Rewiews, recommendations, gadgets, books, tips and tricks

Getting Things Done

06/03/2009 23:07

David Allen and his Getting Things Done system are now notoriously famous, yet there is hardsly better resource to this time-management techniques than Getting Things Done book by Allen himself. I was quite sceptical at first, having read "organize your life" books before, but Allen got me hooked from the beginning. Many books would tell you that "you have to change everything in order to put your life together." David goes the other way: "You are probably doing a great job with planing. Time to time, that is. I want to show you that you could gain amazing benefits, if you apply these planning principles to the rest of your life."

And his book is, in this aspect, really wholesome. His principles are well sourced, thorough and yet the requirements aren't over the top. It took me a week to get my life into the rails of the Getting Things Done system, more or less. Here are some of the principles that I found very helpful:

  • Calendar is for things that have to happen in that specific time. Tasks don't go to Calendar, but to the Tasks list. That way you can improvize without disobeying the Calendar. Calendar should be sacred - what is in a Calendar can take place only in that time - meeting, lecture...
  • Task is everything you have to do - article to write is a task, buying new soap is a task, seeing the film you want to see is a task. There is no difference between tasks for job, school, family or your pleasure. You can have them on different lists, but you should handle them the same.
  • If task is more complicated (organize party for your spouse), it has to be broken into smaller chunks (invite friends, reserve restaurant, buy present, send rsvps...). So there is a project "Party"
  • Every project has an outline (what do you think you have to do), a next action (what is the next thing needed to be done for the project to proceed) and final result (what has to happen for you to say this project is finished)

These are just some of the tips and guidelines. But the book offeres so much more - it offers perspective. So you not only know what to do and how to do it, but also why you are doing it. This is extremely helpful for your understanding and motivation.

I am using Microsoft Outlook to synchronize my lists to Windows Mobile XDA, but this system GTD can be adopted with pen and papers just as well. I think this book is extremely useful for anyone who needs to do various things for various reasons. It will allow you to be efficient in a way you couldn't imagine before.

 

Getting Things Done Pros Cons
  • well written
  • many helpful examples
  • schemas and graphs
  • real-life stories
  • system addaptable by manager, student or self-employed
  • you can choose to apply only some of the principles and still gain a lot
  • sometimes too many examples
  • could be useful to give specific ideas about mobile applications

More info: Getting Things Done - Allen's webpage, GTD on Wikipedia

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity on Amazon

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