The Art of Stress-Free Productivity - Getting Things Done

If I wanted to know what a file folder or a paperclip was for this would be a very useful book. Defining them in length was a way to add words to this book. Having people go out and spend money on file folders and unnecessary billboards when we live in an age of technology seems silly.

The whole concept of being a vertical thinker is limiting. It is a narrow minded approach to allow lemmings to feel good about what they are doing. It places too much emphasis on thinking in one direction rather that stopping evaluating and seeing the entire picture of a situation.

The only thing that was useful were three lines. Do it,Delegate it, or dump it. And this is only if you want to cast off things that could very well prove useful elsewhere. Sure simplifying to the extreme reduces a persons stress, because they will never take on anything that could actually make them grow as a person.

As a history book for how things were done in the past. Go for it.

I got this book because it was recommened from the minimalist "zenhabit" blog, and i was looking forward to it.
I couldn't really see the beauty behind it.
it was pretty hard to read as well, not sure what it was, but it just wasn't for me.

The app on google play called " DGT GTD" is really good though, but i wouldn't recommend this book

I found this book a bit simplistic which may be okay if you've never previously done critical thinking about your personal methods of how you "get things done". If you're looking for challenging or advanced thoughts on the subject or any insight on how to handle very complicated matters, I'd look at other books. I don't have any direct recommendations but I know I'll be looking for books which definitely have more complex insights into topics such as this.

I got this book because it was recommened from the minimalist "zenhabit" blog, and i was looking forward to it.
I couldn't really see the beauty behind it.
it was pretty hard to read as well, not sure what it was, but it just wasn't for me.

The app on google play called " DGT GTD" is really good though, but i wouldn't recommend this book

I found this book a bit simplistic which may be okay if you've never previously done critical thinking about your personal methods of how you "get things done". If you're looking for challenging or advanced thoughts on the subject or any insight on how to handle very complicated matters, I'd look at other books. I don't have any direct recommendations but I know I'll be looking for books which definitely have more complex insights into topics such as this.

One of the most overrated books I've wasted my time reading since I can remember. Struggled getting through it since the author seems to be used to getting paid to state the obvious with the twice the amount of words necessary to get his basic point across. I'll save anyone else that got fooled into buying this book their time and do what the author couldn't seem to spell out in a single sentence. "Find a system that works for you, i.e. sticky notes, filing cabinet, outlook, computer, etc. to manage your time and stick with it." The author doesn't really go into much detail on any of these recommendations and purposely keeps the rest of the book vague since he says that even if you do come up with a system it's keep changing over time anyways!
Only thing I found useful was his flowchart which I came across on the internet before I bought the book and was one of the reasons I got the book.
And his 2 minute rule is a joke because really how many things these days can really be done in 2 minutes or less?
Anyways, didn't learn anything new about getting things done since there really is no secret to getting things done and this is a whole book on stating the obvious.
Then again I've been doing the pencil and paper method described in the book since I can remember so maybe it's mean for the clueless with no system at all?

I am very disappointed. It feels like this book was written to sell consulting services rather than provide an actionable system. The premise is sound. Get all the stuff out of your head into an organized system and use that system to direct workflow. The book is redundant and disjointed. I read the first edition but doubt the updated will be any better. Keep looking

This whole book really could have been summarized in ten pages. The rest is just fluff, mindless personal commentary on how to organize stuff without any reason on why Allen's way is better than other ways he criticizes in the opening. Allen pats himself on the back constantly saying "executives" use his method and how he sets up conferences. It's a really really bad book and a waste of time. Great title though-- made me buy the book.

The hardest thing about this book is "Getting it Done" I purchased the hard version instead of the kindle to be able to offer it to others to read if I found it to be extremely helpful in getting organized. I think this book became a best seller because most people buying the book had the same thought in mind in reading the title to make their lives stress free in getting things done! But the hardest part about this book was getting down to the nitty gritty of what it had to offer. The first several pages are so boring and slow to get to the point. We already know we can become disorganized so the author did not need to waste time filling the pages to tell us why instead of offering solutions. But because I purchased the hard copy, I saved time and found it easy to skim through and find some helpful advice scattered among the many pages. If you are like me, you make lists and cross off what you complete and accomplish. This works for me but the author does offer better methods in accomplishing work that doesn't overwhelm or force you to make such lists in the first place. The five steps, capture, clarify organize reflect and engage to master the workflow is a great solution, steps not taken individually but taken working together to move forward. A lot of what the author recommends is common sense in which most people already know but either procrastinate or become lazy in applying. With that said, and if you are like me, there are pages and pages in this book where you will easily recognize yourself. But also, if you are like me, you will also recognize some good advice to follow on some pages that will be worthwhile and save you time, such as good planning methods and reducing paperwork. For instance, one solution is to gather all the necessary resources that you need to accomplish something successfully.This may seem like common sense.Yet, you would be surprised to find how many people are not self starters or know where to begin a project without knowing they need to find and refine their resources for success. If you are busy and somewhat organized and able to get most things that you need to accomplish, you should not waste your money or time on this book. You will probably keep putting this book down and regret it is too boring and time consuming to get through. If you are disorganized, don't expect this book to cure you of disorganization or drastically change your life but use it for some valuable lessons you may find in "getting things done' Mrs Goodbuys gives this book a two star rating because the book is too complicated to read or become engrossed and did not really offer a stress free life in "getting things done" as the title entices.

Basically his theory of getting organized is putting all pertinent info into folders which are labeled. He also is adamant about making lists and writing down all information from your head so you can feel in control and be able to sleep at night.

I bought this after seeing a positive review on reddit. It's virtually unreadable, and seems to be a 10-minute lecture artificially expanded to be a book. Here, let me sum it up without the swollen redundancy and bloviating jargon:

"Make a to-do list."

I had someone recommend this book to me but I just thought it was terrible. I wanted to learn how to get things done. Instead I read a very confusing thing that was impossible to follow. I do not recommend this book at all. It should have been called getting things confusing.

The core principles in the book are good & useful. But most of this seems to be written just so it could become a book and make money. Everything that's useful in this could be told in 20 pages... or 10.

Just as an accountant now days would not use an Abacus,one should not rely on this material to aid in organizing your activities.

This is very outdated. Unless you are still using Post-It pads to keep track of your day this has no use.

I am using the light on my wood lathe and am very pleased with its construction and strong magnet. I was afraid of it getting to hot with all the wood dust but it doesn't even get warm.
I will be buying more for my other machine.

I've read the 2002 edition and found it to be extremely helpful. This version is atrocious. Ok, the core thing is the same, but it is filled with so much puffery and extraneous words, it is actually the opposite of the spirit of Getting Things Done, which is to get to the heart of the matter.

This new/revised edition clicks in at 352 pages up from the 288 pages in 2002. Seventy extra pages for what? The system didn't change, only some examples and the endless pedantic puffery. Allen was already a blowhard in 2002 (he is a management consultant, so he gets paid to have a strong presence. Curiosity made me do a count from both books (ebook versions) of the phrase "I ". A whopping 1,736 of these are found in the new edition, while an already large number 942 was in the earlier edition. That's up from an average of 3.3 to 4.9, a 50% inflation of puffery.

I feel sorry for those who would pick up this edition first, as it is really very difficult to wade through the endless wasted words especially in the first few chapters. Someone needs to make an updated version that is much, much more concise and actually follows the spirit of Getting Things Done. Peter Drucker was always the best for that and in reality, David Allen merely copied his ideas and gave concrete form in terms of organizing the paper trail. Read Drucker's "The Effective Executive" and you will learn a lot more. Then read the 2002 edition of Getting Things Done. Skip this new version, it is just too painful to read.

I'm not done reading it yet, not even close! This book didn't pull me in. I haven't yet found myself "hooked" into anything. It seems repetitive at times. A lot of the information seems to be common sense. We'll see. I'm only about 30% through!

I bought this book becasue there were so many five star reviews. Mr Allen provides a broad, general and lose archicture for getting things dome. Making lists, using folders you can buy at the office supply store, setting and organizing priorieties are true but are presented a very general general manner. Anyone might tell you this. Allen uses the 50,000 ft metaphore for describing his approach. At that altitude, it is hard to determine anything yet alone get things done. There is nothing new here, and the presentation is not not very usefull

I have decided to pay more attention to the negative reviews before buying a book.

I am halfway through the set of CDs and it has been nothing but the basics in terms of organization. Nothing specific about reducing stress with staff to-dos or advanced thinking at all. So far it is about having an inbasket and priortizing etc. Dissapointing. Hopefully the last CD will be golden but if it is I will still be dissapointed in the waste of my time.

I just finished listening to the audio book, "The 4 Hour Work Week," which was an amazing book. Maybe that's why when I began listening to this book, I had a hard time staying awake. I kept asking myself, when is this guy going to get to the point? Why doesn't he just come out and say it? Stop worring about sounding educated and teach me something.

To be honest, I could not listen to the entire book. Maybe there are some good things in there, but I had heard enough to know I wasn't going to waste any more of my time. I am currently listening to "The 4 hour work week" again.

I did not find this book very useful. The same information is repeated over and over which makes it boring. I personally did not like the writing style of the author. Not an easy book to read. Reading the book only increased my stress.

Who is this guy? Did he attend high school? He certainly didn't pay attention to his English writing class. I've never seen such dreadful writing in a published book. As for the content, it's very dull and repetitive. This book could have been condensed into a 3-4 page pamphlet.

Good ideas here, but the overall system he recommends is a bit cumbersome and may not be for everyone. I liked some of the ideas set forth in this book, similar to many other books on productivity, he stresses identifying "areas of responsibility" (others may call them realms, Covey called them 'roles') such as personal fitness, finance, career development, etc - and using that to guide the daily and weekly things that we do. He also explains why planners and to-do lists in their most basic form don't work for capturing the complexity and detail of all of the things that 21st-century professionals do. This part hit home the most - as a physician there are both urgent tasks (refilling a script, making a phone call, finishing a progress note) and important tasks (reading the latest NEJM article that pertains to your field, working on research, attending a conference in your specialty, networking in some cases: basically all the things that allow us to sit back, analyze our strengths/weaknesses, and learn). You might never get to the important things unless the urgent things are handled when they come up.

Allen proposes a complex system in which you analyze all your 'inputs', process them into different categories, and also outline all your projects and identify the crucial next steps to putting them in motion. I think that this works for many things - i.e., research, developing a fitness plan but is not something I'd necessarily do for a 'small project' (i.e. sending in an application for a job, making a presentation for medical students, etc).

I found the book itself to be kind of dry, repetitive reading. There are some good thoughts here - having a system is a good thing, and knowing/identifying what needs to be done now and what the individual parts of those things are, are important. However, I am not sure if I will adhere to the entire system in my own life, but I do think the general premises here are helpful.

I would love to say I love this book. However...
1. Every time I try to read it it tells me to delete it and download it again.
2. When I do that, it tells me that I have a limited license and cannot download it, but I can buy it again.
Thanks, but NO THANKS!!!!!
Dirty Business Dealings turn me off completely.
The whole point of having e-books is to be able to go from my computer to my phone to my kindle without skipping a beat. Makes a lady want to use bad language!

Here's a tip about Getting Things Done.... Don't buy this as a Kindle book if you actually want to read it.

This is a fascinating book that has a completely different viewpoint on staying organized than any other system I've heard of. It is well suited for anyone working in a fast paced career that has a lot of "knowledge work" rather than physical work. I was interested to see that I am in fact using a lot of these techniques and that these are some ways of organizing I have found particularly helpful. I've started to use these more broadly and am finding it useful.

There are two things the book does not address well, however, though to be fair these things don't necessarily apply to his target audience.
(1) What about tasks that are never truly done, such as grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, and yard work? Yes, there's a finite end if you vacuum your living room, but you just have to do it again the following week. It doesn't really make sense to put these on a calendar since they either don't have to get done on a certain day or there are flexible times when they could be done - the bean soup you have ingredients for could be made either Tues, Wed, or Thurs before the ingredients go bad, for example. And, if you put "mow lawn" on the project list, there's not a whole lot of satisfaction that comes from crossing it off, since it'll just be on there again a few days later. This is where I think more traditional models of time management work better.
(2) I think the author underestimates the difficulty of getting large projects with no firm deadline done in the midst of a job with a lot of immediate deadlines. Say, for example, you want to write a book while also teaching at a university. If you looked at your project list and calendar every day, you would be drawn to those things that had to be done that instant (grade those papers, prep for the class tomorrow, answer e-mails) and would avoid the book until break times. If you actually want to get the book done, however, it is more effective to block off specific times for it (I will do an hour a day) and then force the other things to take less time in order to accommodate it. I think the author, in other words, leaves the idea of "what should I do right now" too open and doesn't give enough specific attention to how you can get the big things done.

All this being said, however, I think this is an extremely worthwhile read for anyone who feels overwhelmed!!

I was unable to finish reading this book. Made it about 1/3 of the way through, before I:

a) Got incredibly bored
b) Got incredibly annoyed at the author's presumptuousness

It may seem implausible that one could simultaneously be both bored and annoyed, yet I managed to.

Let's face it, time management is not a very sexy topic to begin with, so I wasn't expecting to be wowed. Yet I found myself very anxious for the author to pick up the pace. The book is hundreds of pages long, but if I'm going to follow any system of organization the latter had best be able to be boiled down to a dozen pages - otherwise it will be too complex to comprehend and adhere to. So in my mind, the author was taking 20 pages of explanation and supporting text per one page of condensed principals. I might accept a 10:1 ratio, but not 20:1.

The other major problem is that this book seems aimed at wealthy corporate executives and not the everyday person. As recent research has shown, those with lower income levels find it difficult to make good decisions in areas like financial management, likely due to the tremendous day-to-day pressures they endure simply trying to make ends meet. At the very least, the book should be inclusive enough so that those in unfortunate financial shape will feel like the content applies to them.

Instead, page after page of the book comes across as elitist, reading more like an article you'd find in the New York Times' Business or Wealth sections. For example, relatively few of us are concerned with starting a new division or business. And when the author had a sample "to-do" list that included "building a koi pond," I nearly lost it. If you have enough property and money to consider building a koi pond, I say just hire a full-time concierge to take care of all the items on your list, so you can go play golf.

I must also say that I found the author's recommended strategy (or as much as I managed to read) a challenge to understand. I found myself going back and re-reading portions of it to try to fully internalize it. I think clearer graphics would have helped.

It is always possible that the first third of the book (which I read) was not representative of the latter portion. If so, I apologize, but I gave it a fair shot before I wrote this review.

