Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
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- Create Date：2021-05-02 08:57:33
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：David Allen
- ISBN：0143126563
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Summary
"The Bible of business and personal productivity" —Lifehack
"A completely revised and updated edition of the blockbuster bestseller from 'the personal productivity guru'"—Fast Company
Since it was first published almost fifteen years ago， David Allen’s Getting Things Done has become one of the most influential business books of its era， and the ultimate book on personal organization。 “GTD” is now shorthand for an entire way of approaching professional and personal tasks， and has spawned an entire culture of websites， organizational tools， seminars， and offshoots。
Allen has rewritten the book from start to finish， tweaking his classic text with important perspectives on the new workplace， and adding material that will make the book fresh and relevant for years to come。 This new edition of Getting Things Done will be welcomed not only by its hundreds of thousands of existing fans but also by a whole new generation eager to adopt its proven principles。
"A completely revised and updated edition of the blockbuster bestseller from 'the personal productivity guru'"—Fast Company
Since it was first published almost fifteen years ago， David Allen’s Getting Things Done has become one of the most influential business books of its era， and the ultimate book on personal organization。 “GTD” is now shorthand for an entire way of approaching professional and personal tasks， and has spawned an entire culture of websites， organizational tools， seminars， and offshoots。
Allen has rewritten the book from start to finish， tweaking his classic text with important perspectives on the new workplace， and adding material that will make the book fresh and relevant for years to come。 This new edition of Getting Things Done will be welcomed not only by its hundreds of thousands of existing fans but also by a whole new generation eager to adopt its proven principles。
Reviews
Ivan Ramos
，
This book is a life changer！
Dee
，
Marie Kondo says to put all of your possessions in a pile， take out each one at a time， and ask "does this spark joy？" David Allen says to put all of your emails in a pile， take out each one at a time， and ask "how do I move this forward？"The difference is that you don't buy a bunch of new stuff every day to clutter your house。 But you do get a ton of emails everyday。 Which is why David Allen's whole method takes 2 years to implement fully and Marie Kondo's takes a few weeks / months。 Anyway the Marie Kondo says to put all of your possessions in a pile， take out each one at a time， and ask "does this spark joy？" David Allen says to put all of your emails in a pile， take out each one at a time， and ask "how do I move this forward？"The difference is that you don't buy a bunch of new stuff every day to clutter your house。 But you do get a ton of emails everyday。 Which is why David Allen's whole method takes 2 years to implement fully and Marie Kondo's takes a few weeks / months。 Anyway the book is fine。 The teachings are fine， they make sense， and you don't have to implement the whole system to start reaping benefits。 But be warned the whole system takes 2 years of **commitment** so a lot of the book is dedicated to promises of how much better your life will be if you fully implement the whole thing。 Some good takeaways for me:- if you have difficulty doing a thing， it's probably because you haven't spent enough time defining the task--the eventual outcome you want and the next tangible step to move the task along to that outcome。 The task is too vague， so spend some time just thinking about it specifically to figure out those two things。- if you *don't* do this， you'll probably have zombie tasks that never get done and keep bothering you。 To the point where even thinking about them causes negative emotions。 This is because every time you think of the task but don't deal with it， you are breaking a promise you made to yourself and that little betrayal of trust weighs on you， makes you feel guilty and bad about yourself。 To heal， renegotiate the promise into an smaller， more achievable promise--the next action。 Don't promise to "write my English paper。" That leads to procrastination。 Promise to "organize my notes from reading the book。"- if you implement GTD but the people around you （coworkers， spouse， etc。） don't， it seems like you'd get annoyed with them pretty quickly。 。。。more
Melissa
