Based on a recommendation from Patty Huntley, the trainer at the project management class I recently attended, I picked up David Allen’s book Getting Things Done. It’s my turn now to recommend it as a very useful reading.
Getting Things Done provides a very practical, down-to-earth, useful plan for getting organized and sticking to it. The book is divided into three parts: an overview of the system, a nuts-and-bolts detailed methodology, and a higher level examination of key principles.
I suspect that a lot of the book was compiled from transcripts of the years of training seminars author David Allen has been giving on the matter of getting organized. At least, this would explain one of the book’s minor flaws, the uneven writing style and authorial voice. Part 1 — The Art of Getting Things Done, in particular, uses more of the trendy buzzwords I have come to expect from the Business section of an average bookstore. It’s not too terrible, he doesn’t go crazy with jargon, but it’s more noticeable than in the next section.
Part 2 — Practicing Stress-Free Productivity, is a very accessible, easily read series of practical steps to take in order to get organized and set up a home and office system. I very much liked that for every step, several different tools and approaches were offered, from paper files to computer-based files to palm-top devices. Allen makes it clear that there are many different ways to accomplish the task, and that you should pick tools that suit your needs, habits, knowledge, and lifestyle.
Another aspect I like is that Allen integrates the methods for getting both your business and personal life organized, but without melding them into a single entity. It’s necessary for most of us to keep work and home separate, yet access the information in more than one place. This is well addressed in the book.
Part 3 — The Power of the Key Principles steps back to look at the thinking that underpins the proposed method. Allen shows good insight in deciding to expose the reader to the practical benefits of the method — letting you take the car for a spin — before trying to “sell” grand principles. He understands that if you’re reading this thinking about the mess in your office and the multitude of projects waiting for you, you won’t be interested in focusing on principles.
I’m fairly certain that this book can be useful for just about anyone. Maybe it won’t revolutionized your habits, and maybe you’ll only get a few useful tips out of it — or maybe you’ll completely change your planning methods. Either way, you should get something useful from this inexpensive little paperback.
