Book of the Week: Getting Things Done

13 Apr 2013

Getting Things Done was recommended to me. The key to getting things done is relaxing. Your brain needs to take a dump. Once you’ve taken a dump, you can work without feeling constipated. Constipation leads to stress. Getting Things Done is not just about work, but about leading a better life. Need to trust your system. Need to be empty, embrace the void. What I like about David Allen’s book is that it mentions why, but leaves the how up to you. Everyone probably has systems which work for them, but it is what the system tries to achieve that is important. As more people shift from doing manual labor into creative work, the problem of getting things done is going to affect more people. Robots are going to take care of all the manual labor, so what will be left is creative work. For me to be productive, I need to get things out of my head and into a system I trust and can rely on. If I can’t rely on something, then I won’t be able to get these things out of my head. Things that may be important, but they aren’t important right now. In a way, this can be thought of as creating your own personal super executive assistant, who you can trust to keep you notified of important things that need your consideration. The other half of getting out of your head is to actually do some processing of your projects into next actions to take. You know where you want to be, so you need to identify all the steps you need to take to get closer to your goals. If these are unclear, then you need to spend some quality time thinking about it. Maker’s Time This is probably related to maker’s time. It takes a while for someone to process things and attain a relaxed state. This relaxed state is when a maker can make and get things done. Tickler File Every time there was a mention of the “tickler” file, I kept thinking of Phil’s BBQ Tickler menu item. Thinking about food and reading don’t mix. I have a Pavlovian response to “ tickler”. Purchase Getting Things Done on Amazon.com or check it out from your local library.