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"This consistent， unproductive preoccupation with all the things we have to do is the single largest consumer of time and energy。" —Kerry GleesonThis book was overall a good one for me， though I can agree with other reviews that mention that a 21st century update would be helpful （I haven't seen a physical in/out tray。。。ever）。 I like the idea of getting all the tasks （big and small） out of one's mind and organized， with the next action easily denoted。 I also like the 2-minute rule he espouses （w "This consistent， unproductive preoccupation with all the things we have to do is the single largest consumer of time and energy。" —Kerry GleesonThis book was overall a good one for me， though I can agree with other reviews that mention that a 21st century update would be helpful （I haven't seen a physical in/out tray。。。ever）。 I like the idea of getting all the tasks （big and small） out of one's mind and organized， with the next action easily denoted。 I also like the 2-minute rule he espouses （where when you encounter a task， if if can be done in 2 minutes， just do it then - or sort it into one of your categories）。 There were parts where the book felt like it was dragging on a bit （did we really need half page sections each on notebooks and pens？）， but I think I overall recommend the book to others who want some inspiration on how to sort through and keep track of all the random things one has to do。Some more quotes:"Projects do not initially need to be listed in any particular order， by size， or by priority。 They just need to be on a master list so you can review them regularly enough to ensure that appropriate next actions have been defined for each of them。 If you don’t have a placeholder to remind you about it， it will slip back into your head。" "Any longer-than-two-minute， non-delegatable action you have identified needs to be tracked somewhere。""。。。go through five steps to accomplish virtually any task: 1-Defining purpose and principles， 2-Outcome visioning， 3-Brainstorming， 4-Organizing， 5-Identifying next actions""Before any evaluation of what’s a good idea can be trusted， the purpose must be clear， the vision must be well defined， and all the relevant data must have been collected （brainstormed） and analyzed （organized）。 “What’s a good idea？” is a good question， but only when you’re about 80 percent of the way through your thinking！ Starting there would probably blow anyone’s creative mental fuses。""Even if the item is not a high-priority one， do it now if you’re ever going to do it at all。 The rationale for the two-minute rule is that it’s more or less the point where it starts taking longer to store and track an item than to deal with it the first time it’s in your hands—in other words， it’s the efficiency cutoff。 If the thing’s not important enough to be done， throw it away。 If it is， and if you’re going to do it sometime， the efficiency factor should come into play。 You’ll be surprised how many two-minute actions you can perform even on your most critical projects。" 。。。more
Irfan
，
An excellent book on self-development and self-organisation A really great book on improving one’s ability to get more things done in little time。 The principles promoted in this book will help you get more organised by having something called in-basket which essentially is a list of actionable items with concrete and well-defined next-action attached to each item。 The write also suggests just having an in-basket isn’t enough。 We also need to habitually came back to it and review the items in th An excellent book on self-development and self-organisation A really great book on improving one’s ability to get more things done in little time。 The principles promoted in this book will help you get more organised by having something called in-basket which essentially is a list of actionable items with concrete and well-defined next-action attached to each item。 The write also suggests just having an in-basket isn’t enough。 We also need to habitually came back to it and review the items in the basket。 All in all it is a very good read and I highly recommend it specially to those who feel they always have too much on their plate but can’t get anything done。 。。。more
Kristin
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。Good tips for getting an inbox， calendar and project system into place for personal and business efficiency。 Works well with my bullet journal system。 I like the prospective of starting with the list of everything and group that into goals， context setting and projects。 It's much more practical than starting with visions and lofty goals or a five year plan。。。 This is good too， but his methods are easily applicable and practical。 **Note read via Blinkest App 。Good tips for getting an inbox， calendar and project system into place for personal and business efficiency。 Works well with my bullet journal system。 I like the prospective of starting with the list of everything and group that into goals， context setting and projects。 It's much more practical than starting with visions and lofty goals or a five year plan。。。 This is good too， but his methods are easily applicable and practical。 **Note read via Blinkest App 。。。more
Tom
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Life changing。 Game changing。
Alise
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In today’s world， yesterday’s methods just don’t work。 < Seems ironic to see this on the cover， if you’re reading the book on 2021。 The number of times this guy mentions VCR in his book is disturbing。 😅The method of GTD isn’t bad， but this book is outdated and full of examples that only high profile executives can relate to。 Also， it’s very repetitive。Overall， I learned more from a book summary on YouTube than the actual book。
Bill Rand
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Seems like it could use some updating for the modern era and tools， but it's a fantastic book other than that。 Seems like it could use some updating for the modern era and tools， but it's a fantastic book other than that。 。。。more
Kevin Smallacombe
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Helpful concept and the chart is great。 Could be one chapter， maybe two。 Very skimmable and out-of-date technology makes the application seem antiquated。
