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Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity (平装)
by David Allen
| Category:
Time management, Productivity, Self improvement, Effectiveness |
| Market price: ¥ 168.00
MSL price:
¥ 158.00
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| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
This widely acclaimed bestseller is a practical and timely time management tool in today's chaotic business climate. |
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AllReviews |
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Entrepreneur (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-26 00:00>
If you've tried other time managers and still feel harried, take a minute to check this one out. |
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Fast Company (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-26 00:00>
...one of the most influential thinkers on productivity. |
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Mary Whaley (Booklist) (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-26 00:00>
Allen, a management consultant and executive coach, provides insights into attaining maximum efficiency and at the same time relaxing whenever one needs or wants to. Readers learn that there is no single means for perfecting organizational efficiency or productivity; rather, the author offers tools to focus energies strategically and tactically without letting anything fall through the cracks. He provides tips, techniques, and tricks for implementation of his workflow management plan, which has two basic components: capture all the things that need to get done into a workable, dependable system; and discipline oneself to make front-end decisions with an action plan for all inputs into that system. In short, do it (quickly), delegate it (appropriately), or defer it. While an infomercial for the author's consulting practice, this road map for organizational efficiency may help many who have too much to do in too little time, both professionally and in their personal lives. Mary Whaley |
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Ryan Battles (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-26 00:00>
I suffer from male pattern forgetfulness. It amazes me the way that my wife can remember multiple events and responsibilities, and things slip my mind all of the time. I recently finished reading this book, and I feel like perhaps now I can join the ranks of the truly productive. My biggest problem before reading this book was letting things fall through the cracks (i.e., not calling people back, or taking clothes to the cleaners). This system was designed for people like me, people who need to have a way to keep track of everything in a simple and straightforward way.
The principles are simple: Collect all the information that you can in designated "inboxes" (e.g., email, mailbox, voicemail), take time out to process that information and place it in the proper location (e.g., to-do list, reference file, calendar, do it right now), know exactly what your next action should be and do it whenever you can. Allen also touches on how to make time for tackling your to-do list by evaluating your life-goals, your short-term goals, and your current responsibilities at home and work. Hopefully, after doing some deep thinking about these things, you will be able to make time for what is more important, and therefore keep up with those things that you choose to prioritize.
I enjoyed this book because it taught me a system that will allow me to be productive, keep track of my responsibilities, be in control, and truly relax knowing that there are not things running around in my brain that I need to do something about (it should be recorded somewhere, ready to be tackled as soon as I make time for it). I recommend this book to people who want to take control of their schedule, their responsibilities, and relax more wholly when they have down time.
The only negative thing that I should mention is that I was a bit annoyed in the beginning of the book because I felt like it was a bit too "self-helpish," mentioning zen-like concepts and a handful of "If you are sick of...then get ready to..."-type statements. Quit trying to persuade me to read the book, I'm already reading it. Fortunately, these statements quickly gave way to many practical chapters that were nothing but helpful and informative. |
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Emil (MSL quote), Australia
<2006-12-26 00:00>
David Allen is a knowledgeable and practical productivity guru. This book has both the strengths of practical and theoretical qualities. I loved this book. I liked about it that it explains a few theoretical principals related to the way the brain works, but not too many. It keeps the subject flow down to earth and it introduces the reader in a very simple, common sense manner to a set of real life tools.
I found the book really helpful. I managed to setup my own system using two in-trays, Outlook and One-Note using David's principles of organisation. The book is free of superfluous motivational talk, it is based on research, personal experience built on many years of consulting organisations and individuals. I use the same routine flow at work and at home with no effort. I sometimes realise that when I get a mental trigger to simplify, process immediately something, it is because of the book. One of the key elements David insists on is that you must process the "stuff" immediately no matter what. You must decide what to do with it. The books somehow manages to store this idea in your mind using simple but powerful anchors.
What does this book for you?
Assuming we live at our fullest potential we were born with, success is conditioned by four factors: focus, goals (strategy), motivation and energy. David's book is about organising your life to give you clarity and focus. I liked how he talks about project organisation and how the immediate tasks are aligned to long term goals. The book is excellent about managing the first two factors. Motivation and energy: that is your responsibility. If you need help there then you have to look somewhere else.
How does the book help you do things better?
One of the most common sources of frustration is hidden behind our little chores we have to do day by day. David has a take-no-prisoners approach: list everything you have in front of you and handle it, otherwise this procrastination will kill you. At this point, prioritisation makes no sense. To my surprise, this little principle does wonders. You have to have a system though, which is explained in the book very well. This is probably the best gem in the book: it gives you an workflow system that you can use without fail every day. David talks about how more complex tasks are actually projects, and he shows you how to manage that project naturally, using common sense. David then makes you look at this from the perspective of your personal life. He takes you on a nice flight from the ground level (daily little chores) to high altitude where you can view the distant horizons of your life. As usual, David alerts you that before you go up, make sure you do a good job on the ground. David says that the practice shows that this is the best way to discover your call and what is it really what you want. It makes sense: if you keep getting frustrated in seemingly never ending entangled tasks, you may never know what is it really that gives you pleasure and what is your natural talent.
