Getting Things Done

The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

By: David Allen

Narrated by: David Allen

Length: 2 hrs and 47 mins

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)

good stuff

I liked this book , it lets you take and keep things off of your mind

Very Informative and Beneficial

This book provided great ideas on how to become more organized, more efficient, and more effective in a clear and concise manner.

Must-Read for All

This book solves so many time management problems without creating more work to implement the processes. I recommend this book to many of our employees who are stressed out, and they always find that practicing the GTD methods makes them more efficient and effective. You can get your personal life back!!

Organized

If you are organized, don't waste your money. On the other hand, I am not and this book helped me a great deal.

Mundane Prescription, Deep Insight into Why

This book is very prescriptive. It says do this and don’t do that. Most of the prescription is exactly what I did as a teenager, without being taught. Over the years I’ve gradually gotten away from such a system. In no small part because of computerization, early e-mail and calendaring systems didn’t really do for me what my day-timer did. But they did so much more that I had no choice but the switch. The result was still a net gain in productivity.

But the book kind-of explains that the real issue is psychological impact of your system of organization. In truth this part of the book is much less well developed than the prescriptive part of the book, but it is there if slow down and fill in a little bit.

The problem is that my computerized organization system has increased my productivity, but decreased at least the perception of being reliable and trustworthy and probably the reality. I’m going faster but I’m less in control. Both I and others know this, even if we can’t explain why.

The other psychological insight in the book is that the self knowledge that you can’t trust yourself to get things done is by far the most corrosive impact of an ineffective system.

My organising bible

I love it. It was recommended to me by my personal organiser. I've got a audio, and printed book. This is the only book I use all the time. I've got lots of books on organising and everything else. But this is THE ONE. Thank you David Allen

A life book !

Would you listen to Getting Things Done again? Why?

Yes. I read GTD for the first time several years ago and recently I had the opportunity to hear a conference on that. How useful the practical tips here are !!
I am currently reviewing very carefully this material again and realising how powerful it is.

Write it down - Follow-through and file it away

I agree with David's time and resources management practices! Question: Will we be able to be follow through as this audio books author David suggests, all the time?.... Good to keep trying and remembering David's steps to completing projects... Enjoy being more in control of your valuable time. Will appear more efficient and organized to other associates. (Actions applied from this book can be applied to work and home life - In my opinion).

Wondering attempt to make reference point

Wondering attempt to make reference point. Some good points here and there. I really enjoyed the listening of this Audiobook. I finished it in one night. Thank you so much.

For everyone who likes to take his/her life back

David Allen explain in simple terms a strategy to take charge of your commitmments, projects and tasks and control them instead of them controlling you.

I recommend it to anyone looking to take his/her life back in control and to keep it that way!