Haniffa Mohamed Riaz
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The best book on productivity will have read so far。 Anyone can read and practice the techniques suggested by the author David Allen。 The 4 step process is a huge takeaway for me and I’m practically seeing the difference in my productivity。
Danigel
，
The book has three chapters:1。 Explaining the principles of this book in details。 What it wants to show you in details2。 The implementation phase。 I really believe it is outdated as it consists mostly of hardcopy。 Now everyone has a computer and work on a computer and less paper。 This chapter can be skimmed 3。 The conclusion chapter。 More frameworks The books has amassed a lot of quotes from great people and many people i dont know。 The first chapter is the aha moment of this book。
Ana Paula
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É como se todos os nossos pensamentos sobre organização de projetos estivessem estruturados e bem escritos。 Gostei bastante do livro， é um conceito simples， porém complexo de se implementar。O próximo passo é colocar em prática （fazer acontecer）！
Hsandlin
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If you are considering reading this， buy a used copy and just ready chapters 4-8。 If you’re curious or feel lost， go back and read 1-4 and if you’re really invested in David Alan and the GTD methodology then finish the rest of the book。 Chapters 4-8 （and even 4 is questionable） have some amazing and thoughtful insight into an interesting and useful methodology。 Getting the methodology out of this book isn’t ideal but it is worth the effort。 The book just isn’t captivating to say the least and a If you are considering reading this， buy a used copy and just ready chapters 4-8。 If you’re curious or feel lost， go back and read 1-4 and if you’re really invested in David Alan and the GTD methodology then finish the rest of the book。 Chapters 4-8 （and even 4 is questionable） have some amazing and thoughtful insight into an interesting and useful methodology。 Getting the methodology out of this book isn’t ideal but it is worth the effort。 The book just isn’t captivating to say the least and a lot of it is unnecessary for understanding the system。 If you’re interested in getting more organized and implementing a system to manage the things you need to do， GTD is the nuclear option。 You will spend a week or more getting it set up but it definitely will be worth it。 I’m giving the book 3 stars because it’s clear Alan has a great system but his writing skills are less clear。 You can get a lot out of just watching an interview with him （Simplify is a podcast by Blinkist， I’d recommend either of their two interviews with him）。 But I definitely recommend the book still， just be aware of what you’re getting yourself into。 。。。more
Logesh Mathivathanan
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While it began as a great book of toolkits， towards the end， it became too technical。 There might have been a warning in the beginning about this book being useful only to executives， but I've missed it。 In any case， there are points I'll take from this and there are some that I won't。 While it began as a great book of toolkits， towards the end， it became too technical。 There might have been a warning in the beginning about this book being useful only to executives， but I've missed it。 In any case， there are points I'll take from this and there are some that I won't。 。。。more
Dipanshu Gupta
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David Allen is the master of organisation。 He knows the way you live and organise your things are in a total disarray。 But like Superman， he’s here to help。 Getting Things Done is not a motto， it’s a whole fucking system on how to organise yourself。 It involves having a rigidly maintained calendar， lists for capturing things in their right context， maintaining a list of all projects you’re working on （even “Get off sugar” is a project in his world） and most importantly， always determining the ne David Allen is the master of organisation。 He knows the way you live and organise your things are in a total disarray。 But like Superman， he’s here to help。 Getting Things Done is not a motto， it’s a whole fucking system on how to organise yourself。 It involves having a rigidly maintained calendar， lists for capturing things in their right context， maintaining a list of all projects you’re working on （even “Get off sugar” is a project in his world） and most importantly， always determining the next actionable steps you can take。 A list of projects， sub projects and ill-formed ideas are mentally exhausting。 It’s difference between “Get new tires” on your list versus “Call Acme Corp。 Re: tire prices” on your list。 This jump to action has been a revelation for me。 The book is filled with other gems and anecdotes。 The most popular （and effective） of them is the two-minute rule: if you have something in your mind that can be done in less than two minutes， do it now， for this is where you hit the time trade off between capturing something on a list and getting it done。 Another important thing is to “empty your mind”。 At no point should your mind be remembering things that you need to do and making you anxious。 Everything that comes to your head must be captured: every idea， task， possible project and future wish。 