The main ideas of the book
Workflow of the human activities: the humans are systems that have data input, process engine and output. Productivity is about managing all these three areas. David describes a very simple workflow that is made up of five steps:
1. Collect: get it out of your head
2. Process: decide what to do with it.
3. Organise: Decide where to put the stuff.
4. Review. Critical part of the workflow: weekly review.
5. Do
The whole system is built around this workflow. It sounds simple, and it is, but it is very effective. It is implementable and reduced the noise that unorganised "stuff" creates in our head. You will have to read the book to understand that.
Decision Making Process
The system offers a fresh aproach to tasks organisation that is not based on common prioritised to-do lists system. I found that David links very well the concern of the moment with long term planning and ultimately with your life calling. The latter is a very complex task. You have to muster the daily tasks management before you get the black belt on life long achievements, because this is the only practical way of discovering what you can do and what you are best at.
Project planning.
David considers project as a collection of tasks. While individual tasks can be done almost in any order, projects require planning. Instead of relying on learning very complex project management tools, it is best to manage your project using natural planning. If you have experience with project management you will understand straight away what he is talking about. If not, you will still like his approach because it is simple and requires common sense. It is all about delivering outcomes, rather than getting lost in complex considerations.
Overall these are the key principles discussed in the book:
1. Focus and fast track
2. Applied outcome thinking (intention & action, how do I make it happen?)
3. The magic of mastering the mundane
4. The power of natural planning
The book has a very good structure. It is that kind of book you will come back to revisit some ideas. It requires a little bit of effort because, as David says, it will not work if you don't adopt it to suit your personal style and experience. I regard this book as an excellent investment. |
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B. Taylor (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-26 00:00>
Not only does David Allen's system help you organize your work life, it helps you organize your personal life, and any other life you live besides a professional career. I'm an artist who works in my own professional studio, I work a full time job, and have two part-time positions... and I've got an active personal life. Considering that all of my friends have similarly creative, diverse and busy lives I think my life is pretty normal. I was overwhelmed and out of control, couldn't figure out how to organize everything and get it all to work cohesively. David's system helped me get everything into an organized structure that I can trust and freed my mind of all those things that I was storing there. It cleared the way for greater creative thinking and lots of efficiency in getting all of my work done. I've now added a huge Mural Project to my agenda and I feel I can handle it without being too stressed out. I'm a fan, 100%. |
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Eve (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-26 00:00>
Too bad I didn't have this book years ago. I ended up figuring out some of his best techniques in the book on my own just one year ago - but before reading this book - maybe that's why he calls them common sense - you'd probably figure them out on your own eventually - but the book will help many people figure it out sooner. After years of different systems, planners, notebooks, and finally the palm pilot. I agree with Allen that the palm is too slow for input.
Finally, I have everything I need to do on index cards in my wallet. One for recurring tasks, one for priority tasks and one for projects. I have them organized by context as David recommends - errands, computer, phone calls, and things I need to do at home with the next actionable steps. The only card that needs frequent updating is the priority one. The only other lists I have is a grocery list and a phone list also on index cards (one card for each list. I also keep a tiny month-to month calendar (the free hallmark ones) in my wallet. They are easy to refer to on the go and update them as needed.
The only thing that I'm not quite sure I agree on from the book and some reviews is emphasis on bottom up rather than top down. Perhaps this works better while on a job, but not for organizing personal things in my opinion. Having the top down priorities established helps establish and simplify the number of things that I decide to even attempt to embark on. For example, as a stay-at-home mother of two children ages one and three pretty much simplifies my priorities for the time being. Deciding to go with only organic food simplified my grocery list. Deciding that a priority is educational and creative things for my son has changed my project list to include crafts and projects that we can do together etc. I think a simultaneous top down, bottom up approach seems to work best for me.
The only reason some top down only approaches probably don't work is that they don't include the concept of the "next actionable step" and perhaps they encourage too lofty undoable goals that don't fit into your state in life and vocation. The other problem with emphasis on top down is that as life changes, priorities change - and these days that can happen quite often and unexpectedly. Marriage/divorce, moving, death/illness, birth, career change. Of the big five stressors two of them - moving and job change can happen an average of every three years for the average person. It always seems to me that as soon as I get myself organized a major life event happens to change everything again.
Two things that I have found out help me keep stress out of my life are:
Authenticity and Simplicity. You end up having less lists and less on your lists. I'd like to see an organizing book built around those ideas. |
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David Baer (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-26 00:00>
As a guy with a high-demand life and job, I have a hundred reasons to need a book with a title like this. But as a natural skeptic regarding techniques - especially one that promises "stress-free productivity" - I have a million reasons not to read it. You see, I think wisdom and courage have a lot more to do with stewarding the high demands and attractive opportunities that come our way than do "how tos" and "tips."