I just finished listening to the audio book, "The 4 Hour Work Week," which was an amazing book. Maybe that's why when I began listening to this book, I had a hard time staying awake. I kept asking myself, when is this guy going to get to the point? Why doesn't he just come out and say it? Stop worring about sounding educated and teach me something.

To be honest, I could not listen to the entire book. Maybe there are some good things in there, but I had heard enough to know I wasn't going to waste any more of my time. I am currently listening to "The 4 hour work week" again.

I did not find this book very useful. The same information is repeated over and over which makes it boring. I personally did not like the writing style of the author. Not an easy book to read. Reading the book only increased my stress.

Who is this guy? Did he attend high school? He certainly didn't pay attention to his English writing class. I've never seen such dreadful writing in a published book. As for the content, it's very dull and repetitive. This book could have been condensed into a 3-4 page pamphlet.

Good ideas here, but the overall system he recommends is a bit cumbersome and may not be for everyone. I liked some of the ideas set forth in this book, similar to many other books on productivity, he stresses identifying "areas of responsibility" (others may call them realms, Covey called them 'roles') such as personal fitness, finance, career development, etc - and using that to guide the daily and weekly things that we do. He also explains why planners and to-do lists in their most basic form don't work for capturing the complexity and detail of all of the things that 21st-century professionals do. This part hit home the most - as a physician there are both urgent tasks (refilling a script, making a phone call, finishing a progress note) and important tasks (reading the latest NEJM article that pertains to your field, working on research, attending a conference in your specialty, networking in some cases: basically all the things that allow us to sit back, analyze our strengths/weaknesses, and learn). You might never get to the important things unless the urgent things are handled when they come up.

Allen proposes a complex system in which you analyze all your 'inputs', process them into different categories, and also outline all your projects and identify the crucial next steps to putting them in motion. I think that this works for many things - i.e., research, developing a fitness plan but is not something I'd necessarily do for a 'small project' (i.e. sending in an application for a job, making a presentation for medical students, etc).

I found the book itself to be kind of dry, repetitive reading. There are some good thoughts here - having a system is a good thing, and knowing/identifying what needs to be done now and what the individual parts of those things are, are important. However, I am not sure if I will adhere to the entire system in my own life, but I do think the general premises here are helpful.

I would love to say I love this book. However...
1. Every time I try to read it it tells me to delete it and download it again.
2. When I do that, it tells me that I have a limited license and cannot download it, but I can buy it again.
Thanks, but NO THANKS!!!!!
Dirty Business Dealings turn me off completely.
The whole point of having e-books is to be able to go from my computer to my phone to my kindle without skipping a beat. Makes a lady want to use bad language!

Here's a tip about Getting Things Done.... Don't buy this as a Kindle book if you actually want to read it.

This is a fascinating book that has a completely different viewpoint on staying organized than any other system I've heard of. It is well suited for anyone working in a fast paced career that has a lot of "knowledge work" rather than physical work. I was interested to see that I am in fact using a lot of these techniques and that these are some ways of organizing I have found particularly helpful. I've started to use these more broadly and am finding it useful.

There are two things the book does not address well, however, though to be fair these things don't necessarily apply to his target audience.
(1) What about tasks that are never truly done, such as grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, and yard work? Yes, there's a finite end if you vacuum your living room, but you just have to do it again the following week. It doesn't really make sense to put these on a calendar since they either don't have to get done on a certain day or there are flexible times when they could be done - the bean soup you have ingredients for could be made either Tues, Wed, or Thurs before the ingredients go bad, for example. And, if you put "mow lawn" on the project list, there's not a whole lot of satisfaction that comes from crossing it off, since it'll just be on there again a few days later. This is where I think more traditional models of time management work better.
(2) I think the author underestimates the difficulty of getting large projects with no firm deadline done in the midst of a job with a lot of immediate deadlines. Say, for example, you want to write a book while also teaching at a university. If you looked at your project list and calendar every day, you would be drawn to those things that had to be done that instant (grade those papers, prep for the class tomorrow, answer e-mails) and would avoid the book until break times. If you actually want to get the book done, however, it is more effective to block off specific times for it (I will do an hour a day) and then force the other things to take less time in order to accommodate it. I think the author, in other words, leaves the idea of "what should I do right now" too open and doesn't give enough specific attention to how you can get the big things done.

All this being said, however, I think this is an extremely worthwhile read for anyone who feels overwhelmed!!

I was unable to finish reading this book. Made it about 1/3 of the way through, before I:

a) Got incredibly bored
b) Got incredibly annoyed at the author's presumptuousness

It may seem implausible that one could simultaneously be both bored and annoyed, yet I managed to.

Let's face it, time management is not a very sexy topic to begin with, so I wasn't expecting to be wowed. Yet I found myself very anxious for the author to pick up the pace. The book is hundreds of pages long, but if I'm going to follow any system of organization the latter had best be able to be boiled down to a dozen pages - otherwise it will be too complex to comprehend and adhere to. So in my mind, the author was taking 20 pages of explanation and supporting text per one page of condensed principals. I might accept a 10:1 ratio, but not 20:1.

The other major problem is that this book seems aimed at wealthy corporate executives and not the everyday person. As recent research has shown, those with lower income levels find it difficult to make good decisions in areas like financial management, likely due to the tremendous day-to-day pressures they endure simply trying to make ends meet. At the very least, the book should be inclusive enough so that those in unfortunate financial shape will feel like the content applies to them.

Instead, page after page of the book comes across as elitist, reading more like an article you'd find in the New York Times' Business or Wealth sections. For example, relatively few of us are concerned with starting a new division or business. And when the author had a sample "to-do" list that included "building a koi pond," I nearly lost it. If you have enough property and money to consider building a koi pond, I say just hire a full-time concierge to take care of all the items on your list, so you can go play golf.

I must also say that I found the author's recommended strategy (or as much as I managed to read) a challenge to understand. I found myself going back and re-reading portions of it to try to fully internalize it. I think clearer graphics would have helped.

It is always possible that the first third of the book (which I read) was not representative of the latter portion. If so, I apologize, but I gave it a fair shot before I wrote this review.

It was clear from very early in the book that the methods described are designed for a particular kind of person. If you are an obsessive compulsive list maker who finds that you are not able to well organize your thoughts in list form, this is precisely the book for you. On the other hand, if you are able to juggle lots of priorities, leaving many unfinished, and don't find that stressful in any way, this book will only serve to make you feel guilty that your method of organization is not up to the OCD standards of the author.

In the new introduction, the author even admits that this book is not targeted at people who have not built up the sort of habits that OCD list makers have. He instead refers to "The Power of Habit" as a guidebook on how to develop the behaviors required to make GTD a successful process.

The book suffers from an excessive amount of "business patter", which amounts to filler aimed at bolstering his methods and selling himself as a guru. If you're looking for the core message with a less cumbersome presentation, you might instead consider "59 Seconds" by Richard Wiseman.

I couldn't bring myself to finish this book. I figured as useless as the information I found contained in this book, perhaps I'd better invest my time in otherwise getting (other) things done...The one good morsel I did take away is if a task takes 2 minutes or less, do it immediately. A FAR better book is "Million Dollar Habits."

It's a self help book, I guess, but it feels more like a business book. Mostly, it's about organizing the stuff in your life so that you are more in control of it, and accomplish more.

I've gotten some benefit from it already, enough so that I bought my own copy for review (this was a borrowed book). The simplest piece of advice it gives - and one that has been amazingly useful to me - is the "two minute rule." It's obvious enough in retrospective: when handling a new task/piece of input/whatever, if it will take you less than two minutes to do, just do it.

The basic concept of <b>Getting Things Done</b> is to get things (tasks, ideas, projects, etc.) out of your head and into some sort of "external brain," be it a set of paper lists, an electronic filing system, or whatever. Divide them into tasks (actual physical actions), projects (anything that takes more than one physical action), and someday/maybe things. Then for the projects, decide what the next action is - that's a real physical action - and put it on a next-actions list.

The idea behind this is that your brain is better at thinking about things than at remembering them (other than rote memorization). Things that you know you have to deal with cause stress and anxiety, but if you put them where you know you won't forget them, you can forget _about_ them until you actually deal with them - you won't have the nagging feeling of guilt that you haven't dealt with "that" yet if you have a physical plan for dealing with it.

It takes a fair amount of implementing, and I certainly haven't done it yet, but I'm going to give it a try.

A waste and an insult. The author spends thousands of words stating the obvious: that people are maxed out.
This laborious introduction is a complete insult to busy readers who don't have the time to slog through lots of excess verbiage.
Note to Mr. Allen:

GET TO THE POINT!
LEARN HOW TO WRITE!
STOP WASTING OUR TIME!

I wouldn't pay this guy a nickel to consult at my company.
He obviously has no respect for people's time.

This book is a farce

If a book is inspiring, or challenging, or interesting, or teaches you something that will stay with you forever, or when you want to highlight most of it, trust me, it will get the stars. But when you're wanting to fast read most of it and the end sensation after reading a part or the whole book is "meh" accompanied with "this is a waste of time" feeling. Something's not right. I can't understand why this one is top seller in the store or how it has such a list of reviews. The method is kind of outdated and clearly the author had a number-of-pages-to-meet quota. I'd recommend "Eat The Frog First" better over this one.

I can't believe it. I've heard about this book for years. I've read summaries of the GTD methods and even incorporated them a decade ago in my email inbox. So why bother reading the book?

BECAUSE THERE'S SO MUCH MORE!!!!

I picked up a cheap used copy and started flipping. Then I started reading. Then I grabbed a notepad and spent two days reading a chapter, practicing, making adjustments to the system, and then reading the next page.

Like many things, it's a whole system that really only works when all the pieces come together. The summaries I've read before have emphasized the Inbox concept and some of the categories. But Chapter 3 was on projects and I'd never heard any of that! That chapter alone was life changing. I've been stuck on one project - well actually it was more like 10 projects! And 5 minutes of following his 5 project steps got me organized and moving forward.

I will say - I read an older copy of this book and it is CLEARLY not intended for the modern computer age. So it took awhile to figure out how I wanted to adapt it. Seriously, a whole page for every single thought that enters your head? How about stickies? or notecards? And no, I definitely will NOT need 4 file drawers on hand... but I do need to figure out where and how I want to store information online.

I worked through it slowly. I don't want a totally digital solution, because I've found I don't check them regularly (Todoist, Asana, Omnifocus, etc). I've played with bullet journals and love the paper-based system, but found the tasks too disorganized. So, I'm currently doing a bullet journal / digital hybrid.

Amazing concepts and I finally see why this is such a classic. I do think the system needs to be adapted for how technology invades our lives - I don't need a special file just for take out menus (that's what the internet is for!). I read there was an updated version, but very, very glad I didn't get it after reading the reviews.

My advice: I don't care how much you think you know about his system. Unless you've hired a personal consultant... Read it! And take the time to practice / adapt each thing as it's explained. Because it is dated and you will need to figure out how to adapt it.

David Allen's book "Getting Things Done" has some great ideas in it about how to get organized and become a more effective worker. I won't go into all of the reasons why this is true; there are hundreds of other reviews that explain it. The main problem with this book is that so much of it is fluff and unnecessary. Allen most likely couldn't get his book published at under 100 pages, so he stuffed it with unneeded fluff so that it would fill out an entire book. My advice is to focus on a few sections, rather than the whole book.

Read:
Ch. 2 (p. 24-53) - An overview of his system
Ch. 4 (p. 85-103) - What you'll need
Ch. 5 (p. 103-118) - The "Collection" phase
Ch. 6 (p. 119-137) - The "Processing" phase
Ch. 7 (p. 138-180) - The "Organizing" phase
Ch. 8 (p. 181-190) - The "Reviewing" phase

The above 135 pages are what you should read. The sections I recommend skipping are: Ch. 1, which explains why organization is important, Ch. 3, which explains the basics of brainstorming, Ch. 9, which explains the self-explanatory "Doing" phase, and Ch. 10-13, which just reiterates everything again.

If you know which parts are useful and which are not, reading this book is a lot more enjoyable.

I think the strategy posed in this book is good, but — to echo other reviews — the book is quite repetitive. I feel like that's a real and important disservice to all the super stressed and busy people who would pick it up. They don't have time to read about how to create a filing system THREE different times.

Here is a cheat sheet to the book:
- Skip Chapter 1--every word

- In chapter 2 flip through until you see the diagram. It's helpful and sums up the entire process. You can read the beginning of the chapter if you want to get an overview of the process.

- Chapter 3 is about how to plan and organize large, complex projects. It's helpful but repetitive. I'd only read the beginning if you don't know much about what he calls "vertical thinking."

-Only read chapter 4 if you intend on keeping a filing system for all your reference material. Otherwise, just pick a way to capture your lists (pen and paper, computer, app) and know that he recommends taking two full days (at least) to implement his system.

-Chapters 5 through 9 describe the system in detail. This is what you need to read, though each chapter is also repetitive and over explanatory. But I would go through these pretty much in their entirety. You don't always need to read when he explains what he means. (He explains what a list of "Calls" would have on it, for instance. And he says more than, "list of people you need to call.")

-Chapter 10 I thought was totally useless.

-I haven't read part 3. It looks like deeper thoughts and conclusions, but I'm kind of over this book at this point. A quick skim tells me you don't need it.

David Allen is thought of as one of the most influential thinkers on productivity serving as a keynote speaker facilitator for large corporations conducting workshops for individuals or organizations across the country with more than 20 years experience as a Management Consultant / executive coach. This book has been published in 12 foreign countries, author lives in California..
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

A top book in anyone's arsenal who is struggling with time management, productivity, and overall sanity in their personal or professional lives!

This book helped me to realize that all time management isn't really time management; it's actually TASK management! "Getting Things Done" by David Allen is a LIFESAVER when it comes to helping you get out of the piles & piles of "work"—whether personal or professional—that needs to get done or is just scraping at the back of your mind like nails on a chalkboard.

But if you're looking for a quick fix method move on because this process, if you want it to really work and do it right, takes a little time to implement. The good news about this, though, is that I was able to first look up a couple videos on YouTube with David Allen interviews/workshops and implement some of the simplest tips in the book into my everyday life as a "trial" before purchasing the book. As a result, just these few tips made a HUGE difference!

For example, when you realize that your brain is wired to create new ideas but not to store them, just by the act of writing everything down that's in your head on separate sheets of paper and placing those notes into your current or soon-to-be-created Inbox, you'll feel the immense relief of having your mind free to do what it's meant to do—think! Just this one tip alone allowed me to realize that, yes, I could in fact get back control of my completely overwhelmed life and STAY in control!