Sounds like pain and a waste of time， but honestly， I’m saving hours by not thinking about the same shit a million times。 I have the peace of mind that it has been captured and will be reviewed at an appropriate time。 We all could do with a little more planning。 More planning never hurt nobody and we all having been guilty of “going with the flow”。 The book made me buy many organisational folders， paper trays， and even a label maker。 I’m surprised how effective they are。 Give GTD a shot if you believe in the Lindy rule， the idea that things that have been around longer have a better chance of being around in the future than new things。 It’s a tried and tested， and well-veted method to organisational excellence。 If you end up wondering what to do when you’re tired at 16:00 on a Thursday afternoon， this one is for you。 。。。more
Debra Farrell
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I read this book a long time ago but never really got into the nitty-gritty of the system。 After re-reading and putting the program into effect。 While it does require some work to establish the lists and systems， once the program established， you no longer have to worry about things falling through the cracks and anything getting missed。 It keeps me functioning at a high level without the stress of constant worry that something will not get done，。
Jakub Bryl
，
It's like hearing a WW2 veteran story。 Definitely worth paying attention to and give all due respect for the "grandfather of all personal productivity"， but for the modern-day advice， I would recommend reaching out to the next generation （e。g。， Michael Hyatt）。 It's like hearing a WW2 veteran story。 Definitely worth paying attention to and give all due respect for the "grandfather of all personal productivity"， but for the modern-day advice， I would recommend reaching out to the next generation （e。g。， Michael Hyatt）。 。。。more
Amanda Cresse
，
Great ideas。。。 now to implement！ There are several things Allen explains that makes sense-- one that hit the mark with me: Feelings of being overwhelmed--stress and anxiety--are caused by mental overload。 There is a limit to how much unresolved stuff the mind can actually hold。 As Allen explained his flowchart and how to free up space in our minds， I started taking action--especially on the small tasks that have come up this weekend。 I am noticing a difference in being more aware of what I am pu Great ideas。。。 now to implement！ There are several things Allen explains that makes sense-- one that hit the mark with me: Feelings of being overwhelmed--stress and anxiety--are caused by mental overload。 There is a limit to how much unresolved stuff the mind can actually hold。 As Allen explained his flowchart and how to free up space in our minds， I started taking action--especially on the small tasks that have come up this weekend。 I am noticing a difference in being more aware of what I am putting off and what is weighing on me because it is a project， not a task as I first deemed it。 Anyway。。。 good stuff！ 。。。more
Owen Campbell-Moore
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Unless you already feel always on top of everything at work， read this book。The key takeaway for me was that you need a Productivity System that works well for you， and has key properties such as:- ensures you prioritize according to importance and urgency- ensures you can let people know when you won’t get a commitment done on time- etcDavid Allen describes his system in detail。 I found this useful framing for thinking about productivity systems， though mine is very dissimilar to his。
Yahya
，
I decided to dip into the productivity shelf because， honestly， my life was the epitome of chaos。 Everything from the upcoming finals to maintaining basic hygiene was driving me crazy。 I thought I'd read some productivity books to get a grip on things。I started with Managing Oneself and was really disappointed。 The book felt like a repackaging of common sense in 70 pages。 This solidified my prejudice against self-help books that they were blog posts blown into 300 pages。 I decided I'll try this I decided to dip into the productivity shelf because， honestly， my life was the epitome of chaos。 Everything from the upcoming finals to maintaining basic hygiene was driving me crazy。 I thought I'd read some productivity books to get a grip on things。I started with Managing Oneself and was really disappointed。 The book felt like a repackaging of common sense in 70 pages。 This solidified my prejudice against self-help books that they were blog posts blown into 300 pages。 I decided I'll try this GTD from David Allen as well since this was getting raving reviews from everywhere。And it is fully deserved。 This was one of the best books I've ever read。 If I could only choose one self-help book to read， this will be it。Allen writes with incredible clarity。 Clearly demarcated sections were major positive。 It made the book easier to digest。 It also allowed me to skip （and skim） the sections of the book。 I skimmed through a lot of sections， sections whose target audience wasn't me。The target audience of the book seems to be a worker who holds a middle to upper position in the corporate ladder。 Especially， part 2 of the book。 But， every human being will learn a lot from this book。The first part is the most important。 You'll understand his methodology from that alone。 The 2nd part is on how to implement his methodology。I'll recommend this book to every single person who is spinning more than 2 plates at a time。One drawback I can think of is that the book can feel a bit outdated for 2021。 However， his underlying principles and methodology can be applied with the latest tech tools as well。 Thinking about the book from this angle gave me a lot of food for thought。 。。。more
