David Allen – Getting Things done
Summary: „Getting Things Done“ (GTD) is a personal productivity system that rests on the idea of moving all items of interest, relevant information, issues, tasks and projects out of one’s mind by recording them externally and then breaking them into actionable work items with known time limits. Allen’s premise is simple: our productivity is directly proportional to our ability to relax, and only when our minds are clear and our thoughts are organized can we achieve effective productivity and unleash our creative potential. The GTD methodology is a work-life management system that alleviates overwhelm and instills focus, clarity, and confidence. Allen states there is „an inverse relationship between things on your mind and those things getting done,“ so the system allows one’s attention to focus on taking action on each task listed externally. Since its publication, GTD has become one of the most influential business books of its era and spawned an entire culture of websites, organizational tools, and seminars.
Why we like it: Even though this book has firstly published in 2001 its relevance has never diminished. Improving productivity is in nearly every context of utmost importance and with GTD Allen has build an important corner stone to achieve it.