Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

Self help is not a genre of books I read very often, but I made an exception for David Allen’s Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity. One of my goals for 2017 was to become better organised and to be more productive. I first learned about the GTD methodology through Carl Pullein’s YouTube channel that I follow. I’ve been working on this for around six weeks now, so it’s too early to tell, but I’m happy with what I’ve learned so far. Getting Things Done, or GTD, is a productivity methodology based on a few deceptively simple concepts. Now, I’m still very new to GTD, but this is how I see it. One of the fundamental ideas behind GTD is that the human brain is excellent at processing ideas and being creative, but not a great storage facility. A key part of GTD is getting all ideas, projects and commitments out of your brain and into a trusted system or external brain. There are five activities to GDT: Capture, Clarify, Organise, Reflect and Engage. If I can take from the GTD website, this translates to: Capture: Collect what has your attention. For me, this means adding all my ideas, commitments and to-dos in my list manager application of choice, Todoist. I really love this application and regret that I don’t have it at work. I try to capture everything from my doctor’s appointments, to buying cat food for Lushka to a reminder to ask my husband if we have picture hooks. I’m planning a trip to Europe this summer, so any time I think of something like oh, I must remember to get Swiss francs, into Todoist it goes. Clarify: Process what it means. Here I can’t be any more concise than or as clear as the workflow diagram on the GTD website: Gtd Honestly, if I take away nothing more from my experience with GTD than the two minute rule (if you can do it in two minutes, do it now, otherwise delegate it or defer it) and the discipline to define the next physical action to move a task along it will have been worth it. Organise: Put it where it belongs. This is probably the area of GTD that’s least intuitive for me – I’m not very organised! At the very least, I try to put any appointments on my calendar, any tasks in the appropriate section of Todoist, and potentially relevant non-actionable information in Evernote. One interesting aspect of GTD is the use of contexts. This means organising your tasks not by priority but by the tools, location, and/or person you need to be able to complete them successfully. So, for example, in my Taxes 2016 list I have an item; pick up tax receipt from pharmacy. I tagged that as “pharmacy” along with other items like pick up Polysporin and drop off new prescription. So when I go to the pharmacy I just check that tag to be reminded of all the things I have to accomplish while I’m there. Similarly, while planning my trip to Europe I have a context of Susanne, the friend I’m visiting. Any time I think of something I need to ask her, I add it to that list of things to discuss next time I call or email her. Reflect: Review your to do list and calendar frequently. The idea here is to keep your “external brain” current with everything that you need to accomplish. If you don’t add to it or clear our stale items, your real brain will no longer trust your system and it will break down. Most GTDers do a review at least once a week. Engage: Simply do. Pick the tasks that are available to you based on your contexts and get cracking! The book itself is very well written and the edition I have was updated in 2015 to include discussion of new technology (not specific applications) and how it impacts the GTD workflow. if you are interested in improving your productivity and generally getting things done you could do a whole lot worse than to check out this book. I gave Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress Free productivity five stars out of five.

This is a life-changing book. I am not in business but have to function in various domains: working scientist with 20-30 discrete, concurrent, collaborative projects at any given time; teacher; physician; mentor; member of various administrative committees; family man; and avid hobbyist with multiple pursuits. I don't need to read more of the usual inspirational / motivational crap; I'm already highly motivated and willing to work hard, but just needed something to help me organize and get a handle on all the demands placed on me. I'd used calendars and to-do lists like most people but this was not enough. The central message of this book of getting one unified system in place for all projects / tasks in your life and getting things quickly off your mind and into the system is simple yet profound. There is an upfront cost on the order of days, especially if you have a lot on your plate, to get started with such a system. Once you do this, however, keeping it going really only involves a few minutes a day and about 30-60 minutes once a week during a step he calls the weekly review. The key elements that I found helpful: 1) Immediate processing of tasks as they come in (do it if quick, delegate it to others if appropriate, or put it in your system with the appropriate flags; 2) Contexts. it doesn't make sense to look at a list of errands that can only be done on the computer when you are traveling without one or walking the dog. Having each task be assigned to a context (which can be a virtual or physical location) and being able to pull a context-specific list when you are in that context is incredibly helpful; and 3) Next actions. There is a distinction drawn between things that need to happen next (i.e. in the next week) and things that just need to happen at some point in the future. Everything gets tracked, but not everything needs to show up on your context-specific list; just the "next actions." This helped me get my life in order and relieved a lot of stress. I no longer worry constantly about what I should be doing because I always know, in any specific context at home or at work, what tasks I have already decided need to happen. Since I also put everything into the system that I trust and know works, I also don't miss things the way I used to.

I bought the paper-covered book, which was recommended by my friend. I had only read a few pages to get the summary of it, and I've already read a lot of useful advice given, very inspirational. It also included step-by-step action that readers can follow! Continue to look forward to reading more and commenting.

