Getting Things Done: The Art of Productivity by David Allen

Getting Things Done: The Art of Productivity by David Allen About a year ago, listening to the Accidental Creative podcast, kept hearing a reference to this way of working called “GTD” or Getting Things Done. I wanted to do little more due diligence on the subject, so I searched on the term “GTD” and was [...]

By Tobin Lehman January 2008

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Getting Things Done: The Art of Productivity by David Allen About a year ago, listening to the Accidental Creative podcast, kept hearing a reference to this way of working called “GTD” or Getting Things Done. I wanted to do little more due diligence on the subject, so I searched on the term “GTD” and was totally amazed at the following of this book. More and more business people were adapting this program into their lives, from accountants to mail rooms; they were all applying this “GTD” program with great results. But what was it?

Getting Things Done, has a very simple message. Get things organized, make them actionable, and get them out of your way. We spend too much time containing and managing tasks without actually doing any of them! Many people feel overwhelmed at time, which is where I was when I bought this book. I quickly devoured his book, as it’s a short piece of work with a relatively simple plan and steps to take. Within an afternoon, I had read through the plan, and started the task of getting all of my ducks in a row, or the activation phase in the book. Getting everything into “actions” seemed to be a harder task than I suspected, but it was well worth the time and energy to change the way I was thinking about tasks. The book walks you through this phase with points and tips to organize every single thing in your life to get them done.

Months later, I find myself coming back to this book over and over, reciting the discipline and process. By the end of each reading and process, I feel as if many more things are in order and I’m back on track.

Pick this book up. Buy and buy a copy for a friend or colleague. Let your office read it. The change will be contagious.