Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

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.

A Masterclass in Personal Productivity That Actually Works David Allen’s *Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity* remains one of the most transformative books ever written on how to organize your life and reclaim mental clarity. It doesn’t just teach time management—it rewires the way you think about work, commitments, and attention. Allen’s premise is simple but powerful: your brain is for having ideas, not for holding them. His GTD system provides a structured yet flexible method for capturing every task, clarifying next actions, and reviewing priorities so that nothing falls through the cracks. Concepts like the “two-minute rule,” weekly reviews, and defining the “next actionable step” have become timeless productivity principles for a reason—they work in any career, at any scale. What sets this book apart is its practicality. Allen avoids the fluff that plagues so many motivational titles and instead gives a clear workflow you can implement immediately—whether on paper, in an app, or across an entire organization. The methods are adaptable, from executives to freelancers, and they age surprisingly well even in today’s digital era. I first read it years ago and still revisit it whenever my system drifts off track. Each reread brings a new layer of insight, proving how durable and deep Allen’s ideas are. Bottom line: *Getting Things Done* is more than a productivity book—it’s a lifelong toolkit for focus, organization, and peace of mind. If you only read one book to overhaul how you manage your work and life, make it this one.

David Allen’s Getting Things Done describes a very powerful system for controlling the long list of to-do items we all carry around in our heads. I have been using parts of this system since 1985. The basic principle is straightforward – write down everything you want to do – or might want to do – and keep those lists orderly and accessible. Get everything out of your mind and into this system and clear your mind, which, in theory, should make you more peaceful and consequently more effective. Your increased effectiveness, in theory, should make you more peaceful. And so on. Also, to become more peaceful and clear, get EVERYTHING off your desk. Unclutter your office, too. You might wonder why an entire book would be necessary to learn how to do this. You would be right to wonder, as most of the book is, in fact, an explanation of why it is better to not be anxious and what happens when your office and life are messy. Then much of that is restated in different words. Nonetheless, I encourage you to buy the book, because it will increase your commitment to using a system, perhaps this one. After all, you have known since you were 14 years old that is it better to be organized, and it may be possible that you haven’t lived that way. Here are the basics from the book: Get every possible item off of your desk and out of the pile on your windowsill and from the top of the filing cabinet. Everything. Write down every single possible thing you might ever want to do, see, look up, accomplish, plant, complete, give away, or build. Here is the key principle of the entire book and the entire system (it may actually be the key to life, the thing the guru on the top of the mountain should tell you): FOR EVERY SINGLE THING YOU THINK YOU NEED TO DO, DEFINE THE NEXT SPECIFIC, SINGLE ACTION STEP NEEDED TO ACCOMPLISH IT. Not “buy a car.” Not “look at Consumer Reports for car reviews.” Not “keep your eyes open for good looking cars.” Instead, “go online to Consumer Reports to learn which issue has the latest car reviews.” That’s it. If you can do that, everything else is easy. Write each of these next action steps on one of these lists: next action, projects, calendar, waiting for, someday/maybe. Except, if the item would take less than two minutes, do it right now. Put everything in an accessible and obvious place. (Rule of Jenny: Everything has a place, and it’s not “out.”) Buy a label maker and label your files at the moment you create them. On your desk, you are free to keep only these things: supplies, equipment, decoration, and reference. That’s it. Go through your lists regularly. Weekly reviews work for most people. Monthly may be better for you. To recap, for every single thing you think you need to do, define the next specific, single action step needed to accomplish it. The rest is icing on the cake. Buy the book. But feel free to skip over any sentence, paragraph, or chapter that seems to be explaining the benefits of getting organized. There are many such paragraphs. If you want to save some time, here are the most valuable sections (page numbers from the Penguin paperback edition of 2001): The Principle: Dealing Effectively with Internal Commitments (p. 12-18) The Major Change: Getting It All Out of Your Head (p. 21-23) Getting Control of Your Life: The Five Stages of Mastering Workflow (p. 24-53) Brainstorming (p. 70-74) Getting Started: Setting Up the Time, Space, and Tools (p. 85-103) Processing: Getting "In" to Empty (p. 119-137) Organizing: Setting Up the Right Buckets (p. 138-180) As I noted, I have been using some of these tools since 1985, when I attended a David Allen time management seminar. The tools have been helpful. I am committed to getting the rest of my time organized, thanks, in large part, to this book. I hope it helps you.

Not read yet but looks very practical!

理論はともかく、実践しやすいプロセスが提案されていることで、直感的に実践することができる。また本書のプロセスを実践することで、著者のいうStress Free Productivityを比較的すんなりと実体験できるようになっている。各種メリットはあると思うが、情報多寡な日常にて自分を見失うことなく情報の一つ一つの意味を確認する機会を持つことで、情報量そのものに依存することなく自分の行動を決定する機会を得ることができようになる。

This book is really great. It organizes you , without much trouble. Your confusion to take which task on hand is surely resolved.

This is the best Self-Help Productivity book ever written. Well, I think so and I’ve been using it for 13 years. It has had such a profound impact on my working life that to this day, it is a part of my daily practice. I have the GTD apps on my phones and tablets, and it is a default webpage I load automatically in my browser. The greatest fear we have when we’re dealing with so many projects or issues or people is that item that we forget because we’re maxed out with everything else that’s flying at us. We need to get it out of our heads and into a trusted system so we can function clearly – today’s modern technology makes this easier. Plug for Toodledo. I have read the typical time management books and if I hear the ‘big rocks first’ story one more time I’ll hurl one of them at someone. What struck home with me in this book was the recognition of things constantly coming our way throughout the day and more than probably from our bosses, or customers who don’t take kindly to being considered a small rock and deferred. This book, therefore, deals with a very pragmatic and defined workflow for managing things we need to get done and understanding the priority. The workflow proffered here is 1. Collect 2. Process 3. Organise 4. Review. Which he covers in great detail. The book is well written with a style that is easy to read and provides margin notes and images where appropriate. He tends to use bullet points and flowcharts which help illustrate important concepts. If you can take on-board just some of his concepts you’ll notice the difference immediately.

Ottimo libro!