If you're still reading this and wondering whether to purchase it or not, do what I did:
1. Check out a couple of YouTube vids by David Allen on "Getting Things Done".
2. Implement the simplest strategies from the videos into your own life.
3. Buy the book and—most importantly—refer to it over and over again throughout the course of your year.
4. Take back control of your LIFE!!!

If you've tried Stephen Covey's "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" quadrant method of time management and you're still finding it hard to manage your time and your life, give "Getting Things Done" a chance; not as a replacement, but a complimentary book by two authors on the same path to creating more FREEDOM in your life.

Indeed, this is a book about making a difference. As a Master Trainer for the UN Entrepreneurship Capacity Building Program, I used David Allen's concept of planning to help thousands of business people.

This book goes beyond the act of simply reading a book. The author suggests to the reader to take something he plans to do and define why he is doing such thing. Then the next natural step is to pinpoint what success, in this case, means to him. Now, it's time to bridge the gap between the here and now and the ideal future state by listing all the potentially good ideas that can be implemented. However, what I like about the book is that at this stage, the author gets you to take action. He simply asks the reader one question, namely, what is the next action? As soon as you jot the idea down, you start making progress and stop making excuses.

If you want to learn how to set your priorities straight and deliver your solutions on time again and again, this book is for you.

1. Misleading Title:
This book is to literally organize your things not necessarily to get things done. Seems like the Getting Things Done system is a way to file things rather than truly getting things done like prioritizing, multitasking, how to handle things that come out of the blue and you have a ton of things on your plate.

2. Same content over and over again:
Seems like they had to stretch the content of this Getting Things Done system in order to make the book. Their answer to stretching the content was repeating the same thing by saying it in different ways. I took detailed notes of the book because it's really wordy and confusing. By chapter 6, I found myself going back to the notes I had already taken and only adding a thing or two because they were repeating the exact same thing with a sentence of new information.

3. Painful to read:
The way this book is written is just painful to read. Not only am I reading the same thing over and over again, but if I had never seen a document or a book that uses the word ad hoc so many times.
The fact that they use the word ad hoc at every chance they get, tells you how painful it is to read this book.

I am listening to the audio version and also own the paperback version. The introduction drones on. The writing is so formal and stiff that it is completely boring. The tone in text and speech simply doesn't flow. David seems to be trying so hard to prove his knowledge and intellect that his reading/writing in choppy and uncomfortable. In the audio version is incredibly monotone. The book is simply not engaging. To me, for someone to gain anything from an independent study such as this one, the information has to be engaging. It has to grab your attention. David Allens resume, as it pertains to those he has coached through this system, may be impressive, however, I'm far more interested in learning how it will help me. I'm not interested in how many Fortune 500 execs he helped. I think the audio version might have been better if it was read by someone else. He simply is not an engaging reader. I have been listening now for 25 minutes and he he still droning on about what the book WILL be about. Do not waste your money, there are to the point YouTube videos on the topic that will save you the irritation I feel at listening to him.

“Which do you think is the more efficient way to move through life – deciding next actions on your projects as soon as they appear on your radar screen and then efficiently grouping them into categories of actions that you get done in certain uniform contexts, or avoiding thinking about what exactly needs to be done until it has to be done, then nickel-and-diming your activities as you try to catch up and put out the fires?” (pp. 244)

This statement represents what I feel to be the crux of David Allen’s semi-infamous Getting Things Done , a book that, I have discovered, has its fair share of faithful adherents and passionate detractors online. As I read the quote above, I personally think to myself, “Both sound like unpleasant scenarios, but if I had the self-discipline the former would clearly be the preferable choice.” Whether the system advocated in Getting Things Done works for you will largely depend on just that: how far you are willing to go to plan and organize your life – in areas of macro and micro importance –, and how much self-discipline you can muster.

To be honest, I was quite skeptical about reading yet another self-help book. There was a time when I ate this kind of literature up, but I have, in recent years, grown rather tired of it. Perhaps it’s an indication of my laziness, or an indication of how trite the genre becomes once you’ve read and familiarized yourself with several of the “core” concepts (and experienced the disappointment of not being able to implement the advice as easily as the author(s) purport you can). Was David Allen going to offer me yet another panacea for my personal and professional problems?

Yes and no. In truth, I have only just finished the book and have not had time to put his practices to the test yet. But on a purely abstract level (i.e., having only read and considered the material), I am actually quite impressed with Allen’s methodology. There is nothing simple about it, but it is thorough and consistent. The writing and explanations are clear. Compared with most self-help literature, the material is actually quite fresh and stimulating. While reading I felt a mixture of excitement and dread: excitement about the potential of this productivity methodology, and dread about attempting to implement it, because I could envision how difficult it would be. Make no mistake about it: unless you have extraordinary self-discipline, I cannot imagine this system being the least bit functional. But with the proper self-discipline in action, I don’t doubt Allen’s system could do wonders to one’s productivity.

Most of the complaints I have read against this book have seemed rather shallow. “There’s too much planning involved”; “The system is too complex to implement very easily”; “The author is a cultist”; etc. Even if you don’t attempt to incorporate the system into your life in full, there is plenty of material here to pick and choose from, adapting to your personal tastes and needs. For me, personally, the idea of assigning an action item to every actionable task and/or project in my life sounds like a very compelling strategy against procrastination. As a precursor to that, developing a habit of getting all of my tasks and projects on paper, so I don’t forget about them, also seems to be a very attractive (albeit intimidating) practice. Using the book’s advice, I was able to quite easily rearrange my email inbox in a way that allows me to sort between actionable tasks, reference material, and in-process emails.

My biggest gripe with the book is probably the fact that it feels somewhat dated. By that I mean, Allen talks about using PDA’s and word processors like they’re hot new technology. In the digital age, the core of Allen’s system seems to require, or at least recommend, using mounds of paper and folders. If you are trying to go for a paper-free office, Allen’s system will probably be of limited use to you. The sheer amount of physical material needed to pull the system off was somewhat disconcerting to me, because I generally hate to haul around and clutter my home and office with paper. However, in the final analysis, if Allen’s system actually works, I feel like the physical investment is a relatively minor thing compared with the enhanced productivity output that is possible.

As an experiment, I am going to try implementing some of the system into my professional life, see how it goes, then funnel it into my personal life if I find it successful. Perhaps then I will have more insight into the usefulness of the system, and be able to provide a more practical, rather than merely abstract, review of the book. In conclusion, as someone quite cynical about self-help literature, I can honestly say I am grateful I read this book (thanks boss!).

Imagine the most organized person you know. They don't lose important information, they turn their work in on time (or early) and they get the right things done on a day in and day out basis. Now imagine that person learned all these habits from one person. That one person would be David Allen.

In Getting Things Done David Allen has devised a full-proof system that will organize all the information in your life, help you put it in the right "bucket", get the right things done at the right time and make sure that the process is self-sustaining and reinforcing. All in 259 pages.

If you struggle with getting things done, keeping track of wave after wave of information crossing your desk or completing projects on time and don't see an end in sight, this book can change your life.

The beauty of Getting Things Done is the system makes intuitive sense and if you really want to change, if you've reached the point where keeping on top of tasks, to-do lists and projects is like drinking water out of a fire hydrant this book can help. It can make all the difference, but you have to change first.

I first started reading the book in 2008, but I wasn't ready to change. I picked it up again last year and what I had thought dry and boring before spoke to me in a new clear and instructive way. In my case I was finally ready. If you think you might want to change I would discourage you from reading this book. If you know you are ready to change your organization habits I urge you to read this book ASAP.

My Top Three Takeaways:

Get everything in one place

"Anything you consider unfinished in any way must be captured in a trusted system outside your mind, or what I call a collection bucket, that you know you'll come back to regularly and sort through." For me this was the most important lesson from the book. Only when we are sure that everything is in the right bucket can we relax and let go of that nagging fear that something somewhere has been lost or forgotten. Once we do that we can let the system and the steps that make up the system do their thing and we can focus on the business of getting those things done.

Next-Actions

Allen makes clear that there are separate steps for material that is not actionable, but if something is actionable and isn't part of an ongoing project you can "Do It" (if it will take less than 2 minutes), you can "Delegate It" or you can "Defer It".

How much more could you get done if you made this process part of your DNA? Try it for a day and see how it feels. I think you'll see how powerful this is.

Two Don'ts - no "to file" folders and no tasks on calendar that won't get done

First, Allen says don't ever have a "to-file" folder. For that matter I would argue don't have a "to-read" folder. Neither will happen. Deep down inside you know it's true, so don't do it.

Second, if it goes on your calendar Allen says the only reason it doesn't get done is if it was an appointment that got moved or canceled. Other than that if it is on your calendar you must complete it that day. These habits not only build trust with others that you get things done, but more importantly it builds trust with yourself that you can set goals and do them.

Conclusion

I can't emphasize enough that Allen's system will work. However, you have to change your behavior and live the systems he lays out. And for all the great ideas and tips that he describes they will all be useless unless you commit to making the first change.

There is quote that says a man who doesn't read has no advantages over a man who can't read. In the case of Getting Things Done the person who reads it and doesn't want to change has no advantage over someone who never even heard of the book. Don't be that person.

Reading this book brought me contradictory feelings. Although it does tell you one interesting thing here and there that will be of help in your daily routine, most of it is composed by useless, obvious and systematically repeated ideas that bring you to the point of irritation. Most of the times, I felt like the book should be retitled to "Getting Things Said and Repeated: The Art of 'Stress-Full' Book Writing".

A few concepts in the book indeed helped me, even though some of them are incomplete or inadequate in certain situations. The 2-minute rule is surely helpful. However, not putting it in a priority context can be misleading. Compound the effect of 15 to 20 "2-minutes-tasks" (something very common to any busy working person) and you'll have lost 30 minutes of your day, instead of spending them in projects that are indeed more urgent and important.

The other concepts that are somewhat useful are the focus on the outcome and next action for each task, although David Allen is definitely not the 1st person to write about it. The 4-factor model to choosing activities is also useful, but kind of obvious to anyone who already has a pretty busy agenda. Still, the way David Allen formalizes it is nice.

Now let's go to the bad things.

First, the author repeats and repeats himsef, over and over again. And it's more than that usual mistake of such books, which simply repeat stuff in different ways. Actually, while most readers don't enjoy such approach, I usually find it useful, as typically I'm reading the book along a few different days and repetition helps me to fix the most important ideas in long-term memory. But David Allen is not repeating himself in different ways, he repeats WHOLE SENTENCES throughout the book. I mean it!

Secondly, some of his descriptions are much more detailed than they should. He spends a long time writing about things like useless details about how your file drawer should be. Come on.

In addition, and most important, his system as a whole is too complex and time-consuming. It gets me stressed only by reading about it, let alone implementing it. The author itself admits how many hours per week the maintenance of the system consumes, and how it's easy to fall trap to habits that will make the system get wrecked. I guess that if the person has the organization qualities to implement this stuff, probably he already has a system of his own that works fine. People who are reading this book are probably doing so because they're searching for a simple way to put their work and personal life on foot. And this method definitely doesn't deliver it.

Despite the terrible title and cover (especially the cover!), I bought the book because of all the rave reviews on the store and Goodreads. But I must say I felt cheated. It feels like there's a lot of hype about this book, more than it should. Overall, I'm not giving it a 1-star rating because of the 3 useful things I mentioned above. So maybe those or others can be of help to you too. But if you decide to read the book, beware. It can be a "stress-full" experience.

I have already been doing 80% of what he suggests for most of my 20+ year professional career. The extra 20% which I picked up from this book made all the difference. The key items which I gained from this book were to make my to-do lists context specific, to add my someday-maybe and all my personal/around the house/family to-do items to their own lists to get them out of my head, and to ensure I have next action items for everything not just nebulous goals. These additional insights have helped me get much more done every day. The book is longer than it should be, but it is still a quick read. It could probably be 30-50 pages, but then people might balk at paying for such a short book. The examples and stories may be needed to convince some, but the plain truth and efficacy of his suggestions really does speak for itself. If you never seem to get to the bottom of your to-do lists and constantly have things which fall through the cracks, you will benefit immensely from this book. If you are pretty organized, but sometimes forget things or ever have down time, but aren't sure what to do at that moment to be productive, this book will help you too. I have found that Microsoft OneNote is the perfect tool to keep these lists on my work computer, laptop, tablet, and phone.

World-class! Unclutter your mind to achieve and accomplish more.
Raj Gavurla, Author of Winning At Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurial Thinking Tools Manual
Winning At Entrepreneurship

David Allen's book Getting Things Done is one of the most popular books written on Time Management. I had very high expectations when I started reading.
Getting things done
It is a very complicated explanation of a simple and effective system.
The system David has created is very effective and I have in fact incorporated it to my own time management system.

The problem with it is that it doesn't capture activities you have to do every day, it is build around projects, ideas and unexpected events.

Inbox
The idea is that you have an inbox to capture everything that comes to you.
Every day you should process your inbox and either file the information as reference material, add it to your calendar, put it on a to-do list or just do it at once.

The methodology is very simple and efficient.
What takes time is building an effective filing system and to make sure you get reminded of all the actions you need to do when you need to do them.

3 Parts of the book
David has split the book into three distinct parts.
The first third of the book is useless; It is an introduction to the system, without really explaining it, which leaves you as a reader, very, very confused.

The third part is unnecessary since it discuss goal setting without any details and the value of the system, basically he is just trying to get us to use the information in the middle;
which is very useful.

The Second part is very good
The middle of the book covers the system in detail and shares all the information needed to make it efficient.

Works great with a weekly plan
If you use his system together with a weekly plan and with a Calendar it will capture all your commitments and make you very efficient.

Time Management can save you up to 2000 hours/year
By learning proper time management you can save lots of time, energy and reduce your stress levels. The advice shared by David Allen is worth reading.

Getting Things Done is a fantastic read. I highly recommend it!
The most important lesson I took from this book is that everything belongs on a list.
Once you get tasks out of your head and onto paper you can stop worrying about them and start doing them.
The author calls this clearing your mental RAM and having a mind like water.
Another important skill is creating a single In basket for all tasks.
Sure, some things are more important than others. But how can you achieve world peace when you haven't done the grocery shopping or changed the oil in your car?
Finally, it's important to do what you can when you're surrounded by the materials you need. It doesn't do you any good to remember you need tuna packed in water when you're at the car wash.
And if you're experiencing low energy, do something simple like replying to a couple of quick emails.
This book has revolutionized my workflow and brought me a level of peace I didn't know was possible when balancing so many different roles.
I give GTD my highest recommendation!