So I find myself pretty profoundly surprised by how powerful David Allen's system-he might prefer not to have it called that-has been in my life. The word that comes to mind for its result is "serenity." Not quite "stress-free," that's a bit of a stretch and not true to life as I experience it. But serenity over tension and productive order over chaos.
Allen's goal is to free you up to experience a "mind like water" by managing all the things that rattle around in your brain on any give day into holding tanks where you're not wasting energy trying to remember them or regretting not having resolved them when you're trying to think about something else. That mental liquidity is a martial arts term, Allen explains, that means "a condition of working, doing, and being in which the mind is clear and constructive things are happening." Using common sense that's been refined by a lot of observation and a critical core of analysis, Allen's system gets you there.
I find myself-as the author promises-much more likely to focus creatively on this task in front of me or to be present for this person who is locked in conversation with me.
I rave. I recognize it. I rave about this book. I don't like people who rave overmuch or protest too loudly. But this book is worth every bit of fevered praise that has come its way.
It's not about managing your time or finding more of it. We each get the same 24 hours. It's about taking the courageous and wise steps that alone are able to create or restore productive order that counts for the long hall. And makes your mind like water. |
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-26 00:00>
I was pretty organized and efficient before reading GTD - over the years I had learned a lot of the guidelines Allen pushes, such as the Two Minute Rule and the axiom that you always identify the Next Action in any project. As he says, most of this is just common sense.
For me the big benefit of his system lies in the concept of emptying your head. It sounds trite, but it really works. As Allen states, in busy, chaotic modern life our minds must constantly work to remember all kinds of details and loose ends. We carry around so much of this mental noise we are no longer even conscious of it. Yet it is draining our energy and stressing us. After I had cleared all this "stuff" out of my head I immediately felt different. My wife even said I seemed more relaxed. And after several months the effect has persisted, because I have kept the discipline so far.
And as Allen also predicts, I feel more creative. With the stress reduced, you just naturally have more ideas. Your mind feels clearer. It is kind of weird.
WARNING: Another side effect is that you start thinking more about the big picture - where am I going, what am I doing - only now you find yourself really able to concentrate on these things. This can be uncomfortable if you were happy in the old rut. But Allen also predicts that this can happen. The book is based on his twenty years of coaching/consulting work.
This last effect is a shock, considering that GTD is so bottom-up, take-care-of-the-details, in its approach. It is all a bit like the old Voltaire schtick: tend to your own garden and the world will take of itself. I was on guard for something more like Covey's Seven Habits with its top-down approach. I am not a Self-Help/Business-Guru Book groupie. I see by the Amazon reviews that many people read loads of these books and become real connoiseurs, so they can compare among them and I can't. Years ago, however, I heard so much fuss about Seven Habits that I broke down and read it. What a contrast to GTD: folksy, patronizing, preachy, and puritanical. If you are a good person you will be rewarded materially. As if scoundrels can't be efficient and successful. Allen's tone, on the other hand is grown up, practical, and business-like. A lot of his wisdom and seriousness comes through indirectly, and he alludes to higher things, but thankfully, consciously decides not to go there.
Seven Habits brings to mind another point: I always disliked DayTimers and all that kind of thing. In the real world schedules don't survive. GTD promotes a loose, flexible system that matches what I have been doing for years: having my work and priorities mapped out but, as far as possible, not scheduled.
Another laudable thing: refreshingly, Allen is not selling any software, stationary, calendars, schedulers, workbooks, or other collateral; GTD is a system or a method, but it's implementation is up to you. You can use paper, notebooks, folders, a PDA, a PC, whatever works for you. Essentially, as he often reminds, you are simply keeping lists, in order to get all the "stuff" out of your head.
Implementing the system might require a couple of weekends, but you will not likely regret it. |
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-26 00:00>
This book is about action, about preparing to act, and about turning the choice of how to act into something self-apparent, everywhere and every day.
The premise is realistic: you have lots of unrelated things to get done. They all move forward, a step at a time, interleaved throughout the day,week, and year, and not always under your control. It seems overwhelming, as if you'll never remember it all. You're half right - you won't and can't remember it all, but it doesn't havetobe overwhelming. The good news is that you don't have to remember it, as long as you're reminded when and where you need to be. That means when and where action is possible.
That's what this book is about, turning inputs and goals into actions that step towards the goals. What you can do, do. What you can't, write down. The pervasive message is that everything is either a reason to act or is in the way. Allen's system supports that belief by creating simple systems to make it work. He's not selling any products here, just a few files, folders, and other simple items are all it takes.
After laying out his eminently sensible system, Allen goes on to make some rather grandiose claims about personal transformation. I'm not sure I buy all that, but I don't have to. If I try his techniques and they happen, then great. If I try them and just make better use of my time and attention, than that's great too. |
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