I suppose that David Allen’s Getting Thing’s Done is old news by now, but I just got around to reading it cover-to-cover. I’ve picked it up a few times but never before made it to the end.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great book, but it gets a bit dry in the middle, once the initial enthusiasm of what he’s telling you wears off. In case you’re new to GTD (as the system is referred to on the web), the focus on it boils down to writing down everything so that you don’t have to waste brain power worrying about whether you’ve forgotten something, and then making lists of the Next Action you have to do on all your projects. Breaking eveything down into discrete steps. I’ve dabbled with the system and it really does work.
It seems only fair to buy the book, but honestly there’s an almost cult-feel to GTD and a lot of the information in the book can be found online. In fact, Allen’s own website might be a good place to start. There is of course a Wikipedia entry on the system that gives a good overview and has a lot of further reading links. 43Folders.com also has a good ‘getting started’ article.
Well, I could go on and on and never say anything that hasn’t already been said about the book a gazillion times. It’s a great system for reducing stress in your life. You can buy the book and get it from the source, or do some googling and get the same info for free. But if you’ve got a lot of stuff on your mind, this system can really improve the quality of your life. Again, I’ve only dabbled with it, and even that made my days a lot less stressful.
It is an “old” book, however its fantastic, its probably saved human lives by now. I mean dealing with stress, which is a powerful thing, is not easy, and “noone” so far has had a good enough solution, until now. Go ahead, buy it, read it, you wont be disappointed, in fact it may save your life.