Unlike a generation of self-help gurus that preceded him, David Allen does not promise the stars in the heavens above for those that follow his method or his teaching, but simply offers a tool kit to increase productivity. The GTD method requires a big frontloaded commitment to set the 'full' system up -Allen often spends days with clients getting it up and running- and introduces a number of almost-gimmicky components (the 'tickler' file; the use of the labeller) which are innovative, and in a way, beguiling.

One of the problems with the system is that the 'wow, that's neat' factor can lead to an almost fetishistic devotion to the intricacies that leads people to focus on being 'meta-productive' instead of actually being productive (if you are prone to procrastination in the first place then you should be very wary of the 'bright and shiny' aspects of GTD that so many people get hung up on). Certainly, Allen himself offers no psychological solution for the problem of procrastination; during a podcast with Melvin Mann over at 43 Folders, the best Allen can come up with is, once you are 'clear' and have all your various folders and lists set up with 'next actions', if you aren't going to do what you really should be doing, you'll still have a a variety of productive things to get on with whilst you avoid your primary task. Which is, of course, no solution at all.

Nonetheless, it seems a bit unfair to Allen to criticise him for not offering advice on something -the psychology of motivation and procrastination- that he never said he was an expert in. (Some books that dovetail nicely with GTD, that do offer a detailed social psychological analysis of this, are Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard,Talent Is Overrated, and Brain Rules). One of the refreshing things about Allen is that he isn't trying to sell you a snake-oil solution to every problem you've ever had, and he even says that if you implement a little bit of GTD, you should see big changes (something I can personally attest to- while my tickler file is largely unloved, his 'next action' mantra has changed the way I make lists, and I utilise a stripped down 'capture/collect/process' system that was very easy to implement and incredibly useful).

Ultimately, there is no smoke without a fire; Allen has his detractors, and many self-help gurus have been happy to repackage his work with their own bells and whistles (The Truth about Getting Things Done); the lifehacker types (Upgrade Your Life) have swarmed over GTD and embellished it with moleskin notebooks and freeware computer programs; Cal Newport, author of the brilliant book How to Become a Straight-A Student runs a website called Study Hacks that provides a stripped down GTD version for students; Melvin Mann over at 43 Folders grapples with how 'right-brained' creative types can implement GTD out of the business world and in their own, less conventional life. All these people have been enriched or influenced by Allen's work -as have I. Despite it's flaws then, the innovations of Getting Things Done mark it out as a unique, insightful system that offers real nuts-and-bolts solutions for organization in the twenty first century.

When I bought this book, I was expecting something motivational. I obviously bought the wrong book, because there's about zero motivational material in here. What I got instead was a system that's very instructional, and doesn't change your thought process so much as it does your office, computer, notebooks, workspace, etc.

Once I changed these things, however, I noticed that my thought process started to follow naturally.

As somebody that has been labelled dis-organized by everyone I have lived with (from kinder to my actual boss and co-workers), I just learned not to view it as something deficent on my way of being, since that trait has not prevented me living my true aspirations. So when I decided to purchase this book looking for some sort of guidance I was predisposed not to go into mindless observations of boring rules.

First, as an audio book, it has been difficult for me to follow the free spririted essay format of the points Mr. Allen is saying, his language is erudite, his tone of voice serene and lectural, so for a road warrior (I listen to the cd books mainly in the car) and someone whose native language is not english, I found it very difficult to follow while driving. Do not misunderstand me, I had the certainty of receiving a good message, yet I after getting off the car I could not find a sense in direction in how to apply the techniques. So I decided to listen to the cd while sleeping playing them at the laptop in repeat mode. Well, it works, NOW I understand, yet I would still think a more structured format would be more effective.

On the results on my self. The most difficult action for me was to place all my projects in paper in front of me. At first, I thought that I was just too important and complex to be reduce to a laundry list of projects. How embarrasing it is to just face a blank sheet of paper with some lines in it and having to say, is this it?!! that made me realice something I have been doing all my life, I let all my projects be in my head, and as Mr. Allen points out, the head is not a good filling system, since "unconcious ram" never sleeps and does not have a way of distinguishing and sorting priorities of all the projects we are engaged in, so this ram causes stress (uneccesary stress that is). Letting it all out, without classifying schemes, priorities, urgencies or other schemes and then later, as a mind map, beging doing the natural connections and grouping. Yes, the projects were there, the connections of what to do and be on the look out become visible, and it reveals a far better map to actually plan your work load.

I have taken some time to describe this experience in some detail to show you this is not a book just to listen to and let the thoughts sink-in, you have to work, and work hard, but providing you take this step you will have a new and valuable tool for your everyday use.

I prefer not to use big words, but I liked this book because of the way it made me feel: progress in my work became tangible and I psychologically liked that. And I got more things done. I personally liked the good feeling more than the productivity increase (which for me is just a side effect) while my manager noticed the latter - win-win situation!
I got inspired to read this book after I attended a workshop about GTD held by my employer - one of David's guys was the trainer. During that time I felt that I could take control of what modern IT life throws at me. The book only strengthened that feeling. David's style is a bit dry at times, but overall it is very easy to read. Most of what he says (or all) is just common sense, but he puts it all together, explaining and encouraging changes.
I'll start with the end, more philosophical chapter, and add some ideas of mine. In life there are two major problems:
1) we don't know what we want to do
2) we don't know how to do something that we want.
As he puts it, it's like yin yang from Chinese Taoism - two complementary aspects of the same things. The solutions are:
1) make things up
2) make things happen
Easy! Problem is that most people don't do either of them too well, and feel unhappy most of the time. David is trying to help with these issues as they show up in the life of a modern IT worker.
Obviously, he cannot tell you what to want - but he emphasizes Mind Sweep, which is putting all your thoughts on a material support (paper or computer). The book helps mostly - and obviously - with the second part: the making things happen.
The mind is for us to master and use, but unless we use it properly it could harm us rather than help. The mind always reminds us of what we need to do. For example, when you see a flashlight in your home your mind tells you "hey, the batteries inside are drained, let's get buy new ones", and so on each time you go by the flashlight. The mind is trying to help - indeed batteries are needed. But, what can you do at home? Nothing! It would be nice if the mind would remind you about batteries only when you drive by some store and only at that time - that is only when you can do something about getting batteries. Unfortunately, the mind doesn't work like that. Every time something needs to be changed or done, a part of your mind is tracking that all the time, reminding you about it, consuming a part of your psychic energy. And, as David puts it, most people have around 300 things in their heads that need to be tracked - no wonder that consumes a lot of energy. If you have even two thoughts to track, then the efficiency goes down a lot, let alone when you have 300. What is his solution? The GTD system!
And what is the GTD system? It is David's way of getting the mind clear of thoughts, "mind like water" as he says inspired by Eastern books, when you get into a state called "the zone" by athletes, where focusing is easy and doing things - and getting them done - comes naturally.
As he says, "you shouldn't have the same thought twice, unless you like that thought". He emphasizes that you should handle both your work and personal life - any kind of tracking thought needs to get out of the mind.
His system has more phases - collect, process, organize, review and do. I won't get into too many details - his book does that and also there are many Internet resources set by GTD enthusiasts. Collect happens at every moment - as you have a thought you put it on a list in your in-basket (physical or a computer list), same if your boss enters your office and tells you about a new work item. Processing happens regularly - twice a day, every two hours, etc. - he doesn't set hard limits. Processing means asking "what is this actually? Does it have an outcome?".If the answer is no outcome, it was just a random thought or thing that came at you. The next question - is it actionable? If no, you can trash it, or file it (he explains more systems of filing).
David emphasizes actions a lot - the mind will keep quiet only if you get to define an action for that item. If you don't, you will still get reminded like for the batteries case. So, if an action is needed, decide that action (call Joe, email Mary, write report, talk to wife, etc.). "I need to fix car" is an item that comes to mind. "Call repair shop at 555-1234" is not an item any more, it's an action. Processing and organizing means getting from "stuff" to actions. An action could be delegated to someone (an employee, spouse, kids, etc.), deferred (set into a calendar), etc.
Some thoughts turn into a project - like house remodeling. Projects are just a set of actions. At any moment you ask - what is the next actions? GTD is a about determining actions and doing them.
I will only add the review part - David suggests reviewing all the projects and actions lists weekly and update them accordingly. To quote him, "that's the time to be creative, to dare". Do no periodic review and GTD will fail.
The system teaches how to handle details, how to do things. GTD starts at the bottom, "at the runway" (per the book), it doesn't make you ask yourself what your purpose in your job, career, family and life in general - there are other books for that. David Allen beliefs that once you know how to do things you will automatically gain confidence and ask yourself those higher questions, but it doesn't work the other way around like other similar books suggest.
All in all, if in your life there are many events that change things often (e.g. you work in IT, etc.) then this is a highly recommended book. Even if you don't it is still worth reading it - everyone has personal projects that need to get done better. Last but not least, getting things done will make you feel good, and nothing can beat that - what can you ask more from a book?

The book that launched a movement.

First, I must confess that I originally read this book in 2001 when it was originally published. I found that life-changing. I must also confess that this is a review written by a guy whose personalized car at license tags read, "GTD GUY."

With that said, I wanted to revisit the book six years after publication and give it a fresh read to see if it stood up to the passage of time. I found that it did and offers a highly practical approach to getting more done. David Allen's approach to capturing all the things that you need to do in your life, processing them, and setting up systems to act upon them is an invaluable template for productivity. He also strongly advocates the weekly discipline of reviewing all of your projects, next actions, and life goals.

Some people may find fault with Allen's advocacy of gadgetry, but this is an adjunct to his discussion. I believe he is correct that people gravitate toward systems and where they find they are tools congenial, whether those tools are high-tech or low-tech.

Others may argue that the focus on getting things done puts the emphasis on things, and devalues people and relationships. I'm not sure that that is a fair criticism of GTD, which has become more than a book but has morphed into a movement. (In fact, David Allen himself now occupies somewhat of a cult status among productivity geeks.)

Nevertheless, Allen would probably argue that when you get more things done, you are relaxed and stress free and can have more time and energy to devote to cultivating important relationships in your life. GTD does not purport to be a template for solving every problem in your life. It is merely a tool for getting things done. Those with a tendency toward workaholism may use or abuse the techniques in GTD to neglect important relationships. Is that a flaw in the book or a flaw in the personality makeup of the reader? Perhaps the answer is evident.

Six years after publication, GTD remains a bit of a "Bible" of personal productivity. Even if you do not adopt the entire system hook, line and sinker, you can graze through it like a buffet, picking and choosing a variety of productivity tips to help you manage the craziness of modern life.

I read the hype and now I know why so many people think so highly of this book - it truly changes the way you handle your work. It may sound corny, but the text is full of many "Aha!" moments - such as Allen's explanation that until you "collect" a task or idea or action by writing it down, it lingers in your mind, to haunt you, distract you and drain your energy. Allen's explanation of how our natural planning process - one that works every time we use it - is usually not accessed at work or when we have a major project at home. Instead, we tend to do things in reverse order, or in some other convoluted sequence. Allen explains the steps in natural planning and how they can very easily and to great success be applied at work and at home. Another major insight is that to get things done, you need to start from the bottom up, or at runway level, to use Allen's analogy, and then move up to 10,000 feet, then 20,000 feet, etc., rather than beginning from the top-down, by trying to identify your values and purposem, and then identifying the descending issues - the day-to-day, runway stuff will obstruct your path anyway, unless you handle it first. Yet another great piece of advice is the "What's the next action?" exercise, which forces you to think of the next, actual, physical action that needs to be taken to accomplish your task or move a project forward - vague and ambiguous statements and generalities just won't do.

On the down side, this book is about some very admittedly mundane tasks, like filing and making lists. For this reason, I think the book could have been enhanced by clearer examples and illustration. There is an excellent example on the author's web site, for example, on how to use natural planning for a child applying to college. Future editions should include such case studies.

The biggest lift to get the system going is the initial step of collecting and organizing all your open loops. It seems as if most of Allen's client take a whole day or even a weekend to do it. This is a great initial commitment, but one that should pay dividends.

I kept reading mentions about GTD in blogs and articles but I'm very resistant to trying fads and the "happening" trend. However, I'm trying to improve myself this year and one of my goals is to get myself organized. So, when I saw the book in an airport bookstore, I thought it might be a sign.

Like some other reviewers, I have to agree that Allen is overly repetitive; he could have easily written the book in half the pages. Still, the book really did change my life -- I know it's cliche.

I've tried making lists and keeping up with them before. I've tried all sorts of methods for organizing my life. I'm a creative mind stuck in a routine world and I've never got the hang of schedules and doing things all orderly, but lately I'd been feeling lost at work. Too many little things were flitting through my mind needing to be done.

The GTD method was exactly what I needed. Now I'm really good at putting every little detailed task down for work projects and I feel so much more relaxed on the weekends because I can check my GTD list home context for household projects and chores and work on things that need to be done around the house. Now I'm not worrying about what I need to get done when I get home while I'm at work and vice versa. I know it's written down so it'll be taken care of. I even have ticklers set up to remind me to call the pharmacy each month for refills so I won't be waiting to the last minute any more.

Now, if I could just get the dog and cats to do the chores on the list for me while I'm not at home, then it really would be stress-free productivity. ;)

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 batteries, etc.

I then wanted to--as David says: "Get off the runway" with my tasks and start managing with a more project/goal/initiative-centric approach. To me that was a big problem with the "tasks" approach--you get buried in "to do" stuff and never get above the trees.

Additionally, in my situation I had huge leakage in delegating or following up with other people with my requests, questions, etc. So the process for handling emails that required responses alone has radically altered how I work and manage my own time.

I recently finished GTD and it was like an epiphany. During the first 1/3 of the book though I felt like "okay, I got the preaching--how do I *implement* this", and actually purchased/read other systems in the middle. Ultimately coming back to and finishing this book. I'm very happy that I did.

In my opinion, you should take what works for you from the book and integrate it with your life/style. For me the 43 folders didn't make sense as I am so nomadic with my work. But it is a good concept. For me, everything has to be electronic and ideally live out on the internet cloud somewhere. So naturally some of my tools will be different than his. But the *system* is what's key.

The gold is simply getting you to see "stuff" coming into your life as things that need to be processed from your Inbox (the goal being Inbox Zero), and an effective system of processing, then handling things once they're organized.

