In today's world of exponentially increased communication and responsibility, yesterday's methods for staying on top just don't work.
Veteran management consultant and trainer David Allen recognizes that "time management" is useless the minute your schedule is interrupted; "setting priorities" isn't relevant when your email is down; "procrastination solutions" won't help if your goals aren't clear.
Allen's premise is simple: our ability to be productive is directly proportional to our ability to relax. Only when our minds are clear and our thoughts are organized can we achieve stress-free productivity and unleash our creative potential. He teaches us how to:
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"I know this is a fairly bold statement to say, but this book has changed my life. As a doctoral graduate student I have found my life to feel constantly bombarded by deadlines and expectations. As a result I often feel out of control, like I'm dropping the ball, that there aren't enough hours in the day, and that I'm clearly failing at everything. It felt as though I couldn't keep up with anything whether it was staying up all night to finish a paper, missing/not responding to important emails, or failing to call my mom on her birthday. Each aspect of my life was suffering. Not only that but when I allowed myself down time, it didn't feel relaxing because I "knew" there were more important things I had to do. Occasionally, however, I would be working on something and fall into a Zen like experience of ease, comfort, and relaxation where I worked like a well-oiled machine and actually enjoyed my projects. This book is designed to help increase those times where your "mind is like water" and decrease the anxiety, procrastination, and emotional drain that not getting things done creates.Initially reading this book increased my anxiety as I thought of all the millions of things I needed to be doing. However I was diligent with the book and trusted that it would work/help. I'm so glad I did because within minutes of implementing the system I became increasingly more empowered and began finishing tasks that have been left undone for months (if not years). Not only that, but my energy increased dramatically because I was no longer bogged down by the guilt and mental anguish of falling behind or missing something. At work I began accomplishing more tasks with increased feelings of mastery and control. At home I allow myself some guilt-free down time which frees me up to work on my household responsibilities during the week rather than live my pattern of waking up, going to work, coming home, going to bed. It’s hard to get things done at home when you only have a few hours of a weekend. Needless to say this has also dramatically impacted my social relationships positively as well. In fact, I have never even written a book review because I didn’t feel as though I had the time and look at me now!I can’t say enough glowing things about how much this book has meant to me. I would strongly recommend it to anyone who is willing to take that leap and trust in change."
— Rebecca (5 out of 5 stars)
“Getting Things Done…offers help building the new mental skills needed in an age of multitasking and overload.”
— Wall Street Journal“David Allen's methods are key to survival in today's chaotic business climate.”
— Patricia Seybold, author of Customer.com“A true skeptic of most management fixes, I have to say David’s program is a winner!”
— Joline Godfrey, author of Our Wildest Dreams“One of the most influential thinkers on productivity. ”
— Fast Company“If you've tried other time managers and still feel harried, take a minute to check this one out.”
— Entreprenuer“Commonsense advice…most of us completely overlook…much to our detriment.”
— Amazon.com review“David Allen brings new clarity to the power of purpose, the essential nature of relaxation, and deceptively simple guidelines for getting things done. He employs extensive experience, personal stories, and his own recipe for simplicity, speed, and fun.”
— Frances Hasselbein, chairman, board of governors, The Drucker Foundation“Anyone who reads this book can apply this knowledge and these skills in their lives for immediate results.”
— Stephen P. Magee, chaired professor of business and economics, University of Texas at Austin“Getting Things Done describes an incredibly practical process that can help busy people regain control of their lives. It can help you be more successful. Even more important, it can help you have a happier life!”
— Marshall Goldsmith, coeditor, The Leader of the Future and Coaching for Leadership“Provides insights into attaining maximum efficiency and at the same time relaxing whenever one needs or wants to. ”
— Booklist" Unfortunately, I didn't find this book very helpful. A lot of it is common sense to me, and the rest of it seems excessive and could easily lead to disorganization. He recommends a great deal of organizational accessories and physical representations of tasks that need to be done. For me, it seems that following his advise would lead to lots of clutter and waste. I'm sure it could be helpful for some people, but for my particular situation this book is not relevant. "
— Tawnya, 2/16/2014" "The" book for personal productivity. A simple process and way of thinking to take control of your minute to minute life, and stay focused on what you need to focus on. Also a little obsessive. "
— Bernie, 2/16/2014" This and the book How to Write a Lot changed how I approach my entire life - I don't think it's too much of an exaggeration. The book goes on for too long, but the first 100 pages should be required reading for anyone who has to manage their lives better (i.e., all of else). "
— Thomas, 1/25/2014" Because I am constantly trying to improve my productivity, I've read this book twice. The concept is dead on, but it's just too difficult for me to embrace. Still, others may find the detailed organization methods easy to grasp. "
— Sharon, 1/21/2014" Helpful tips on productivity, but not very well written. "
— Bennett, 1/16/2014" The methodology itself is indeed a gamechanger. Braindumping, the 2-minute rule and thinking about the next actionable step were the key takeaways for me, but the book could have been way way WAY shorter. "
— Antti, 1/10/2014" At first I was like: 0_o then I was like: 0_0 then later I realized that getting things done isn't the same as productivity. "
— Zacaro, 1/10/2014" I can almost say I swear by this book. It takes a long while to practice this but its lessons have made me more organized than ever. I can't recommend this book enough. I still read random chapters now and then. "
— KahWee, 10/30/2013" Fantastic, direct, actionable, and motivating. Get's you going to be more productive than ever with less stress. One of my all-time favorites "
— Noah, 10/13/2013" Vrij vlot geschreven en eigenlijk wel een sterke methode. Wel wat zwaar op de hand en moeilijk in een light versie te gebruiken. "
— Jeroen, 9/20/2013" A bit outdated with tech suggestions, but solid and sound advice for clearing your mind and jumping to action. "
— Eduardo, 6/29/2013" Done! Really need to get my life organised now! Great methods, tips, let's do it! "
— Pascal, 5/28/2013" Here lies another small book that had a large impact on me. While getting a bit dated with regard to tools, David Allen's principles for clearing your mind of minutiae are timeless. I should add a repeating task to reread this once a year, ha! "
— Zaz, 8/6/2012" Been catching pieces of this from the net and implementing them for years, so I decided to check out the whole thing. Not sure I can handle the complete system yet, but I want to try after reading. "
— James, 5/11/2012" I've been pretty organized for a long time, but I still found this book really useful. It did take me a really long time to read, because every time I picked it up, I remembered something I needed to get done. "
— Anna, 5/4/2012" An instant favorite! Can't believe I waited so long before reading this one. I bought the Dutch version as well to read it all over right away. :) "
— David, 11/29/2011David Allen is an internationally successful author, lecturer, and founder and chairman of the David Allen Company, a management consulting, coaching, and training company. His two books, Getting Things Done and Ready for Anything, were both bestsellers. He is a popular keynote speaker on the topics of personal and organizational effectiveness.