David Allen is a knowledgeable and practical productivity guru. This book has both the strengths of practical and theoretical qualities. I loved this book. I liked about it that it explains a few theoretical principals related to the way the brain works, but not too many. It keeps the subject flow down to earth and it introduces the reader in a very simple, common sense manner to a set of real life tools.
I found the book really helpful. I managed to setup my own system using two in-trays, Outlook and One-Note using David's principles of organisation. The book is free of superfluous motivational talk, it is based on research, personal experience built on many years of consulting organisations and individuals. I use the same routine flow at work and at home with no effort. I sometimes realise that when I get a mental trigger to simplify, process immediately something, it is because of the book. One of the key elements David insists on is that you must process the "stuff" immediately no matter what. You must decide what to do with it. The books somehow manages to store this idea in your mind using simple but powerful anchors.
What does this book for you?
Assuming we live at our fullest potential we were born with, success is conditioned by four factors: focus, goals (strategy), motivation and energy. David's book is about organising your life to give you clarity and focus. I liked how he talks about project organisation and how the immediate tasks are aligned to long term goals. The book is excellent about managing the first two factors. Motivation and energy: that is your responsibility. If you need help there then you have to look somewhere else.
How does the book help you do things better?
One of the most common sources of frustration is hidden behind our little chores we have to do day by day. David has a take-no-prisoners approach: list everything you have in front of you and handle it, otherwise this procrastination will kill you. At this point, prioritisation makes no sense. To my surprise, this little principle does wonders. You have to have a system though, which is explained in the book very well. This is probably the best gem in the book: it gives you an workflow system that you can use without fail every day. David talks about how more complex tasks are actually projects, and he shows you how to manage that project naturally, using common sense. David then makes you look at this from the perspective of your personal life. He takes you on a nice flight from the ground level (daily little chores) to high altitude where you can view the distant horizons of your life. As usual, David alerts you that before you go up, make sure you do a good job on the ground. David says that the practice shows that this is the best way to discover your call and what is it really what you want. It makes sense: if you keep getting frustrated in seemingly never ending entangled tasks, you may never know what is it really that gives you pleasure and what is your natural talent.
The main ideas of the book
Workflow of the human activities: the humans are systems that have data input, process engine and output. Productivity is about managing all these three areas. David describes a very simple workflow that is made up of five steps:
1. Collect: get it out of your head
2. Process: decide what to do with it.
3. Organise: Decide where to put the stuff.
4. Review. Critical part of the workflow: weekly review.
5. Do
The whole system is built around this workflow. It sounds simple, and it is, but it is very effective. It is implementable and reduced the noise that unorganised "stuff" creates in our head. You will have to read the book to understand that.
Decision Making Process
The system offers a fresh aproach to tasks organisation that is not based on common prioritised to-do lists system. I found that David links very well the concern of the moment with long term planning and ultimately with your life calling. The latter is a very complex task. You have to muster the daily tasks management before you get the black belt on life long achievements, because this is the only practical way of discovering what you can do and what you are best at.
Project planning.
David considers project as a collection of tasks. While individual tasks can be done almost in any order, projects require planning. Instead of relying on learning very complex project management tools, it is best to manage your project using natural planning. If you have experience with project management you will understand straight away what he is talking about. If not, you will still like his approach because it is simple and requires common sense. It is all about delivering outcomes, rather than getting lost in complex considerations.
Overall these are the key principles discussed in the book:
1. Focus and fast track
2. Applied outcome thinking (intention & action, how do I make it happen?)
3. The magic of mastering the mundane
4. The power of natural planning
The book has a very good structure. It is that kind of book you will come back to revisit some ideas. It requires a little bit of effort because, as David says, it will not work if you don't adopt it to suit your personal style and experience. I regard this book as an excellent investment.
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Reviews with images
Receive used book, not new
The book seems helpful (haven’t finished reading it though) but I received a clearly used book. There was a pen scratch on the cover and pencil markings on some pages. Beware that you might not receive a new book.
