I personally started the book twice, only to put it back on the shelf half-completed, before reading it completely on my third attempt.

In the interest of getting things done, the book is written in such a way that unfinished business will be drawn out of your subconscious to occupy your central thought process. Unfortunately, this mental burden distracts attention from reading the book itself.

During my first two attempts, this became so frustrating that I simply had to stop reading the book. However, I was still able to take away valuable lessons. One of the primary tenets of GTD, is ensuring these reminders get written down in a trusted system. In so doing, the nagging voice in your head will subside, allowing you to focus and complete tasks efficiently.

I began by integrating the ideas I had read into my own way of working. In so doing, I was able to reach a level where I could finally pick up the book and read it in its entirety, without having my concentration broken by reminders of my open loops.

If you are looking to improve your productivity, I highly recommend this book. Start implementing the ideas into your workflow as you read them, and don't be too concerned about reading cover-to-cover. Depending on your work style, a complete GTD workflow may need to be adopted incrementally over time.

Be Amazed At How Much More You Can Get Done
I get three times what I used to get done in a week because of the systems of time manipulation I have developed. Another good book that gives time manipulation tools is Don't Like to Read, Then Don't, Listen!: How to Turn Any Type of Text Into Audio Files That Can Be Read to You!