Book review: ‘Getting Things Done’ by David Allen

The idea

The book ‘Getting Things Done’ introduces some activities and behaviors that allow to be maximally efficient and relaxed, whenever you need or want to be

Who will like this book

People who

• are so enthusiastic at so many ideas or initiatives – and would like to fit it all in
• have the impression that things are not advancing as fast as needed
• feel (somewhat) overwhelmed by all they have to do
• struggle with sticking to priorities
• consider there must be a way to be better organized
       

What we like about the book

• The book provides a very pragmatic approach 
• Explanations are very clear – no ‘fuzzy concepts’ but ‘actionable take-aways’ 
• The author details how exactly to get started   
• It works!   
   

What you will learn in this book

The five stages of mastering your workflow

• Collect things that command your attention: get your to-dos ‘out of your head’ and ‘into a minimum number of baskets’ (eg a planning app, physical inbox, auditory capture, …)

• Process what each incoming to do means and decide what to do about them (store, trash, delegate, defer, do)

• Organize  with a simple system (have a good system for storage of interesting materials, for integrated project planning, for knowing what you delegated to whom, for next decided actions & their timing)

• Review  professional/ personal outcomes & action lists regularly (weekly & daily review)

• Decide what to do on the spot based on context, time available, energy available, priority

The five phases of project planning: define purpose, develop outcome vision, brainstorm on deliverables, organize into ‘success pillars’, identify next actions
 

Extracts

• « Transform stuff you’re trying to organize in actionable stuff »
  

• « You’ve got to think about the big things while you’re doing the small things; so that all the small things go in the right direction« 
  

• « Often the only way to make a hard decision is to come back to the purpose« 
  

• « Lack of time is often not the major issue for projects to get done; the real problem is a lack of clarity and definition about what a project really is and what the associated next action-steps required are« 
  

• « Review your lists as often as you need to, to get them off your mind« 

• « You have more to do than you can possibly do. You just need to feel good about your choices »
• « The constant sacrifices of not doing the work you have defined on your lists can be tolerated only if you KNOW what you are not doing »

 

Don’t hesitate to contact us if you want to get our thoughts on ‘work life balance‘ or on how to ‘work things out’.

You can find « Getting Things Done » on Amazon and other online bookstores. Click on the image to shop:

TITLE: Getting Things Done – The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

AUTHOR: David Allen

David Allen is a Management Consultant and Executive Coach. He’s an influential thinker on productivity. Other books include Ready For Anything, and Making It All Work