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| Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity | 
 enlarge | Author: David Allen
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
Buy New: $6.64
You Save: $8.36 (56%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $5.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  (432 reviews)
Sales Rank: 67
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 267
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.7
ISBN: 0142000280
Dewey Decimal Number: 646.7
EAN: 9780142000281
ASIN: 0142000280
Publication Date: December 31, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
With first-chapter allusions to martial arts, "flow," "mind like water," and other concepts borrowed from the East (and usually mangled), you'd almost think this self-helper from David Allen should have been called Zen and the Art of Schedule Maintenance. Not quite. Yes, Getting Things Done offers a complete system for downloading all those free-floating gotta-do's clogging your brain into a sophisticated framework of files and action lists--all purportedly to free your mind to focus on whatever you're working on. However, it still operates from the decidedly Western notion that if we could just get really, really organized, we could turn ourselves into 24/7 productivity machines. (To wit, Allen, whom the New Economy bible Fast Company has dubbed "the personal productivity guru," suggests that instead of meditating on crouching tigers and hidden dragons while you wait for a plane, you should unsheathe that high-tech saber known as the cell phone and attack that list of calls you need to return.) As whole-life-organizing systems go, Allen's is pretty good, even fun and therapeutic. It starts with the exhortation to take every unaccounted-for scrap of paper in your workstation that you can't junk, The next step is to write down every unaccounted-for gotta-do cramming your head onto its own scrap of paper. Finally, throw the whole stew into a giant "in-basket" That's where the processing and prioritizing begin; in Allen's system, it get a little convoluted at times, rife as it is with fancy terms, subterms, and sub-subterms for even the simplest concepts. Thank goodness the spine of his system is captured on a straightforward, one-page flowchart that you can pin over your desk and repeatedly consult without having to refer back to the book. That alone is worth the purchase price. Also of value is Allen's ingenious Two-Minute Rule: if there's anything you absolutely must do that you can do right now in two minutes or less, then do it now, thus freeing up your time and mind tenfold over the long term. It's commonsense advice so obvious that most of us completely overlook it, much to our detriment; Allen excels at dispensing such wisdom in this useful, if somewhat belabored, self-improver aimed at everyone from CEOs to soccer moms (who we all know are more organized than most CEOs to start with). --Timothy Murphy
Product Description
In today's world, yesterday's methods just don't work. In Getting Things Done, veteran coach and management consultant David Allen shares the breakthrough methods for stress-free performance that he has introduced to tens of thousands of people across the country. Allen's premise is simple: our productivity is directly proportional to our ability to relax. Only when our minds are clear and our thoughts are organized can we achieve effective productivity and unleash our creative potential. In Getting Things Done Allen shows how to:
Apply the "do it, delegate it, defer it, drop it" rule to get your in-box to empty
Reassess goals and stay focused in changing situations
Plan projects as well as get them unstuck
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 can transform the way you work, showing you how to pick up the pace without wearing yourself down.
Download Description
"""The personal productivity guru"" (Fast Company) delivers powerful methods that vastly increase your efficiency and creative results-at work and in life In today's world, yesterday's methods just don't work. In Getting Things Done, veteran coach and management consultant David Allen shares the breakthrough methods for stress-free performance that he has introduced to tens of thousands of people across the country. Allen's premise is simple: our productivity is directly proportional to our ability to relax. Only when our minds are clear and our thoughts are organized can we achieve effective productivity and unleash our creative potential. In Getting Things Done Allen shows how to: Apply the ""do it, delegate it, defer it, drop it"" rule to get your in-box to empty Reassess goals and stay focused in changing situations Plan projects as well as get them unstuck 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 can transform the way you work, showing you how to pick up the pace without wearing yourself down."
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| Customer Reviews: Read 427 more reviews...
 Be Amazed At How Much More You Can Get Done July 19, 2008
I get three times what I used to get done in a week because of the systems of time manipulation I have developed. Another good book that gives time manipulation tools is Don't Like to Read, Then Don't, Listen!: How to Turn Any Type of Text Into Audio Files That Can Be Read to You!
Great Starting Point July 19, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is an excellent Starting Point for those who are just getting organized. You can make the system your own. I takes about 4 weeks to get set up and running, at least it did for me. I also recommend Don't Like to Read, Then Don't, Listen!: How to Turn Any Type of Text Into Audio Files That Can Be Read to You!, as a tool that can help you get more things done as you do basic life stuff such as showerings, cooking, eating, ect.
 A valuable book, which could be easily improved. July 18, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Mr Allen has written a valuable book. The first chapter provides a good rationale for his system, with the second chapter providing practical implementation details. The system itself is sound, with the first chapter providing adequate justification for the system. Even if one doesn't like the system, the first and second chapters provide valuable ideas and suggestions to improve productivity.
The third chapter devolves into repetition of the least valuable sort. It fails to re-enforce earlier concepts, but detracts from them by poorly attempting to justify them at a higher level.
I wish Mr Allen would release a second edition of this book. It is peppered with imprecise language, hackneyed phrases, and meaningless cliches. Many sentences in the book could have 2 or more words removed without losing any meaning. The author also tends to exaggerate. For example, on page 250 he writes "That is real productivity, perhaps in its most awesome manifestation". This would be better if it simply said "That is real productivity, in its best form".
There is also much 'management speak' within the book, which detracts from its message.
In all, the book contains many good ideas, and if you can ignore the often flawed writing style of the author, then you stand to gain much from the book.
Please, Mr Allen, re-write the book while thinking about clear, plain English. It will benefit both your readers and your book sales.
Best I've read, different than the rest July 14, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Mr. Allen's insightful and concrete program is exceptional - it's different than all the other information I've gleaned on the topic. It gets away from "procrastination" and "time mangement" and truly articulates "How to Get Stuff Done". I've been through much of the generic "Time Management" material, including most of Brian Tracey and others like Rita Emmett's "Procrastinator's Handbook". It's much different than the generic "A-B-C prioritizing" / "important but not urgent" concepts. Mr. Allen's system is simple, yet comprehensive and presented in a business-oriented fashon (but it works remarkably well for both personal and business application). Highly recommended.
 A OK book, but just another "guru". July 3, 2008
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
I bought this book after read some remarks in the Internet and magazines. Part I is the best one, where you get to know the basics and concepts about GTD. Part 2 is how the author does implement these basics and concepts in his day-by-day. Not for everyone. Part 3, just skip it. I wouldn't tell a friend to buy the book.
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