Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
by: David Allen
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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
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.
Download Description:
"""The personal productivity guru"" (Fast Company) delivers powerful methods that vastly increase your efficiency and creative results-at work and in lifeIn 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 emptyReassess goals and stay focused in changing situationsPlan projects as well as get them unstuckOvercome feelings of confusion, anxiety, and being overwhelmedFeel fine about what you're not doingFrom 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."
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
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.
Download Description:
"""The personal productivity guru"" (Fast Company) delivers powerful methods that vastly increase your efficiency and creative results-at work and in lifeIn 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 emptyReassess goals and stay focused in changing situationsPlan projects as well as get them unstuckOvercome feelings of confusion, anxiety, and being overwhelmedFeel fine about what you're not doingFrom 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."
Alternate Versions:
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- No More Clutter!
I am so inspired by this book!My filing system at work and at home has never worked as efficiently as it does now, after reading this book.Author David Allen's detailed system helps clear the 'clutter' in my mind as I have adopted his system of writing down what needs to get doneso the task is either written on my calendar or on my to-do list.I don't have to try to "remember" what I need to do next, wasting time and energy thinking and getting lost in my thoughts.If something can be done ... Read More
Rating: - Master David!
I've been to project and management training. I've been on a three-day retreat to discover my true values and to empower me to take control of my life. All those were good, but I always thought that something was missing, something to do with changing my habits, something to do with implementation, with, well... getting things done!
In comes this book, which I heard of through OmniFocus (wonderful tool for the Mac). I read it overnight and I was ON!While the courses and the training ... Read More
Rating: 
- How to get things done
I'd much rather have it as a video. Those of us who have trouble getting everything done on a timely basis DON'T have time to sit and read a self-help book this verbose.
Rating: - Life changing..
First, I want to say that I'd listened to the audio book of this years ago. And at the time it didn't resonate with me AT ALL. Frankly I'm not sure I finished the audio--but either way I couldn't remember any of it other than it was in my library.
Fast forward a couple years.. I adopted Tim Ferris' 4HWW method of listing tasks on an 8 1/2 x 11" sheet of plain paper. That worked great for me for a while. While I'm a tech guy, I like things that are effective, work anywhere, don't require ... Read More
Rating: - Great book
I was very satisfied with this purchase, this book takes all the things you already know how to do (e.g., create lists, prioritize, organize), and compiles it into a system which is practical and very effective.I now realize that this is the key step I've been missing in my personal effectiveness and cannot recommend it highly enough.
- No More Clutter!I am so inspired by this book!My filing system at work and at home has never worked as efficiently as it does now, after reading this book.Author David Allen's detailed system helps clear the 'clutter' in my mind as I have adopted his system of writing down what needs to get doneso the task is either written on my calendar or on my to-do list.I don't have to try to "remember" what I need to do next, wasting time and energy thinking and getting lost in my thoughts.If something can be done ... Read More
- Master David!I've been to project and management training. I've been on a three-day retreat to discover my true values and to empower me to take control of my life. All those were good, but I always thought that something was missing, something to do with changing my habits, something to do with implementation, with, well... getting things done!
In comes this book, which I heard of through OmniFocus (wonderful tool for the Mac). I read it overnight and I was ON!While the courses and the training ... Read More
- How to get things doneI'd much rather have it as a video. Those of us who have trouble getting everything done on a timely basis DON'T have time to sit and read a self-help book this verbose.
- Life changing..First, I want to say that I'd listened to the audio book of this years ago. And at the time it didn't resonate with me AT ALL. Frankly I'm not sure I finished the audio--but either way I couldn't remember any of it other than it was in my library.
Fast forward a couple years.. I adopted Tim Ferris' 4HWW method of listing tasks on an 8 1/2 x 11" sheet of plain paper. That worked great for me for a while. While I'm a tech guy, I like things that are effective, work anywhere, don't require ... Read More
- Great bookI was very satisfied with this purchase, this book takes all the things you already know how to do (e.g., create lists, prioritize, organize), and compiles it into a system which is practical and very effective.I now realize that this is the key step I've been missing in my personal effectiveness and cannot recommend it highly enough.