Also, I like how there aren't any "special" requirements, like you have to buy a special organizer, get certain software, buy their printed pages, etc. I am currently using a $7 calendar/organizer (with cool doodling) and $15/year for the "pro" version of Toodledo (the base version is free). It also has "slim" web access via iPhone.. so I can access my lists from practically anywhere. Well worth it to organize my life.

Again, for me this has been life-altering. It's taken a lot of the stress of worrying about stuff falling through the cracks, not being busy all the time, etc. And ultimately that's what I wanted to achieve.

The book's cover says "The Art of Stress-Free Productivity" and I have to say it delivered on that right away. Here's what helped me most:

Get it out of your head
Probably the biggest thing that helped was the concept of "getting it out of your head". My head was filled with things I needed to keep track of. The problem was I would remind myself of what those things were constantly - mostly in the middle of the night. GTD recommends you write out each thought, idea, etc. on a separate piece of paper. I used to make lists, but then I would see a laundry list of things to do and become drained. It makes sense to write down each thing on its own page because you can't process all the things you need to do at the same time. We usually do things one item at a time. This in of itself was a huge benefit. If an idea pops into my head, I write it down. Once I do (and of course make sure it goes into a system that will guarantee my next action) then it's released from my head, freeing me up.

Two minute rule
This is about going through your inbox and doing whatever is in there that can be done in two minutes or less. Sounds simple because it is! And it's amazing how quickly I can reduce my inbox. The thinking behind this is that sometimes it takes longer to store and track something than just to do it!

Grouping like activities
Make all your calls one after the other - whether they're related or not. Take a block of time and send your emails out. If you have magazines stacked up - read the cover story of each - that's the most important.

Is it actionable?
Whatever you're trying to manage either has a next step or doesn't. GTD teaches you how to categorize things so that you always know what to do with them. This was especially true with projects. The book points out that you really never do a project, you do the next actionable thing towards getting that project done.

GTD has increased my productivity and reduced my stress. I no longer miss appointments, or wake up in the middle of the night wondering if I finished something. The book is very intuitive and I would highly recommend it. FYI - it does take a while to incorporate the whole system. If you make a commitment to doing so, you will benefit tremendously.

And if you have a goal you've been putting off - read "Goal your 30 day game plan for Business and Career Success"Goal!: Your 30-Day Game Plan for Business and Career Success It was recommended to me and I achieved a goal I had put off for years. It's a quick read and has you taking action right away.

The author clearly explains a system for getting on top of all the tasks that languish on our pressed board and electronic desktops. Even though he describes the result as "stress-free productivity," I found myself stressed just reading the book, feeling like a failure for not keeping my inbox cleaned out but envisioning relationship casualties if one were to be so fixated on his process. I appreciate the author's occasional acknowledgement that, while his system is best implemented in its entirety (a huge commitment), using parts of it would still be helpful. A lot of the book seems to be padding; I'd probably be ahead if I'd quit reading half-way through and used the time saved to, uh, get things done.

I think that GTD is a really good system to get a hold on what you need to do in your workplace and your personal life and to boost your productivity.

It hinges on a fairly simple system where you capture information in a number of "inboxes", including email, paper trays, notebooks, PDAs, whatever you have.

From there you further categorise it into some straightforward categories and decide on your next actions.

Very simple actions are subject to the two minute rule - that is if you have to do something and it will take two minutes or less, then do it now.

I won't describe every nuance of the whole system, but the overall aim is to give you a "mind like water", basically a state of mind where you aren't feeling anxious, confused and stressed by what you need to do next, because you already have it noted down somewhere.

Then, when you turn to your next actions, you don't even have to think as much about them, as you have, in theory, already decided what you need to do about them and just need to apply the energy to do them.

So, yes, this is a good system that is seemingly flexible enough to deal with the regular chaos that pervades many people's workplaces and lives.

You do, however, need to implement the system and stick to it, otherwise you undermine it. It has to become habit.

I like this book as it is practical and self-contained, you don't really have to purchase extra volumes or add-ons to make the thing work, you just really need this book, a pen and a pad, and a little time to set the system up by refiling everything - buying a quantity of new stationery is also something that maybe required, depending on your level of dedication.

What this book teaches is effectively a simple rounded administrative system that aims to reduce procrastination and delay, and increase productivity and efficiency, both in work and personal life.

Thinking about it, administration although hardly the sexiest subject is a useful one, and one that can be really beneficial if it works.

The problem with most workplaces and organisations is that their systems don't work, hence why things don't get done and fall through the cracks.

This book offers a way forward that I have found very useful and easy to implement.

The book itself, though, like the subject is very useful, but not the most pleasurable read. It is pretty good, and at least is devoid of any "positive thinking" philosophies, the closest you get is the "mind like water" phrase.

However, rather than a pleasure read, this is more like learning a skill, and a very useful one at that.

I do believe it can really boost an individual's or an organisation's productivity levels.

Sadly, it does not hold a magic cure for making other people more efficient, unless you buy them this book and force them to read it.

David Allen's premise (which is a good one) in "Getting Things Done - The Art Of Stress Free Productivity", is that the skills needed to become more productive are not new to us. We know how to do the things we need to do. It's more a matter of making a commitment, jumping in, and then having a system to ensure we keep it up. Allen helps us on all three challenges.

On making a commitment Allen provides ample and simple concepts, case scenarios and a good dose of common sense. The introduction and chapter one should provide enough push to get anyone started. For example, he suggests that for everything we think we need to do (or get done) we should:
* Clarify the intended outcome - "What do we really want to achieve?"
* What's the next physical action needed to move us toward the outcome?
* Then, to maintain our commitment, put both the outcome and actions into a system - one that works for us (not a "one size fits all" approach)

I liked this book. It is well written and easy to follow. Everything he says makes sense. I particularly liked the core concept diagram which was repeated at the appropriate places throughout the book. What's most important in a book like this, is that Allen provides enough tools, concepts and techniques for anyone to become more productive. As a reviewer of a self-help book, it's a good sign that I have implemented some of Allen's suggestions. Highly recommended.

Bob Selden, author What To Do When You Become The Boss: How new managers become successful managers

I've been trying for years to "get organized". I've tried elaborate to do list scenarios on my Palm organizer; I even had a consultant in many years ago as part of my professional development to help me work through and prioritize endless stacks of e-mail and things to do. Before the company spam filter was put in place, it was almost all I could do to get through my spam and delete it every day.

One of the problems is that I don't really like being organized. I naturally prefer to work through issues as they arise and follow new leads that look promising. While this approach works fairly well given my job (I research new technologies) it can be a problem when things pile up as I'm off exploring new venues.

Recently I ran into this book by David Allen. It has by far the most comprehensive and common-sense system for managing day-to-day tasks that I've seen. His basic premise is that the brain is a lousy place to try and keep track of all the things you have to do. After all, we can only keep seven or eight things in short-term memory. Add to that the fact that the brain will constantly remind us of those things we need to do in situations when we can do nothing about them, and you have a recipe for stress.

Allen's suggestion is to track everything we need to do in a simple system, whether it be paper-based or electronic. The key to a stress free mind is to make sure that everything that needs doing is tracked in the system. You accomplish this through a simple process of reviewing items as they come into your various inboxes (e-mail, paper mail, phone mail, hallway conversations, etc) and deciding what to do with them. If a task takes less than two minutes to accomplish, do it immediately. If you can delegate it, do so. If the item is reference material, file it. Otherwise, make an entry for it in your system, being careful to identify next actions for each item. Then you can be confident that everything you need to do is in your system leaving your mind stress free and enabling you to quickly find what needs doing next.

There's more to it which I won't belabor here, but it's basically a simple system. The book contains many examples and refinements that make it well worth reading. Allen also teaches day long management seminar courses.

As for technology, Allen uses the Palm to-do list. I've been using software called Life Balance which also has a desktop and a Palm interface.

I had a clutter problem - in general. So I got a book on clutter ("It's All Too Much" which is a good read btw). It worked! ...on everything except my relationship with papers. They are (soon to be 'were') everywhere: messing up my home office, the table where I eat, on the night stand, even on the floor. I mean, it looked like clutter so why didn't it work? Well, because my paper issue was some else entirely - an organization puzzle, not an extra-stuff puzzle.

This is where David Allen's book really comes in handy. It's especially good for everyday people whose lives are getting more multifaceted and whose personal and/or professional projects are getting bigger. The logic is impeccable. And the tools ought to be adjusted to your style. Plus there are tons of GTD fan videos online that can help you modify and personalize what he suggests in the book. Papers begone! It's working for me. If you have a monster of an inbox, certainly give Getting Things Done a try.

Most time management books, even those well intentioned like Stephen Covey's "First Things First," are unhelpful. Most either tell you how to pile more stuff onto an already too full plate or are so elaborate to be impractical. As "Getting Things Done" points out starting from your goals and priorities often becomes so elaborate and involved most people just give up. Besides, you need to get things done and often those things are forced upon you having nothing to do with goals, passions and dreams.

"Getting Things Done" is the last book on time management and organization you'll ever need. The book isn't so much a system as a way of thinking, a way of life. It is about getting things out of your head so that you can think clearly instead of being clogged up with worries, to-dos and open items. Once you've gotten all the clutter out of your brain and onto paper you can "get them done" instead of worrying about them.

"Getting Things Done" is all about execution and productivity. It is practical, easy to use and remember, and effective. You will get more done with less stress and, for me most importantly, let go of things that were never going to get done in the first place. I've tried most time management systems and products, from Daytimer to Covey to Tracy. "Getting Things Done" works. It can be career and life changing.

The self-help book industry runs rampant with cliches, euphemisms and gimmicks. Allen's book is a breath of fresh air in that it consolidates the most sound approaches in a way that speaks volumes to both the high-powered CEO and the graduate student just trying to get her dissertation organized!

Allen's approach is centered around the idea that "things that have your attention should have your INTENTION." Although we know that is common sense, Allen offers a method of storing and processing the multitude of attention items, so that one can focus on one item at a time without worry about what's on the back-burner.

In addition to offering concrete ideas for organization, Allen also addresses the emotional and psychological impediments to getting things done. Unlike other authors, he does not patronize his readers or make them believe that they should aspire to be paragons of organizational virtue. He's a realist and offers many instances of "if you can't do this, try this."

Even if one does not adapt Allen's entire system for a lifetime, components like the "2-minute rule" and the "Next Action Decision Making Standard" will positively impact personal productivity and mindset. This book will NOT help those who aren't yet at the place where they want to make a positive change.

Allen has defined the "core methods that don't change with the times, and which, when applied, always work." Having read many books on organization and procrastination, I do believe this is the last book I will need to read.

I've read (or at least tried to read) several self-help type books, and most of them are decidedly unhelpful. And I've realized that all this time the thing lacking in self-help literature was advice at the every-day, mundane, workaday level of getting things accomplished. That is what this book provides.
There is a ton of specific advice on how to organize your life so that you can operate smoothly and without (much) stress. It is certainly an oversimplification to say that simply writing things down will make it easy to live a stress-free, hyper-productive life. After reading the book and implementing most of the suggestions, I still find myself procrastinating on things from time to time, I still feel anxiety over large projects that are hanging over my head. Regardless of how much you plan things and write them down, if you have large volumes of work undone I think some stress is inevitable. So I wouldn't call my new lifestyle stress-FREE, but definitely REDUCED-stress.
To the people that see this book as being a product of our "consumer culture" or our obsession with productivity, I say that that is exactly what this book is intended to remedy. There is no escaping the new, high-tech, ever-changing culture we live in. Unless you are willing to isolate yourself from the modern world, ideas like those found in this book are becoming more and more necessary to actually get important work done and not severely damage your mind with stress. Furthermore, by becoming somewhat of a control-freak for every-day details, paradoxically you are able to live a more harmonious, relaxed, and spontaneous life. This is the message of the book that I think some people are missing, based on some of the negative reviews.
Of course, as with most books like this, there is a lot of excess verbiage and story-telling. But it is a short enough read anyways, so I don't think it's a big deal. Overall this book is packed with great advice and I highly recommend it to people who feel their lives are out of control or they want to get themselves out of procrastination and emergency mode.

This book is such a game changer! Whether you apply this to your personal life, or use it as a parent, or in your business life, you will benefit greatly. If you want to get even more value, share these principles and organizational methods with your spouse, children, and/or employees. Also available as an audiobook.

GTD called it right when it identified broken agreements with self as a source of negative feeling, anxiety, guilt and "disintegrated self-trust". And one cannot be wholly productive when they are nagged by worries of open loops. GTD presents a methodology for remedying this and achieving a "mind like water".

While I still believe in traditional time management principles such as task prioritization, GTD offers some excellent concepts and takeaways: Corralling all your stuff is critical - you can only feel good about what you're not doing ONLY when you know what you're not doing; the notion of Next Actions is simple but invaluable; separating reference and support material from actionable items will keep the system less clogged; the Someday/Maybe list as an outlet for off-the-wall and future tasks; and the four criteria model for choosing actions in the moment works, among others.

GTD makes a strong case for some type of time management or personal organization system. This was my second time through the book and while it was worth the revisit, I wish it gave more specifics on tools; and the lack of mention of Blackerrys and iPhones nearly make the book dated. GTD doesn't offer a panacea; but as David Allen himself states, no system is perfect for tracking projects and tasks, you just need to know you have them and where to find more information. I am looking forward to his upcoming sequel.

As somebody that has been labelled dis-organized by everyone I have lived with (from kinder to my actual boss and co-workers), I just learned not to view it as something deficent on my way of being, since that trait has not prevented me living my true aspirations. So when I decided to purchase this book looking for some sort of guidance I was predisposed not to go into mindless observations of boring rules.

First, as an audio book, it has been difficult for me to follow the free spririted essay format of the points Mr. Allen is saying, his language is erudite, his tone of voice serene and lectural, so for a road warrior (I listen to the cd books mainly in the car) and someone whose native language is not english, I found it very difficult to follow while driving. Do not misunderstand me, I had the certainty of receiving a good message, yet I after getting off the car I could not find a sense in direction in how to apply the techniques. So I decided to listen to the cd while sleeping playing them at the laptop in repeat mode. Well, it works, NOW I understand, yet I would still think a more structured format would be more effective.

