Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
ISBN:9780142000281 read summary

Core Idea: You can gain control of your life by following a five-stage process: 1) Collect 2) Process 3) Organize 4) Review and 5) Do.

We have too many things on our minds. Unfinished tasks and unfulfilled commitments create stress and pressure. There is no way to achieve relaxed control if we keep everything only in our minds. "Managing actions" means deciding what to do at any point in time. Almost always the problem is not lack of time but the clarity about what to do next.

1) Collect all the things in a trusted system so that your mind can let go.
2) Process your list by asking "What is it?" and "Is it actionable?" If it is actionable decide what the next action is.
3) Organize the outcomes of your process in a trusted system.
4) Weekly Review your organized system to see what is getting done.
5) Doing entails doing pre-defined work, doing work that shows up or defining your work.

In the final analysis, deciding and doing really comes down to a matter of trusting our hearts, our minds, our spirits or our guts. This trust cannot be fully defined yet alone captured in any known system to mankind yet. However, David Allen's GTD system gives a better idea and a better foundation for doing so. This reason alone is sufficient to make sure we got a copy of this book in my humble opinion.

This book fills in the gaps that I have found missing in the past. It has a specific "how to" to implement the process into my life. Great book!

David sets out a great system to really get your arms around all that is currently buzzing around in your head. Still it all requires discipline, unfortunately not something you can get from a book.

Other reviews have sung the praises of this book, so I'll just add that the key for me in accessing the material was actually throwing away the half that I didn't need. Allen's designed his system to have interlocking parts, but the basic ideas work well separately as well. His folder structure and the way he configures his lists is super helpful. His 10K, 20K etc. review plan and such, not so much. Great book, though, and I recommend it to everyone.

Had some significant success in business and in my community. Felt I should do more. Never took a business class or read a business book. In 2003 Allen's book was my first on time management. I had no knowledge on the subject, however this had nothing new at all. His thoughts were all obvious.

For my first time I searched Amazon for the right book. From YOUR reviews I selected: [{ASIN:B000LNIG02 How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life]], by Alan Lakein. He walked me through to decide where I should go and what to do. He took me through human nature. A simple approach with steps that felt natural. It was published in 1973, but it works. The sections I marked I will read again.

Over each of the last 7 years I read 70 more books than I normally had time for, work with a volunteer group and do more with my family. Good book for me.