• Getting Things Done

  • The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
  • By: David Allen
  • Narrated by: David Allen
  • Length: 2 hrs and 47 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (3,189 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Getting Things Done  By  cover art

Getting Things Done

By: David Allen
Narrated by: David Allen
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $10.46

Buy for $10.46

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

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 e-mail 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:

  • Apply the "do it, delegate it, defer it, drop it" rule to get your in-box empty.
  • Reassess goals and stay focused in changing situations.
  • Overcome feelings of confusion, anxiety, and being overwhelmed.
  • Feel fine about what you're not doing.

    From core principles to proven tricks, Getting Things Done has the potential to transform the way you work - and the way you experience work. At any level of implementation, David Allen's entertaining and thought-provoking advice shows you how to pick up the pace without wearing yourself down.

  • ©2002 David Allen, All Rights Reserved (P)2002 Simon & Schuster Inc., SOUND IDEAS Is an Imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster Inc.

    Critic reviews

    "[Allen is] the personal productivity guru." (Fast Company)

    What listeners say about Getting Things Done

    Average customer ratings
    Overall
    • 4 out of 5 stars
    • 5 Stars
      1,409
    • 4 Stars
      925
    • 3 Stars
      505
    • 2 Stars
      226
    • 1 Stars
      124
    Performance
    • 4 out of 5 stars
    • 5 Stars
      338
    • 4 Stars
      193
    • 3 Stars
      93
    • 2 Stars
      29
    • 1 Stars
      18
    Story
    • 4 out of 5 stars
    • 5 Stars
      348
    • 4 Stars
      169
    • 3 Stars
      91
    • 2 Stars
      30
    • 1 Stars
      26

    Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

    Sort by:
    Filter by:
    • Overall
      3 out of 5 stars

    Getting Things Done

    This is a fantastic book and the ideas are helpful, but the abridged version leaves out too many details. I also have the book, and have found that I must refer to it in order to get essential information that will allow me to implement the author's suggestions.

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

    You voted on this review!

    You reported this review!

    255 people found this helpful

    • Overall
      4 out of 5 stars

    GTD abridged vs unabridged

    The abridged version of GTD is missing chapters 7-11 of the book, if you do buy this version do also invest in the book, Getting Things Done. The unabridged version was just recorded in Oct of 08, it is the full version of the book and makes much more sense to the listener. Granted you cannot implement while you are listening in a car but very important information to have. I work for David Allen and wanted folks to have the correct information regarding differences in the two audiobooks.

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

    You voted on this review!

    You reported this review!

    77 people found this helpful

    • Overall
      3 out of 5 stars

    Booklet?

    I like the material, but the author repeatedly refers the listener to important material in the "booklet that accompanies this tape." Audible really needs to make the booklet available for download in order to make this worthwhile.

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

    You voted on this review!

    You reported this review!

    75 people found this helpful

    • Overall
      1 out of 5 stars

    who is the target here?

    OK, real quick. The average business person, even a relative newbie is way beyond the "techniques" in this book. This is a good book for domestic engineers with a LOT of tasks and subtasks, a college kid trying to stay on top of his/her studies/clubs/work etc, an administrative assistant, prhaps a VERY BRAND new office employee who still has their price tag and doesn't know where the bathroom is yet. But as a 14 yr manager, I wouldn't want my folks depending on elaborate lists and keep/don't keep quick and dirty decisions to manage their workload and priorities. I would suggest starting with Covey's "First Things First" which, in my humble opinion, is still one of the best books for establishing a solid base of principles for decision making which will pay much higher dividends than a "get more done in an hour" book. Are you BRAND new to multiple simultaneous tasks and just need some type of structure?..sure...this will probably help. Are you a maturing manager of tasks, people or projects OR a battle hardened business vet looking to be more effective....this is not for you. Again, look to Covey, McCormack or the like for more strategy and priciple based techniques.

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

    You voted on this review!

    You reported this review!

    72 people found this helpful

    • Overall
      2 out of 5 stars

    Not for everyone. Disappointed.

    If you've gone to college or grad school, if you've juggled school and work -- hey, if you're a person who pays their bills on time, this book is not for you. The concepts are so elementary, so basic. Ay.

    If you are looking for help in truly managing complex tasks, find another book. This one literally tells you to buy folders and label them. It even goes so far as to tell you that "inboxes" comes in many forms -- answering machine, email inbox, mailbox. Uh, okay. The book claims to help sort through complexities, but it only acknowleges they exist! You're left wanting more.