On the results on my self. The most difficult action for me was to place all my projects in paper in front of me. At first, I thought that I was just too important and complex to be reduce to a laundry list of projects. How embarrasing it is to just face a blank sheet of paper with some lines in it and having to say, is this it?!! that made me realice something I have been doing all my life, I let all my projects be in my head, and as Mr. Allen points out, the head is not a good filling system, since "unconcious ram" never sleeps and does not have a way of distinguishing and sorting priorities of all the projects we are engaged in, so this ram causes stress (uneccesary stress that is). Letting it all out, without classifying schemes, priorities, urgencies or other schemes and then later, as a mind map, beging doing the natural connections and grouping. Yes, the projects were there, the connections of what to do and be on the look out become visible, and it reveals a far better map to actually plan your work load.

I have taken some time to describe this experience in some detail to show you this is not a book just to listen to and let the thoughts sink-in, you have to work, and work hard, but providing you take this step you will have a new and valuable tool for your everyday use.

I prefer not to use big words, but I liked this book because of the way it made me feel: progress in my work became tangible and I psychologically liked that. And I got more things done. I personally liked the good feeling more than the productivity increase (which for me is just a side effect) while my manager noticed the latter - win-win situation!
I got inspired to read this book after I attended a workshop about GTD held by my employer - one of David's guys was the trainer. During that time I felt that I could take control of what modern IT life throws at me. The book only strengthened that feeling. David's style is a bit dry at times, but overall it is very easy to read. Most of what he says (or all) is just common sense, but he puts it all together, explaining and encouraging changes.
I'll start with the end, more philosophical chapter, and add some ideas of mine. In life there are two major problems:
1) we don't know what we want to do
2) we don't know how to do something that we want.
As he puts it, it's like yin yang from Chinese Taoism - two complementary aspects of the same things. The solutions are:
1) make things up
2) make things happen
Easy! Problem is that most people don't do either of them too well, and feel unhappy most of the time. David is trying to help with these issues as they show up in the life of a modern IT worker.
Obviously, he cannot tell you what to want - but he emphasizes Mind Sweep, which is putting all your thoughts on a material support (paper or computer). The book helps mostly - and obviously - with the second part: the making things happen.
The mind is for us to master and use, but unless we use it properly it could harm us rather than help. The mind always reminds us of what we need to do. For example, when you see a flashlight in your home your mind tells you "hey, the batteries inside are drained, let's get buy new ones", and so on each time you go by the flashlight. The mind is trying to help - indeed batteries are needed. But, what can you do at home? Nothing! It would be nice if the mind would remind you about batteries only when you drive by some store and only at that time - that is only when you can do something about getting batteries. Unfortunately, the mind doesn't work like that. Every time something needs to be changed or done, a part of your mind is tracking that all the time, reminding you about it, consuming a part of your psychic energy. And, as David puts it, most people have around 300 things in their heads that need to be tracked - no wonder that consumes a lot of energy. If you have even two thoughts to track, then the efficiency goes down a lot, let alone when you have 300. What is his solution? The GTD system!
And what is the GTD system? It is David's way of getting the mind clear of thoughts, "mind like water" as he says inspired by Eastern books, when you get into a state called "the zone" by athletes, where focusing is easy and doing things - and getting them done - comes naturally.
As he says, "you shouldn't have the same thought twice, unless you like that thought". He emphasizes that you should handle both your work and personal life - any kind of tracking thought needs to get out of the mind.
His system has more phases - collect, process, organize, review and do. I won't get into too many details - his book does that and also there are many Internet resources set by GTD enthusiasts. Collect happens at every moment - as you have a thought you put it on a list in your in-basket (physical or a computer list), same if your boss enters your office and tells you about a new work item. Processing happens regularly - twice a day, every two hours, etc. - he doesn't set hard limits. Processing means asking "what is this actually? Does it have an outcome?".If the answer is no outcome, it was just a random thought or thing that came at you. The next question - is it actionable? If no, you can trash it, or file it (he explains more systems of filing).
David emphasizes actions a lot - the mind will keep quiet only if you get to define an action for that item. If you don't, you will still get reminded like for the batteries case. So, if an action is needed, decide that action (call Joe, email Mary, write report, talk to wife, etc.). "I need to fix car" is an item that comes to mind. "Call repair shop at 555-1234" is not an item any more, it's an action. Processing and organizing means getting from "stuff" to actions. An action could be delegated to someone (an employee, spouse, kids, etc.), deferred (set into a calendar), etc.
Some thoughts turn into a project - like house remodeling. Projects are just a set of actions. At any moment you ask - what is the next actions? GTD is a about determining actions and doing them.
I will only add the review part - David suggests reviewing all the projects and actions lists weekly and update them accordingly. To quote him, "that's the time to be creative, to dare". Do no periodic review and GTD will fail.
The system teaches how to handle details, how to do things. GTD starts at the bottom, "at the runway" (per the book), it doesn't make you ask yourself what your purpose in your job, career, family and life in general - there are other books for that. David Allen beliefs that once you know how to do things you will automatically gain confidence and ask yourself those higher questions, but it doesn't work the other way around like other similar books suggest.
All in all, if in your life there are many events that change things often (e.g. you work in IT, etc.) then this is a highly recommended book. Even if you don't it is still worth reading it - everyone has personal projects that need to get done better. Last but not least, getting things done will make you feel good, and nothing can beat that - what can you ask more from a book?

The book that launched a movement.

First, I must confess that I originally read this book in 2001 when it was originally published. I found that life-changing. I must also confess that this is a review written by a guy whose personalized car at license tags read, "GTD GUY."

With that said, I wanted to revisit the book six years after publication and give it a fresh read to see if it stood up to the passage of time. I found that it did and offers a highly practical approach to getting more done. David Allen's approach to capturing all the things that you need to do in your life, processing them, and setting up systems to act upon them is an invaluable template for productivity. He also strongly advocates the weekly discipline of reviewing all of your projects, next actions, and life goals.

Some people may find fault with Allen's advocacy of gadgetry, but this is an adjunct to his discussion. I believe he is correct that people gravitate toward systems and where they find they are tools congenial, whether those tools are high-tech or low-tech.

Others may argue that the focus on getting things done puts the emphasis on things, and devalues people and relationships. I'm not sure that that is a fair criticism of GTD, which has become more than a book but has morphed into a movement. (In fact, David Allen himself now occupies somewhat of a cult status among productivity geeks.)

Nevertheless, Allen would probably argue that when you get more things done, you are relaxed and stress free and can have more time and energy to devote to cultivating important relationships in your life. GTD does not purport to be a template for solving every problem in your life. It is merely a tool for getting things done. Those with a tendency toward workaholism may use or abuse the techniques in GTD to neglect important relationships. Is that a flaw in the book or a flaw in the personality makeup of the reader? Perhaps the answer is evident.

Six years after publication, GTD remains a bit of a "Bible" of personal productivity. Even if you do not adopt the entire system hook, line and sinker, you can graze through it like a buffet, picking and choosing a variety of productivity tips to help you manage the craziness of modern life.

I read the hype and now I know why so many people think so highly of this book - it truly changes the way you handle your work. It may sound corny, but the text is full of many "Aha!" moments - such as Allen's explanation that until you "collect" a task or idea or action by writing it down, it lingers in your mind, to haunt you, distract you and drain your energy. Allen's explanation of how our natural planning process - one that works every time we use it - is usually not accessed at work or when we have a major project at home. Instead, we tend to do things in reverse order, or in some other convoluted sequence. Allen explains the steps in natural planning and how they can very easily and to great success be applied at work and at home. Another major insight is that to get things done, you need to start from the bottom up, or at runway level, to use Allen's analogy, and then move up to 10,000 feet, then 20,000 feet, etc., rather than beginning from the top-down, by trying to identify your values and purposem, and then identifying the descending issues - the day-to-day, runway stuff will obstruct your path anyway, unless you handle it first. Yet another great piece of advice is the "What's the next action?" exercise, which forces you to think of the next, actual, physical action that needs to be taken to accomplish your task or move a project forward - vague and ambiguous statements and generalities just won't do.

On the down side, this book is about some very admittedly mundane tasks, like filing and making lists. For this reason, I think the book could have been enhanced by clearer examples and illustration. There is an excellent example on the author's web site, for example, on how to use natural planning for a child applying to college. Future editions should include such case studies.

The biggest lift to get the system going is the initial step of collecting and organizing all your open loops. It seems as if most of Allen's client take a whole day or even a weekend to do it. This is a great initial commitment, but one that should pay dividends.

I kept reading mentions about GTD in blogs and articles but I'm very resistant to trying fads and the "happening" trend. However, I'm trying to improve myself this year and one of my goals is to get myself organized. So, when I saw the book in an airport bookstore, I thought it might be a sign.

Like some other reviewers, I have to agree that Allen is overly repetitive; he could have easily written the book in half the pages. Still, the book really did change my life -- I know it's cliche.

I've tried making lists and keeping up with them before. I've tried all sorts of methods for organizing my life. I'm a creative mind stuck in a routine world and I've never got the hang of schedules and doing things all orderly, but lately I'd been feeling lost at work. Too many little things were flitting through my mind needing to be done.

The GTD method was exactly what I needed. Now I'm really good at putting every little detailed task down for work projects and I feel so much more relaxed on the weekends because I can check my GTD list home context for household projects and chores and work on things that need to be done around the house. Now I'm not worrying about what I need to get done when I get home while I'm at work and vice versa. I know it's written down so it'll be taken care of. I even have ticklers set up to remind me to call the pharmacy each month for refills so I won't be waiting to the last minute any more.

Now, if I could just get the dog and cats to do the chores on the list for me while I'm not at home, then it really would be stress-free productivity. ;)

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 batteries, etc.

I then wanted to--as David says: "Get off the runway" with my tasks and start managing with a more project/goal/initiative-centric approach. To me that was a big problem with the "tasks" approach--you get buried in "to do" stuff and never get above the trees.

Additionally, in my situation I had huge leakage in delegating or following up with other people with my requests, questions, etc. So the process for handling emails that required responses alone has radically altered how I work and manage my own time.

I recently finished GTD and it was like an epiphany. During the first 1/3 of the book though I felt like "okay, I got the preaching--how do I *implement* this", and actually purchased/read other systems in the middle. Ultimately coming back to and finishing this book. I'm very happy that I did.

In my opinion, you should take what works for you from the book and integrate it with your life/style. For me the 43 folders didn't make sense as I am so nomadic with my work. But it is a good concept. For me, everything has to be electronic and ideally live out on the internet cloud somewhere. So naturally some of my tools will be different than his. But the *system* is what's key.

The gold is simply getting you to see "stuff" coming into your life as things that need to be processed from your Inbox (the goal being Inbox Zero), and an effective system of processing, then handling things once they're organized.

Also, I like how there aren't any "special" requirements, like you have to buy a special organizer, get certain software, buy their printed pages, etc. I am currently using a $7 calendar/organizer (with cool doodling) and $15/year for the "pro" version of Toodledo (the base version is free). It also has "slim" web access via iPhone.. so I can access my lists from practically anywhere. Well worth it to organize my life.

Again, for me this has been life-altering. It's taken a lot of the stress of worrying about stuff falling through the cracks, not being busy all the time, etc. And ultimately that's what I wanted to achieve.

The book's cover says "The Art of Stress-Free Productivity" and I have to say it delivered on that right away. Here's what helped me most:

Get it out of your head
Probably the biggest thing that helped was the concept of "getting it out of your head". My head was filled with things I needed to keep track of. The problem was I would remind myself of what those things were constantly - mostly in the middle of the night. GTD recommends you write out each thought, idea, etc. on a separate piece of paper. I used to make lists, but then I would see a laundry list of things to do and become drained. It makes sense to write down each thing on its own page because you can't process all the things you need to do at the same time. We usually do things one item at a time. This in of itself was a huge benefit. If an idea pops into my head, I write it down. Once I do (and of course make sure it goes into a system that will guarantee my next action) then it's released from my head, freeing me up.

Two minute rule
This is about going through your inbox and doing whatever is in there that can be done in two minutes or less. Sounds simple because it is! And it's amazing how quickly I can reduce my inbox. The thinking behind this is that sometimes it takes longer to store and track something than just to do it!

Grouping like activities
Make all your calls one after the other - whether they're related or not. Take a block of time and send your emails out. If you have magazines stacked up - read the cover story of each - that's the most important.

Is it actionable?
Whatever you're trying to manage either has a next step or doesn't. GTD teaches you how to categorize things so that you always know what to do with them. This was especially true with projects. The book points out that you really never do a project, you do the next actionable thing towards getting that project done.

GTD has increased my productivity and reduced my stress. I no longer miss appointments, or wake up in the middle of the night wondering if I finished something. The book is very intuitive and I would highly recommend it. FYI - it does take a while to incorporate the whole system. If you make a commitment to doing so, you will benefit tremendously.

And if you have a goal you've been putting off - read "Goal your 30 day game plan for Business and Career Success"Goal!: Your 30-Day Game Plan for Business and Career Success It was recommended to me and I achieved a goal I had put off for years. It's a quick read and has you taking action right away.

The author clearly explains a system for getting on top of all the tasks that languish on our pressed board and electronic desktops. Even though he describes the result as "stress-free productivity," I found myself stressed just reading the book, feeling like a failure for not keeping my inbox cleaned out but envisioning relationship casualties if one were to be so fixated on his process. I appreciate the author's occasional acknowledgement that, while his system is best implemented in its entirety (a huge commitment), using parts of it would still be helpful. A lot of the book seems to be padding; I'd probably be ahead if I'd quit reading half-way through and used the time saved to, uh, get things done.

I think that GTD is a really good system to get a hold on what you need to do in your workplace and your personal life and to boost your productivity.

It hinges on a fairly simple system where you capture information in a number of "inboxes", including email, paper trays, notebooks, PDAs, whatever you have.

From there you further categorise it into some straightforward categories and decide on your next actions.

Very simple actions are subject to the two minute rule - that is if you have to do something and it will take two minutes or less, then do it now.

I won't describe every nuance of the whole system, but the overall aim is to give you a "mind like water", basically a state of mind where you aren't feeling anxious, confused and stressed by what you need to do next, because you already have it noted down somewhere.

Then, when you turn to your next actions, you don't even have to think as much about them, as you have, in theory, already decided what you need to do about them and just need to apply the energy to do them.

So, yes, this is a good system that is seemingly flexible enough to deal with the regular chaos that pervades many people's workplaces and lives.

You do, however, need to implement the system and stick to it, otherwise you undermine it. It has to become habit.

I like this book as it is practical and self-contained, you don't really have to purchase extra volumes or add-ons to make the thing work, you just really need this book, a pen and a pad, and a little time to set the system up by refiling everything - buying a quantity of new stationery is also something that maybe required, depending on your level of dedication.

