We all know that to complete a project we have to complete tasks; essentially it’s about getting things done. I have seen the Getting Things Done methodology and principles banded around for a while and decided to buy the book to see for myself. I actually bought it in time to take with me on holiday; might sound a little boring (certainly the reaction I got from my wife) but having read it, it seems the best time to read it cover to cover and absorb the whole book. I often think that holidays are the best time to not only relax and party, but to take stock of your life, career, etc… when you are away from it all, things seem much clearer. Anyway, back to the Getting Things Done review.
First of all the book is written by a guy called David Allen; never heard of him before I saw his name on the book, but after a little Googling it appears he has written other self help style books. As the title of the book implies, the Getting Things Done, or GTD as we in the GTD-world like to call it, is all about having a system of managing tasks. Essentially it is about taking some incoming thought, letter, email, voicemail etc… and recording it in a system so that your mind can forget about it. And that is the real point that David Allen makes early on in this book; when your mind is empty of things you have to do, you can get on with what you have to do, you can get on with the task at hand in the comfort that you know what you have to do (its all in your GTD system) and you’ve not forgotten something.
Notice I said, Your GTD system. Although there is little need for deviation from the GTD methodology, the tools you use to implement the methodology means that different people’s implementation will be quite varied. I actually found that the way I used to manage my tasks was very similar to the GTD system; I’ll be describing “my life before GTD” in a later post.
Being a freelance consultant I hone in on the way people manage their work; and quite often I am amazed by the poor work-management systems people have in place for themselves and their team; I wonder how they ever get anything done. And that is the point, they don’t get much done and certainly not in an effective way. These are the people that scratch their head when giving updates to actions and say “err.. ongoing”, or when you ask them if they’ve done something yet they put their hands on their heads and say “sorry I forgot.” If you are one of these people then this book is for you.
As I write this post I am managing 8 projects and have about 70 other things to do. I have been using my GTD system for about two months now and I really do think I am getting things done at a faster rate. I also find that I have less on my mind, because when a thought comes into my mind I write it down and it goes through my GTD system.
I could hammer the keyboard for days expressing my thoughts on this book, it really is worth reading, but I think it’s best for you to discover GTD for yourself; you can get a copy from most book shops and on-line stores; I got mine from Amazon
Any questions, leave me a comment…
Until the next post.