    Sadly, this was a waste of my time and money. I've never written a review anywhere before, but felt compelled on this one. Seriously, if you've succesfully juggled at least two things, you're beyond this book. If you would like to learn more about how to balance, make decisions, establish priorities and work toward completion, find another book.

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

    You voted on this review!

    You reported this review!

    41 people found this helpful

    • Overall
      4 out of 5 stars

    Very useful, not the most suitable on audiobook

    I was looking for some help on my organization. I think I found it with this book. The advice is useful, but most of all it all boils down to common sense. I found each and every item the most obvious thing to do. The value of the book is to organize the system so that there aren't any cracks. I yet have to move on to complete the weekly review every week, but even without that it's helped me organize quite a lot.

    This being said, I've read a few self-help books and I can't say that they shine best in audio format. You want to see the diagrams, the organization and the table of contents, you want to return to a section just to connect it it with another one. These are very easy to do with a book, but not so with audio. It is useful to listen to the book to "get the idea" first, but if you want to put the system in practice and need to refer to the book, it's best to have it in paper. I finally bought my copy. On the other hand, I don't think I would have gotten such an agreement with the system while reading on paper. Listening to it is more persuasive somehow, and I'm still glad I have the audiobook in my library.

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

    You voted on this review!

    You reported this review!

    31 people found this helpful

    • Overall
      3 out of 5 stars

    Get the Book

    I enjoyed this audio book but if you are really interested in implementing GTD you NEED to get the book. There are whole chapters left out of the audio version which tell you the details of how to actually put the system in place.

    The audio book is a nice addition to the book but not a substitute.

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

    You voted on this review!

    You reported this review!

    21 people found this helpful

    • Overall
      5 out of 5 stars

    Practical, straightforward, and effective

    I have read a few other books on personal organization habits and best practices and have found this to be the most useful and practical so far. As a busy product manager is a small startup company, I found myself feeling frequently feeling out of control and unable to focus my concentration with so many different projects, needs, requests, e-mails, voice mails going on at once. I have begun applying the system suggested by the author and have immediately noticed a tremendous reduction in "things slipping through the cracks," an improved ability to relax and concentrate on one thing at a time (since I'm no longer worrying about 100 things at a time), and feel I am making much better use of my time.

    The system the author suggests is so simple, it might be easy for some to dismiss it out of hand. But try it - you'll be amazed at the difference it makes for harried knowledge worker types. You might not actually get that much more done than you used to, but you'll feel much more confident, relaxed, focused, and likely to be working on what's most important.

    I also strongly suggest that people that are serious about changing their organizational habits invest in a personal digital assistant such as a Palm or PocketPC that can synchronize with Microsoft Outlook. This lets you enter things in either your organizer or your desktop PC (including dragging/dropping or cutting/pasting sections of e-mails into your reference files, project lists, task items, or calendar) and take them with you wherever you go. I've found this to be an important cornerstone of my new organization habits.

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

    You voted on this review!

    You reported this review!

    19 people found this helpful

    • Overall
      3 out of 5 stars

    Good, if you have no system. OK if you do.

    If you have no organizing system (franklin, palm, etc.)this book is great. It will help you to be more productive. If you already have a system such as a Franklin Planner then it's ok. This guy has taken A LOT from the Franklin-Covey system and tried to spin it. Personally, I like the Franklin System better becuase I am on the road 5 days a week and the Franklin system is mobile. Getting Things Done can help if you work in an office.
    I did take away several ideas from this book and combined them with my system. One of the most important was to write everything down that needs to be done. No matter how trivial it may seem. This includes items you need at the grcoery store, websites you want to visit, or researching a vacation. Allen explains that once it is on paper, it moves out of your brain and frees up space so you don't have recurring thoughts all day about the "stuff" that needs to be done or the stuff that you want to do.
    If you are hopelessly unorganized, this book will be a godsend for you. But if you really want to get organized, spend the extra cash and get the Franklin system.

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

    You voted on this review!

    You reported this review!

    18 people found this helpful

    • Overall
      2 out of 5 stars

    Good information - difficult to get in one pass

    I think the information here is very good and useful, but listening to it in the car it is hard to pick up on all of the tips and procedures. I plan on listening to it again and buying the book.

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

    You voted on this review!

    You reported this review!

    13 people found this helpful