This book has given me tools and techniques that I have applied to all areas of my life and every day something comes up that I have taken from this book.

This revolutionized my life. I have been well organized... but I didn't know how to organize the FLOW of paperwork in my life. How to keep my in-box empty. !! My desk was always a pile of paper that I didn't know where to put things... and I would actually lose things on my desk. Whew! NO MORE! I got the physical copy of this book as well as the CD version and listen to it going to sleep and waking up in the morning... when I'm driving, or exercising or doing something where I can just let the information flow through my brain again. The clarity and specific depth of insight and clear instructions have helped me to completely reorganize my office so that projects get completed and nothing backs up. I know EXACTLY what to do when I sit down... and then just go do it. I keep my in-box empty... (mostly... still working on it. At last my whole desk is no longer my in-box. LOL.) I'm blown away by this. I no longer feel the conflict of trying to focus on a project and at the same time thinking I should be doing something else. Everything is written down on my List. It's out of my field of concentration until I want to check my List and see all the random other little things I want to accomplish. Clear focus. Zen mind. Peaceful mind. Balance. Wow. I'm deeply grateful.

The GTD system is life changing. This book describes what is probably the most profficient productivity system which is also different from other techniques by the fact that it is very flexible and can be tailored to anyone. I will never look at my projects with the same attitude as before. I like the way David Allen describes each part of the system, puts it into context and showcases all the subtleties that can come from it. This system is applyable to both professional and personal life, both high tech and low tech guys. He also shows glimpses about different experiences he had with clients in his 30 years of coaching, which is also very helpful to check the real implementation of the system. He also guides the reader about how to approach different principles, for example the 2 minute rule or the weekly review and takes a warm approach when going through all the concepts. He begins by summarizing the context of our world and then goes step by step, putting all the pieces like a puzzle so in the end you have a complete system that memorizes your life. He also explains why this principles work and how our brain is very intelligent about doing creative work and brainstorming, but very stupind in memorizing meetings and dates. This book will change your life. You will realize how much stuff you have under your belt but doesn't make you guilty about it, but rather happy. I experienced an instant relief by applying the first chapters of the book while reading it. It was a rather unusual read as going through the book was mixed with activities like sketching my system, deciding which software to use and doing lots of 2 minute actions as soon as they popped into my head. Definitely recommend this one for those who want to do more and better in life.

I enjoy reading self-help books in general and have read several. David Allen's writing style is clear, concise and easy to follow. This book offers PRACTICAL advice for bringing your everyday life and work life up a notch. This is the kind of book I read with a pen or highlighter in hand. I like to make notes in the margins, underline sentences, draw arrows, make asterisk, etc. Then I can go back and re-read things that stood out to me. I don't like that he quotes self-serving Russian Objectivism author Ayn Rand, but aside from that, I enjoyed reading this book.

I have read a lot of books on how to organize your life: Love People, Use Things Essentialism 7 Habits of Highly Effective People One Minute manager The Fifth Discipline I have also read books on leadership, self-help, therapy, productivity, working through failure, and on and on. NOTHING ELSE HAS COME CLOSE. Now, this may be because of where I am in my life. It may be that this book isn’t any better than the others, it’s just WHAT I NEEDED at this moment. I have 5 teenagers, 3 jobs, my own clinic, I’m writing a book, speaking publicly often, and I’m also auditioning for a play next week. Oh, and I love free time, relaxing on weekends and evenings, spending time with friends, going to plays, and reading books. I also WANT TO BE DEPENDABLE. I want to do what I have said I will do. I want to make less agreements, and have less obligations, so that I can NAIL the ones I have made. That’s where this book was so very helpful. Yes the author eventually asks you to think about long term goals and life values and those things, but he really starts at the day to day level. “HOW DO YOU GET DONE, THE THINGS YOU SAID YOU WOULD?” How do you meet your current obligations? How do you finish each day with a feeling of satisfaction. How do you better handle the things you have already agreed to do, and manage the barrage of things coming at you all day every day that are unexpected? DOING what he suggests has made me feel RELIABLE. I know what I can do, and what I can’t. I know when I can say yes, and when I have to say no. I know when I have to adjust, or change a previous agreement because it just AIN’T GONNA HAPPEN the way I had hoped. It is an amazing feeling of peace to know that I can reliably say yes or no to things, and I will honestly get back to them, finish them, remember them. My first attempts weren’t perfect. My first organizational attempt from early January has already been discarded. As have my second and third attempts. But each time was BETTER than what I was doing before, and each time I like the new system more and more, and it’s easier and faster to use and more reliable. My wife and kids know exactly when I am free, and we can do ALL SORTS of fun things, and movie marathons, and visiting family in other cities, and on and on. GETTING THINGS DONE has changed my life in just two months. If your life feels out of control, your mind feels scattered, and you constantly miss things you agreed to… READ THIS BOOK.