Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity Kindle Edition

Overall I found the book a very good read. It helped me crystallize a number of ideas about how to organize tasks using simple lists and structures. The over arching theme I took away is that it is important to have a good organized structured to put ideas immediately into and to trust the structure so that one can free one's mind from constant distractions.

What should be put down in this structure are immediate things that are actionable, what one can do next -- as opposed to generalities, which require more thought. A key aspect of course is breaking down a larger task into these smaller actions.

Allen describes a structure of immediate lists to look at, calendars, todo lists, reference lists and so forth. Other bins include an incubator list for long term tasks and a “waiting for” list, which has tasks that are pending from other people to be completed. This seems like a sensible arrangement but I suspect that other people will have somewhat different structures. My impression is that the important idea is not letting immediate short term distractions cloud one's focus on a task, and tackling things sequentially in little chunks.

Allen talks a lot about avoiding infinite loops. He mentions that a long term plan is not something that goes on someone's tickler list but rather something that is broken up into many actions as opposed to only a few. Practically he discusses how in meetings, before the end of the meeting one really should bring up the question of what is the immediate next action that is a follow up from the meeting rather than just talking in generalities.

In the book Allen talks about the importance of having few distractions to really concentrate on the task at hand and one way of achieving fewer distractions is by designing a system to capture all of one's daily input into a well-designed inbox format. He talks about how if this is well done one does not have the guilt of constantly thinking about things that have to be done nor does one have to have the mental load of things constantly popping into one's mind -- given ones assurance that everything is captured in this universal inbox. He contrasts a company that has a way of capturing day-to-day tasks as smoothly running without people being interrupted with one that is constantly crisis and event driven.

I read this book before the new 2015 edition came out. This new edition of course needs to be much updated for the new digital reality. The 2001 edition seems quaint, with its discussion of the correct file folders to use and how to organize things correctly in a close by file cabinet. It makes reference to a Palm Pilot but this seems almost prehistoric in today's age.

That said, I really felt that the lessons in the original 2001 edition were quite timeless. One could easily see how they morphed into using email programs such as Gmail and perhaps even influenced the design of these systems. In fact, it is fascinating trying to connect a lot of the concepts in this book with the modern world of cloud computing, gmail and various online task sites. Many of these online productivity tools mimic very closely a lot of the ideas in Allen's work, particularly gmail's immediate function for archiving things from your inbox and putting various tags and stars on them. It fits very well into a system of de-cluttering your inbox quickly but then coming back to selected bits.

Overall I would highly recommend this book, I think it is a good read.

There is a lot people seem to miss with this system. Maybe the name is just to easy to replicate. There are maybe 2 Apps I've seen that work well with what David Allen describes in his book. One is ThinkingRock the other I forgot because I didn't like it. I don't know how many people really appreciate the natural way ideas come together that Allen highlights (Purpose, Outcome, Brainstorm, Organize, Identify Next Action). Allen shows how people either go against the grain or when they bring someone along on the through their thought process, the brought along person doesn't get the essential information (Purposes and Outcomes) and has to work backwards before they can work forwards. He shows why many meetings are a waste of time. Etc. Etc. Etc.

If you're tired of making to do lists and never finishing them, this book will tell you pretty much every mistake you've made and are going to make if you keep your pattern. Learning to use Allen's system is worth it but very difficult. If you wish you were more efficient, this book will give you a system that you can base yours from. If you wish... stop wishing and get this book.

I read it a year ago and tried to apply it to my life. I bought the folders and files and labels and other recommended items. I set up the filing system and attempted to build the habits necessary to enjoy the benefits of getting things done. It helped a little, the inbox is still in major play. I received some benefit from reading it and attempting to adopt its philosophies. As a book it bogged down after a while and in the end I would say I improved because of it, but I am not transformed.

This book is a life-saver for any busy professional. It shows you how to use a complete system to easily empty your mind of loose ends and consolidate multiple to-do lists into one reliable system. Then it walks you through how to work through your to-do list in order to file items for future use.

The method used to walk you through setting up this process is thorough and very practical and easy to apply. Each chapter walks you through another step in the setup, and explains how to avoid pitfalls and tricky areas. The book also provides lots of best practices for managing your system on an ongoing basis.

Even if you gain a few small tips from this book, such as how to quickly sift through emails (the 2-minute rule) to a decision tree on actionable items (do it, defer it, delegate it) - anyone will benefit from the advice and best practices outlined.

In a way, I think this book is a great companion to the KonMari book "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up" - it does for your mind what decluttering does for your home.