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A review by inkerly
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen
5.0
EDIT : I have meddled with many tools and have learned that simplicity is key. I use a digital calendar (Google Calendar and Tasks), a notes app, and a physical notebook to organize my life the ZTD way.
This book left my mind in shambles after reading, as well as my preconceptions about time management and efficiency over effectiveness. I've actually already been a diligent user of the slightly tweaked GTD method for five months now (Check out http://www.thesecretweapon.org/ if you're looking for a smoother computerized integration with your GTD system) , but this semester of school definitely exposed the rough cracks in the pre-book system I made. Ironically, in my Evernote GTD system, I added a note/task of "Read GTD book by David Allen", and here I am six months later. Talk about procrastination.
This book is definitely for people with little control over their management flow of their personal and work lives, and who need legit guidance on how to allocate their time and energy resourcefully. If I hadn't spent a whole ten days reading this book, I wouldn't have realized how sorely lacking the GTD system I'd created was. There are millions of articles out there that give extraordinary accounts of David Allen's book, but in my opinion, I'd prefer to taste the cuisine than read an abstract of how great the cuisine is, if you know what I mean.
So what did I personally gain from this book? Lucrative advice on how NEVER to leave your inbox of "stuff" to pile and desecrate itself. The four (or possibly five, I lost count) key parts of building the GTD system are : 1. collecting 2. organizing 3. processing and 4.daily/weekly reviewing. But failure to dust and sweep your system every day and week (the reviewing phase), and your system could vaporize before your very eyes.
I actually wavered between a 3 and 4 star review because, again, much of what he advocated I had already implemented prior to reading his books. Because this is a pre-2000s productivity book, much of his advice sordidly praised systems I would stare aghast in sure shock. No Generation Z or millennial is thinking about buying 43 (WHAT!) folders for the "tickler system". Nevertheless, his advice seems to still be relevant for the majority of Americans living 9-5 jobs in work offices and the sort, so I couldn't discount any of his techniques.
Just ordered this book on Amazon for keeps sake. Will be even happier in the next few days when my paperback copy is in my hands!
This book left my mind in shambles after reading, as well as my preconceptions about time management and efficiency over effectiveness. I've actually already been a diligent user of the slightly tweaked GTD method for five months now (Check out http://www.thesecretweapon.org/ if you're looking for a smoother computerized integration with your GTD system) , but this semester of school definitely exposed the rough cracks in the pre-book system I made. Ironically, in my Evernote GTD system, I added a note/task of "Read GTD book by David Allen", and here I am six months later. Talk about procrastination.
This book is definitely for people with little control over their management flow of their personal and work lives, and who need legit guidance on how to allocate their time and energy resourcefully. If I hadn't spent a whole ten days reading this book, I wouldn't have realized how sorely lacking the GTD system I'd created was. There are millions of articles out there that give extraordinary accounts of David Allen's book, but in my opinion, I'd prefer to taste the cuisine than read an abstract of how great the cuisine is, if you know what I mean.
So what did I personally gain from this book? Lucrative advice on how NEVER to leave your inbox of "stuff" to pile and desecrate itself. The four (or possibly five, I lost count) key parts of building the GTD system are : 1. collecting 2. organizing 3. processing and 4.daily/weekly reviewing. But failure to dust and sweep your system every day and week (the reviewing phase), and your system could vaporize before your very eyes.
I actually wavered between a 3 and 4 star review because, again, much of what he advocated I had already implemented prior to reading his books. Because this is a pre-2000s productivity book, much of his advice sordidly praised systems I would stare aghast in sure shock. No Generation Z or millennial is thinking about buying 43 (WHAT!) folders for the "tickler system". Nevertheless, his advice seems to still be relevant for the majority of Americans living 9-5 jobs in work offices and the sort, so I couldn't discount any of his techniques.
Just ordered this book on Amazon for keeps sake. Will be even happier in the next few days when my paperback copy is in my hands!