|
Loading... Getting Things Doneby David Allen
LibraryThing recommendationsMember recommendationsLoading...
won't like
will probably not like
will probably like
will like
will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. Practical, practicable, and therefore Useful. (  ) RuTemple | Jan 5, 2010 |  Excellent system for GTD, a game-changer for me. However, the paper-based system is dated as there is now lots of computer-based GTD-applications out there. I use "Things" for mac. (  ) whiteberg | Sep 26, 2009 | I'm really surprised by all the hype behind this book. If you're even a half organized person, most of the advice presented in this book probably comes second nature. The methodology presented is simply too rigorous to follow. It's sort of like going on a strict diet- you'll lose weight at first, but you really can't live by it. All of the advice could be summed up as follows: 1) Make a list of what needs to be done 2) If you can do it in two minutes, do it now 3) If you'll never get around to it, just forget about it 4) Work on the remainder of the list as you have time See, pretty simple. (  )1  pmtracy | Sep 5, 2009 | Will this book change your life? Maybe. I know a couple of people who've tried to implement it and lapsed back into preGTD mode. Having said that, I find some of it hugely useful and inspiring, and may give some bits a go. Some of the writing is irritating (I'm allergic to the word psyche), and some what he says is blindingly obvious and I've be implementing it since I was 5. Seriously, is there anyone still out there who doesn't have pens and paper next to their phone? It also does contain the best variant on the "action as a verb" game I've come across so far - actionalize. ;-) Bechdel/diversity: This is an interesting one. I was tempted to do a "not applicable to non-fiction" cop-out. But he tris so hard, bless him, to use "she" and "her" more than "he" and "him". It actually gets to the point where it feels fake - there just *aren't* that many female top executives out there. I've seen the stats. It's very much a baby boomer and possibly Gen X book. It describes a world of work which will increasingly change. All the talk of offices and secretaries and paper in-trays already reads like an anachronism - it may still apply to your typical male baby boomer top executive but not to the world of work at large. Still, powerful book. (  )1 elmyra | Sep 4, 2009 | Good to read, difficult to follow :) ( ) abhinavmodi | Aug 13, 2009 |  no reviews | add a review
References to this work on external resources.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Book description |
|
Not quite. Yes, Getting Things Done offers a complete system for downloading all those free-floating gotta-do's clogging your brain into a sophisticated framework of files and action lists--all purportedly to free your mind to focus on whatever you're working on. However, it still operates from the decidedly Western notion that if we could just get really, really organized, we could turn ourselves into 24/7 productivity machines. (To wit, Allen, whom the New Economy bible Fast Company has dubbed "the personal productivity guru," suggests that instead of meditating on crouching tigers and hidden dragons while you wait for a plane, you should unsheathe that high-tech saber known as the cell phone and attack that list of calls you need to return.)
As whole-life-organizing systems go, Allen's is pretty good, even fun and therapeutic. It starts with the exhortation to take every unaccounted-for scrap of paper in your workstation that you can't junk, The next step is to write down every unaccounted-for gotta-do cramming your head onto its own scrap of paper. Finally, throw the whole stew into a giant "in-basket"
That's where the processing and prioritizing begin; in Allen's system, it get a little convoluted at times, rife as it is with fancy terms, subterms, and sub-subterms for even the simplest concepts. Thank goodness the spine of his system is captured on a straightforward, one-page flowchart that you can pin over your desk and repeatedly consult without having to refer back to the book. That alone is worth the purchase price. Also of value is Allen's ingenious Two-Minute Rule: if there's anything you absolutely must do that you can do right now in two minutes or less, then do it now, thus freeing up your time and mind tenfold over the long term. It's commonsense advice so obvious that most of us completely overlook it, much to our detriment; Allen excels at dispensing such wisdom in this useful, if somewhat belabored, self-improver aimed at everyone from CEOs to soccer moms (who we all know are more organized than most CEOs to start with). --Timothy Murphy
(retrieved from Amazon Tue, 05 Jan 2010 12:31:24 -0500)
The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details.
Quick Links |
Wikipedia in English (4)