What this book teaches is effectively a simple rounded administrative system that aims to reduce procrastination and delay, and increase productivity and efficiency, both in work and personal life.

Thinking about it, administration although hardly the sexiest subject is a useful one, and one that can be really beneficial if it works.

The problem with most workplaces and organisations is that their systems don't work, hence why things don't get done and fall through the cracks.

This book offers a way forward that I have found very useful and easy to implement.

The book itself, though, like the subject is very useful, but not the most pleasurable read. It is pretty good, and at least is devoid of any "positive thinking" philosophies, the closest you get is the "mind like water" phrase.

However, rather than a pleasure read, this is more like learning a skill, and a very useful one at that.

I do believe it can really boost an individual's or an organisation's productivity levels.

Sadly, it does not hold a magic cure for making other people more efficient, unless you buy them this book and force them to read it.

David Allen's premise (which is a good one) in "Getting Things Done - The Art Of Stress Free Productivity", is that the skills needed to become more productive are not new to us. We know how to do the things we need to do. It's more a matter of making a commitment, jumping in, and then having a system to ensure we keep it up. Allen helps us on all three challenges.

On making a commitment Allen provides ample and simple concepts, case scenarios and a good dose of common sense. The introduction and chapter one should provide enough push to get anyone started. For example, he suggests that for everything we think we need to do (or get done) we should:
* Clarify the intended outcome - "What do we really want to achieve?"
* What's the next physical action needed to move us toward the outcome?
* Then, to maintain our commitment, put both the outcome and actions into a system - one that works for us (not a "one size fits all" approach)

I liked this book. It is well written and easy to follow. Everything he says makes sense. I particularly liked the core concept diagram which was repeated at the appropriate places throughout the book. What's most important in a book like this, is that Allen provides enough tools, concepts and techniques for anyone to become more productive. As a reviewer of a self-help book, it's a good sign that I have implemented some of Allen's suggestions. Highly recommended.

Bob Selden, author What To Do When You Become The Boss: How new managers become successful managers

I've been trying for years to "get organized". I've tried elaborate to do list scenarios on my Palm organizer; I even had a consultant in many years ago as part of my professional development to help me work through and prioritize endless stacks of e-mail and things to do. Before the company spam filter was put in place, it was almost all I could do to get through my spam and delete it every day.

One of the problems is that I don't really like being organized. I naturally prefer to work through issues as they arise and follow new leads that look promising. While this approach works fairly well given my job (I research new technologies) it can be a problem when things pile up as I'm off exploring new venues.

Recently I ran into this book by David Allen. It has by far the most comprehensive and common-sense system for managing day-to-day tasks that I've seen. His basic premise is that the brain is a lousy place to try and keep track of all the things you have to do. After all, we can only keep seven or eight things in short-term memory. Add to that the fact that the brain will constantly remind us of those things we need to do in situations when we can do nothing about them, and you have a recipe for stress.

Allen's suggestion is to track everything we need to do in a simple system, whether it be paper-based or electronic. The key to a stress free mind is to make sure that everything that needs doing is tracked in the system. You accomplish this through a simple process of reviewing items as they come into your various inboxes (e-mail, paper mail, phone mail, hallway conversations, etc) and deciding what to do with them. If a task takes less than two minutes to accomplish, do it immediately. If you can delegate it, do so. If the item is reference material, file it. Otherwise, make an entry for it in your system, being careful to identify next actions for each item. Then you can be confident that everything you need to do is in your system leaving your mind stress free and enabling you to quickly find what needs doing next.

There's more to it which I won't belabor here, but it's basically a simple system. The book contains many examples and refinements that make it well worth reading. Allen also teaches day long management seminar courses.

As for technology, Allen uses the Palm to-do list. I've been using software called Life Balance which also has a desktop and a Palm interface.

I had a clutter problem - in general. So I got a book on clutter ("It's All Too Much" which is a good read btw). It worked! ...on everything except my relationship with papers. They are (soon to be 'were') everywhere: messing up my home office, the table where I eat, on the night stand, even on the floor. I mean, it looked like clutter so why didn't it work? Well, because my paper issue was some else entirely - an organization puzzle, not an extra-stuff puzzle.

This is where David Allen's book really comes in handy. It's especially good for everyday people whose lives are getting more multifaceted and whose personal and/or professional projects are getting bigger. The logic is impeccable. And the tools ought to be adjusted to your style. Plus there are tons of GTD fan videos online that can help you modify and personalize what he suggests in the book. Papers begone! It's working for me. If you have a monster of an inbox, certainly give Getting Things Done a try.

Most time management books, even those well intentioned like Stephen Covey's "First Things First," are unhelpful. Most either tell you how to pile more stuff onto an already too full plate or are so elaborate to be impractical. As "Getting Things Done" points out starting from your goals and priorities often becomes so elaborate and involved most people just give up. Besides, you need to get things done and often those things are forced upon you having nothing to do with goals, passions and dreams.

"Getting Things Done" is the last book on time management and organization you'll ever need. The book isn't so much a system as a way of thinking, a way of life. It is about getting things out of your head so that you can think clearly instead of being clogged up with worries, to-dos and open items. Once you've gotten all the clutter out of your brain and onto paper you can "get them done" instead of worrying about them.

"Getting Things Done" is all about execution and productivity. It is practical, easy to use and remember, and effective. You will get more done with less stress and, for me most importantly, let go of things that were never going to get done in the first place. I've tried most time management systems and products, from Daytimer to Covey to Tracy. "Getting Things Done" works. It can be career and life changing.

The self-help book industry runs rampant with cliches, euphemisms and gimmicks. Allen's book is a breath of fresh air in that it consolidates the most sound approaches in a way that speaks volumes to both the high-powered CEO and the graduate student just trying to get her dissertation organized!

Allen's approach is centered around the idea that "things that have your attention should have your INTENTION." Although we know that is common sense, Allen offers a method of storing and processing the multitude of attention items, so that one can focus on one item at a time without worry about what's on the back-burner.

In addition to offering concrete ideas for organization, Allen also addresses the emotional and psychological impediments to getting things done. Unlike other authors, he does not patronize his readers or make them believe that they should aspire to be paragons of organizational virtue. He's a realist and offers many instances of "if you can't do this, try this."

Even if one does not adapt Allen's entire system for a lifetime, components like the "2-minute rule" and the "Next Action Decision Making Standard" will positively impact personal productivity and mindset. This book will NOT help those who aren't yet at the place where they want to make a positive change.

Allen has defined the "core methods that don't change with the times, and which, when applied, always work." Having read many books on organization and procrastination, I do believe this is the last book I will need to read.

I've read (or at least tried to read) several self-help type books, and most of them are decidedly unhelpful. And I've realized that all this time the thing lacking in self-help literature was advice at the every-day, mundane, workaday level of getting things accomplished. That is what this book provides.
There is a ton of specific advice on how to organize your life so that you can operate smoothly and without (much) stress. It is certainly an oversimplification to say that simply writing things down will make it easy to live a stress-free, hyper-productive life. After reading the book and implementing most of the suggestions, I still find myself procrastinating on things from time to time, I still feel anxiety over large projects that are hanging over my head. Regardless of how much you plan things and write them down, if you have large volumes of work undone I think some stress is inevitable. So I wouldn't call my new lifestyle stress-FREE, but definitely REDUCED-stress.
To the people that see this book as being a product of our "consumer culture" or our obsession with productivity, I say that that is exactly what this book is intended to remedy. There is no escaping the new, high-tech, ever-changing culture we live in. Unless you are willing to isolate yourself from the modern world, ideas like those found in this book are becoming more and more necessary to actually get important work done and not severely damage your mind with stress. Furthermore, by becoming somewhat of a control-freak for every-day details, paradoxically you are able to live a more harmonious, relaxed, and spontaneous life. This is the message of the book that I think some people are missing, based on some of the negative reviews.
Of course, as with most books like this, there is a lot of excess verbiage and story-telling. But it is a short enough read anyways, so I don't think it's a big deal. Overall this book is packed with great advice and I highly recommend it to people who feel their lives are out of control or they want to get themselves out of procrastination and emergency mode.

This book is such a game changer! Whether you apply this to your personal life, or use it as a parent, or in your business life, you will benefit greatly. If you want to get even more value, share these principles and organizational methods with your spouse, children, and/or employees. Also available as an audiobook.

GTD called it right when it identified broken agreements with self as a source of negative feeling, anxiety, guilt and "disintegrated self-trust". And one cannot be wholly productive when they are nagged by worries of open loops. GTD presents a methodology for remedying this and achieving a "mind like water".

While I still believe in traditional time management principles such as task prioritization, GTD offers some excellent concepts and takeaways: Corralling all your stuff is critical - you can only feel good about what you're not doing ONLY when you know what you're not doing; the notion of Next Actions is simple but invaluable; separating reference and support material from actionable items will keep the system less clogged; the Someday/Maybe list as an outlet for off-the-wall and future tasks; and the four criteria model for choosing actions in the moment works, among others.

GTD makes a strong case for some type of time management or personal organization system. This was my second time through the book and while it was worth the revisit, I wish it gave more specifics on tools; and the lack of mention of Blackerrys and iPhones nearly make the book dated. GTD doesn't offer a panacea; but as David Allen himself states, no system is perfect for tracking projects and tasks, you just need to know you have them and where to find more information. I am looking forward to his upcoming sequel.

"Getting Things Done" is a book that really made a difference to me. It made me realize some of the areas where I have not been in control of my own life as I should. There is a section that I especially liked about not feeling guilty when you aren't getting something done. The author made me realize that I was only hurting myself and not helping my productivity at all with worry and regret over what "could have" or "should have" been accomplished. After gaining so much from this book, I also read Time Control - Taking Control and Achieving Goals (Creating Lifestyle) written by Martin Gover. It is also a great book and explains well how to manage your lifestyle to be successful. Overall, I would recommend both of these reads to anyone struggling with reaching their goals and managing their life better.

Based on a recommendation from Patty, Huntley, the trainer at a project management class I recently attended, I picked up David Allen's book Getting Things Done. It's my turn now to recommend it as a very useful reading.

Getting Things Done provides a very practical, down-to-earth, useful plan for getting organized and sticking to it. The book is divided into three parts: an overview of the system, a nuts-and-bolts detailed methodology, and a higher level examination of key principles.

I suspect that a lot of the book was compiled from transcripts of the years of training seminars author David Allen has been giving on the matter of getting organized. At least, this would explain one of the book's minor flaws, the uneven writing style and authorial voice. Part 1 -- The Art of Getting Things Done, in particular, uses more of the trendy buzzwords I have come to expect from the Business section of an average bookstore. It's not too terrible, he doesn't go crazy with jargon, but it's more noticeable than in the next section.

Part 2 -- Practicing Stress-Free Productivity, is a very accessible, easily read series of practical steps to take in order to get organized and set up a home and office system. I very much liked that for every step, several different tools and approaches were offered, from paper files to computer-based files to palm-top devices. Allen makes it clear that there are many different ways to accomplish the task, and that you should pick tools that suit your needs, habits, knowledge, and lifestyle.

Another aspect I like is that Allen integrates the methods for getting both your business and personal life organized, but without melding them into a single entity. It's necessary for most of us to keep work and home separate, yet access the information in more than one place. This is well addressed in the book.

Part 3 -- The Power of the Key Principles steps back to look at the thinking that underpins the proposed method. Allen shows good insight in deciding to expose the reader to the practical benefits of the method -- letting you take the car for a spin -- before trying to "sell" grand principles. He understands that if you're reading this thinking about the mess in your office and the multitude of projects waiting for you, you won't be interested in focusing on principles.

I'm fairly certain that this book can be useful for just about anyone. Maybe it won't revolutionized your habits, and maybe you'll only get a few useful tips out of it -- or maybe you'll completely change your planning methods. Either way, you should get something useful from this inexpensive little paperback.

This is amazing.The first day I put on the sauna suit I went walking. When I came back it was soaked. I was very surprised so Ive been wearing it everytime I walk! The top part is a little tricky to get into as it has a zipper. I am a 36ddd and about 220. I have a pear shape so the velcro on the tummy part is great! Its been about 6 days of walking and I see results!! Not huuuge results but enough I notice my shirt around my tummy fits differently.

I would recommend this book to anyone trying to become more productive in their personal or professional lives. It is especially important for people who process a lot of information, requests, and emails, and for whom responsiveness is a key trait. I used the methodology outlined in this book together with Evernote. I expected it to organize me and help with my productivity, but with full buy in to David Allen's GTD methods, my life was really changed for the better. After years of feeling like I was swimming through muddy water I could finally see exactly where I am going and what is next.

This book is very different from most self-help business books because it offers extremely concrete advice, literally steps to take to complete his system. If you do it, and put thought into what you are doing, and stick with it for a few weeks, you will see incredible results.

This is the bible of productivity books, but the best thing about it is that just by *reading* it you will walk away with a better life (IMHO).

You can go as far down the rabbit hole of tuning your productivity systems as far as you want, but just knowing the basic premise that *writing down* every little task you need to do as soon as you identify it will automatically make you more productive and, more importantly, *reduce your stressing about things*.

The first time I read this book months ago, I started using simple todo lists more when my schedule got hectic - thats all. But when I had a contract project finishing up days after my wedding, I returned to the audiobook to refresh myself and realized how much I had actually adopted from the book, and tuned it to get through a really stressful and busy period in my life with relative ease.

If you are unsure or a lazy reader (like me), I would recommend the abridged audiobook. Its a fast, easy and passive way to get started.

For me, I bit the bullet and got a hosted exchange server with outlook 2007 - now my laptop, my desktop, and my blackberry are always 100% synced instantly with my contacts, *tasks*, email (whose inbox I always keep *empty!*), and calendar.

For me, this solution is perfect and managing my time is now a non-issue.

As with most practical advice, the techniques David Allen recommends in "Getting Things Done" certainly aren't original. Rather, they serve as useful reminders for those of us who already know how to get organized but have simply forgotten these principles or allowed them to lapse. These types of books operate in much the same way as books on dieting: Most people know how to eat healthy and exercise, but somehow reading a book about it motivates them to put that knowledge into practice. That said, there are several bits of advice in this book that I simply would not have been able to figure out on my own. Judging from the messiness of some of my coworkers' desks and the inefficiency with which they accomplish many of their tasks, I suspect that most people don't know about them, either. Following are the most helpful strategies Allen outlines in his book:
1. We all have a vague notion that clutter is not ideal. But because it seems insignificant, many of us allow our desks and our e-mails and our to-do lists and our lives to become cluttered--we know we're busy, and we rationalize the messiness by thinking that we don't have time to organize. But after following the instructions on cleaning your desk (I know this seems basic, but sometimes the most basic processes need guidance), I couldn't believe how liberating it was. Simplicity is so, well, simple that we tend to discount it. But organization is sort of like taking a shower. Once you do it, you can't believe you went for so long without it.
2. Don't make your calendar into a plan-to-do list, because you'll train yourself to ignore the tasks that you MUST do that day. Only put on your calendar the things that must get done that day.
3. Organize your task list into subjects, and delete the e-mails that do not require any action.
4. If you are faced with a long project, determining what the next action step is will help you avoid procrastination.
5. If you have 20 items on your task list, do the things that take 5 minutes or fewer first, and then plan the next action steps for the longer projects.
6. Don't be afraid of file folders. Create file folders for everything, from restaurant coupons to writing samples.
A successful book on productivity shouldn't make you want to read more books on productivity. I haven't reviewed any of the other productivity books, and I can't see why anyone would want to. If you want to be more productive, then you can read this book and then move on to the things you really want to do.

I know that sounds a little extreme but it is in fact true. I am (or was) extremely unfocused, unorganized...a complete scatter brain. I read an article in Wired that referenced this book and thought, "why not try it?" I was not expecting much as I've tried many different authors' techniques.

David Allen's technique really does work. I've been more relaxed than ever. Much less stress in my life and I'm getting more done in less time. I own my own business so I have a million different tasks ever day and many large projects. Nothing seems to slip through the cracks anymore and I even have time to go out for a nice long walk in the middle of the day or even go to the driving range. My business has even gotten more profitable.

Coincidence...I don't think so. I went off the Getting Things Done wagon for a couple weeks and I was immediately stressed out, having trouble sleeping and things started slipping through the cracks. The great news is, once back on the wagon...things quickly changed.

I recommended the book to a friend and she was equally skeptical at first. She called me today almost screaming that I was completely right. Her whole life has changed as well. She turned me on to the program "Things" for the mac (and iPhone) so now it's even easier to stay on track.

Drop everything you are doing right now and read the book or listen to the audio version.

To me, the greatest concept in the book is that of having a clear mind. On the first page of Chapter 1, he quotes David Kekich as saying, "Anxiety is caused by a lack of control, organization, preparation, and action." and then he proceeds to share his two major objectives for the book:

-capturing all the things that need to get done into a logical and trusted system outside of your head and off your mind

-disciplining yourself to make front-end decisions about all of the "inputs" you let into your life so that you will always have a plan for "next actions" that you can implement or renegotiate at any moment.

This book offers a proven method for this kind of high-performance workflow management.

I liked the book the first time I read it (4-5 years ago when it first came out), but I recently purchases the audio program he did, Getting Things Done Fast!, and hearing him speak about the topic brought such clarity that I had to read the book again. I must have read with my eyes wide shut the first time, because this second time through, everything popped and I am really aware!

Amazing resource and my most recommended time management book in the training classes I teach.

Tom Carpenter

I installed the light on my 10 inch miter saw. It really helps me see exactly where my cut is going to be while not getting in the way. The daylight brightness and level of illumination is just right -- is out of the yellow spectrum. The flexible neck really allowed me to position it right where it will work the best.
I've only had it a short time. If it stands the test of time I plan on purchasing more for some of the other tools in my workshop.

David Allen provides effective, practical advice that is timeless. Allen provides step-by-step procedures for getting a handle on all the projects we all have. One of the brilliant choices Allen makes is to focus, not on technological tools, but on principles of organization. Technology keeps changing, but the skills in this book remain relevant and actually have become more necessary.

I'm fairly skeptical of what the latest "increase your productivity" fad books that blow through management from time to time. I've heard about Getting Things Done for a while and I was finally forced by my employer to read it.

I would classify this book as useful and pretty no-nonsense. Essentially the author promotes getting organized so that you don't have background processing going on in your mind about tasks that you haven't delt with yet in some way. The book is about helping you collect and categorize all these tasks both in your personal and professional life so that they are out of your head and into a system that is external to yourself. Thus your mind lets go, and if you build your system properly, you can end up getting a lot more done both at work and at home. I like the books approach of not telling you exactly how to organize your life other then a few concepts that the author has observed working countless times in business environments. There is a system, but it is loose as long as you focus on a few core concepts (you have to read the book to get those).

The book is worth the read and definitely if you have to read some business fad type book, pick this one over others. There is some very practical wisdom that can be found in its pages.

This book is simply amazing! I have always had E.S.S. (entrepreneurial squirrel syndrome) that has kept my inability to focus on what matters most in the background. By incorporating the principals David recommends, I've seen a drastic change, not only in my business, but in my personal life. Highly recommend this book!

Fifty years ago, having a simple to-do-list would put you at the top of the productivity charts. Thirty years ago, paying attention to time management would do the same. Today, looking at workflow gives us the next step in the evolution of effectiveness.

The book, Getting Things Done, is divided into three parts. The first is called "The Art of Getting Things Done." This is where the author, David Allen, lays out the basics of mastering workflow and getting projects creatively underway.

The key to getting control of your life is mastering that workflow. Once stuff shows up in your "inbox," what do you do with it? Allen gives you a straightforward way to process what's in your "inbox" without getting bogged down.

His key insight is to concentrate on the next necessary action for any project you might be working on. That's especially powerful. Procrastination often comes from not knowing what the next action to take should be. Using the action list that Allen recommends, you should cut down your procrastination significantly.

I should note here that action in Allen's sense doesn't mean "deciding" or any other such activity, unless it results in something visible. That keeps us out of the action list that are filled with things where you start to prepare to begin to get ready to do things, and moves you right on to the doing itself.

Allen covers this material in twenty-five pages, and it is the core and key value of this book. If you buy the book for the workflow system and the insights that Allen has into it, you'll get more than your money's worth.

Alas, on page fifty-four in my edition, Allen starts talking about getting projects creatively underway. I found this material to be pretty garden-variety stuff. No big insights. In fact, it suffers from what lots of other material on planning suffers from, the idea that planning is a straight-through process without an iterative looping around as you would adjust goals and plans.

Once the early material on project management wraps up Part One, you could move on to Part Two. Part Two is about Practicing Stress-free Productivity. Actually, it's not about that at all. What it is about, in one hundred plus pages, is how to get this entire system started. We get recommendations down to the file folder level. This may be helpful to you. I found it useless padding in the book.

At the end of this section, he loops back to the workflow diagram that he'd covered a hundred pages earlier.

Part Three takes us back to the Power of Key Principles, and it's worth reading as a review, as well for several specific tips that are embedded in it.

Now, it may seem from my comments just above, that I don't think this book is worth the money. That would be inaccurate. This is simply one of the best, and most helpful books, I've ever read on organizing. For me, the value was in the workflow process and the things around it. I didn't need the stuff on Getting Started, and I didn't like the stuff on Project Planning.

We each come to books like this with different backgrounds and needs, and so if your needs are different than mine, you may find other pieces of this book valuable. One thing I'm sure of - if you buy the book, you'll find value in it.

Best in class! The strength of this book is it's flexibility. You can apply all of it or some of it. Your way or his way. Paper or digital. Or, infinite combinations of the above. If you're not the most organized person you know, then you can benefit for this classic. .

On a personal note, I've been off and on it to varying degrees for the last several years and I can say that for me personally it reduces my ADHD-ness by 75%. Meditation does the rest.

If this book has any weakness, it's that it's bottom-up approach could make you feel like you're reacting to life instead of guiding it. To cure this I used Tony Robbins RPM method. The two work seamlessly together and together make what may very well be the ultimate productivity plan.

Core Idea: You can gain control of your life by following a five-stage process: 1) Collect 2) Process 3) Organize 4) Review and 5) Do.

We have too many things on our minds. Unfinished tasks and unfulfilled commitments create stress and pressure. There is no way to achieve relaxed control if we keep everything only in our minds. "Managing actions" means deciding what to do at any point in time. Almost always the problem is not lack of time but the clarity about what to do next.

1) Collect all the things in a trusted system so that your mind can let go.
2) Process your list by asking "What is it?" and "Is it actionable?" If it is actionable decide what the next action is.
3) Organize the outcomes of your process in a trusted system.
4) Weekly Review your organized system to see what is getting done.
5) Doing entails doing pre-defined work, doing work that shows up or defining your work.

In the final analysis, deciding and doing really comes down to a matter of trusting our hearts, our minds, our spirits or our guts. This trust cannot be fully defined yet alone captured in any known system to mankind yet. However, David Allen's GTD system gives a better idea and a better foundation for doing so. This reason alone is sufficient to make sure we got a copy of this book in my humble opinion.

Are you wondering if this book only applies to corporate types? I almost dismissed the book for that reason but am glad I did not.

I am at home with young children plus work part time from home. I experienced immediate relief when, after reading a couple of chapters, I sat down and began writing lists. In less than thirty minutes I had ten project lists and a Next Action list. I was surprised at the creative thinking this inspired.

What is unique about this book is that you choose the format for your lists. It doesn't require a specific type of organizer or PDA; you use what works for you. I wanted something small and portable and went to Office Depot and purchased a leather Franklin Covey index card holder for $15. I put an empty clementine box on the kitchen counter and use that as an in box.

I checked out his website and was happy to see that, other than a few overpriced note taker devices, he's not all about selling products and has a number of free resources on his site.

I'm not naive. I know there will probably always be open loops in my thoughts. But it's a system that is organic, adaptable to change and reflects your own personal style. Even if you only partially succeed in using his system you will benefit.

We all have too much to do, but most of us could be completing much more if we learned to stop worrying so much about not getting things done. David Allen makes the point that we have all these tasks ("unfinished loops") in our mind that keep us from attacking and completing our work with clarity. We need to identify all of our tasks (yes, every single one), and make sure they are cared for in some way (discarded, scheduled for later, immediately addressed, etc.) by our "system" so we are not burdened by them and can concentrate on the task at hand.

Adhering to the "system" that David recommends requires discipline. Those not used to planning will shudder at some of the suggestions, but there is no doubt that if implemented and executed properly, productivity improvement will result.

I personally favor Covey's First Things First time management approach which I believe achieves the same freeing effect, while ensuring focus is placed on the most important tasks. However, both methods have many similarities and following either would be beneficial.

-- Nick McCormick, Author Lead Well and Prosper: 15 Successful Strategies for Becoming a Good Manager

A colleague of mine purchased this from me after coaching me through a, particularly crazy time at our office. I went through it at least as throughly as I used to study my math textbooks, and the formula WORKS. The #1 thing is to KEEP UP WITH IT - the Weekly Review - and it's pretty much magick.

I have read a number of great books about making [noun] [comparative adjective]. Several I can recommend are Servant Leadership, Turn the Ship Around, and 7 Habits, but this book followed step by step just within the four walls of my office simply skyrocketed my ability to keep things from falling through the cracks.

I like the binder very much, because the two layers do a good job making my mid-section feel well supported while healing from my surgery. I do, however have to wear it on top of a thin tank top, so it does cause me to get hot. And I'm careful about what I wear over it because I don't want weird bulges to show.

Author David Allen states the obvious...we will all be more productive if we are more organized, both in our work and our lives outside of work. Ok, that's not exactly earth-shaking news. It's the actualy getting organized part that leaves most people stumped.

Allen is focused on in-boxes, both literally and figuretively. Our in boxes being not only the things on our desks, but applying to anything task we need to do in our lives no matter how mundane. Allen has what he refers to as the "Two Minute Rule" wherein 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. That makes perfect sense. And that is what this book is in broadest terms: common sense. These are things you probably know but just may no know the best way to organize them.

The book is very "system oriented" with all sorts of clever phrase-ology. These books always are, but Allen provides a simple one page flowchart that you can use as a reference on your desk or maybe even the fridge that you can always refer to without having to consult the book and that flowchart is the most valuable part of the book.

Well done!

David Allen is one of those synthetic (no, not artificial but putting things together) geniuses who seem to arise every now and then to remind us how wonderful we could be if only we did a little more and how easy it is to do it. Well, it's not quite easy because it requires attention (a rare and expensive commodity), but boy does it pay off!! What this book does is tell you (simply and clearly)how to take control of the effort and attention that you normally spread out over time and tasks. It then shows you how to use your time in a way that guarantees that you will get (much) more done with (much) less effort and will sya goodbye forever to those loose ends of undone and barely-remembered tasks that gnaw away at the edge of consciousness. The system set forth in this book is elegantly simple and, if you are willing to discipline yourself enough to do it, foolproof. When I discovered David Allen a few years ago, the simplicity, elegance, and deep truth of his teaching stunned me. Applying it to my life was even more of a shock. It showed how shallow and fragile the (many) other time management systems I had applied were by comparison. If you are ready to take control of your life and build it to a higher level of efficiency and ease, this is an indispensable tool. If you read it carefully and act on it, you will be amazed at what you accomplish and how easy those accomplishments are. The book is written in an easy to read style, almost as if the warm-hearted narrator were speaking to you in person. Its layout is crisp and inviting with pointed quotations and headlines placed alongside the text. Buy it. Read it. Turn it into action.

I'm only about 25% through this book and it has already helped me. Allen is right that you should replace your vague worrying about things needing done and put it somewhere. Mine is on paper (in Word), double sided in eight sections so far, and that's what works for me, can take it anywhere to add and cross off. Half of the sections are work (next action, projects, long term goals) and the other are personal (next actions, projects, home/garden). I run my own manufacturing company, am a mom of active kids, soccer coach, school volunteer and boyscout leader, so I could use all the help I can get. Keep the list on my computer and do the weekly review.

At first, when I put down the list of things, I was shocked and dismayed at the amount of things that were there being left undone; however, after getting over the shock, I found that things were getting done much better. Having the lists organized permits me to work on autopilot and make more headway than I otherwise would have. I can tell that breaking down projects into actionable items is going to be GREAT! I found out about the book on Lifehacker Geek to Live, a place for excellent tech tips. I'm making myself read the book every day (don't usually have time for book reading), and I will get things done.

Many thanks to David.

I'm 80% through and have picked up a ton of good ideas. I hope to fully implement the system - it's clear why it works through the authors attention to detail. He also reads the book at the cadence that only the writer would know, emphasizing the points in his original thought process.
If for nothing else, read the book to get a sense of how much you really have on the go at any given time - and maybe pick up some tidbits on how to actually start getting a handle on your mess.
Thanks for a great read - well done!