mehlah
，
guide to reducing anxiety in projects and plans:1。 figure out the intended outcome2。 figure out the next executable step， however minuscule it can be3。 execute4。 repeat steps 2 n 3drop down all tbd tasks， a card/sheet each- execute all that can be done in 2 mins- delegate all that can be delegated- figure out the outcomes and next steps for those leftwrite down stuff so you don't have to be stuck with them while executing projects。hold weekly review sessions to clear up tasks and make sure nothi guide to reducing anxiety in projects and plans:1。 figure out the intended outcome2。 figure out the next executable step， however minuscule it can be3。 execute4。 repeat steps 2 n 3drop down all tbd tasks， a card/sheet each- execute all that can be done in 2 mins- delegate all that can be delegated- figure out the outcomes and next steps for those leftwrite down stuff so you don't have to be stuck with them while executing projects。hold weekly review sessions to clear up tasks and make sure nothing else is obstructing your flow （eg。 that one thing you know you should do but procrastinate to do） 。。。more
Barbara
，
Good to hear the details of his system again。 Parts of it I have implemented in the past。 David Allen says to revisit his material again in 3 to 6 months。 It will seem like a whole new book after having a chance to start implementing his ideas。
Robert
，
If you want to have a mind like water， make lists。 Make lists of the next physical action you have to do to keep a project on schedule。 Don't have vague goals。 Have specific goals。 You need to have a system that tells you what you need to do next。 You need to go through your inbox and your mail so that everything is captured by the system。 All of your thoughts have to be captured in the system or you will not trust your system to tell you what you need to know at the appropriate time。 If you can If you want to have a mind like water， make lists。 Make lists of the next physical action you have to do to keep a project on schedule。 Don't have vague goals。 Have specific goals。 You need to have a system that tells you what you need to do next。 You need to go through your inbox and your mail so that everything is captured by the system。 All of your thoughts have to be captured in the system or you will not trust your system to tell you what you need to know at the appropriate time。 If you cannot trust your system， you cannot focus。 Built the system， use the system， and trust the system。 Otherwise， you will just end up with stacks up stuff everywhere when it should either be used， in storage， or thrown away。 Stacks of things that are neither used nor in storage can be incredibly depressing。 。。。more
AngelaM
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Great concepts but a tough read。The book is written too academic， the principals could have been addressed in a more cogent and concise manor。 However， the concepts outlined are fantastic， I would recommend to any who struggle with organization。
Femke
，
Unlike many other self help books， Allen actually describes which actions you need to take in order to implement his system （whereas other self help books are often painstakingly abstract）。 However， since it's been published over 20 years ago， some action steps are quite outdated。 It says a lot that it's still much loved and applied years after its publication。Some sections read like they've been added as fillers to up the page count， unfortunately。 Overall， I loved reading it and actually felt Unlike many other self help books， Allen actually describes which actions you need to take in order to implement his system （whereas other self help books are often painstakingly abstract）。 However， since it's been published over 20 years ago， some action steps are quite outdated。 It says a lot that it's still much loved and applied years after its publication。Some sections read like they've been added as fillers to up the page count， unfortunately。 Overall， I loved reading it and actually felt engaged。 Many of his techniques already helped me get dreaded things done。 God， where has the 2-minute rule been all my life？ 。。。more
Hari Saravanan
，
The Game Changer in Being Productive
Syed Mohsin
，
The techniques laid out in the book helped me be less anxious about my tasks。One of the key things that really worked is 6-fold model presented in the book。 For example， what is your life about， then what is your vision regarding certain aspects of life， then what are your long term-goals， then responsibilities， then current projects and finally tasks that need to be right now。Second useful point is that， we need to develop our action management system such that our tasks are defined context bas The techniques laid out in the book helped me be less anxious about my tasks。One of the key things that really worked is 6-fold model presented in the book。 For example， what is your life about， then what is your vision regarding certain aspects of life， then what are your long term-goals， then responsibilities， then current projects and finally tasks that need to be right now。Second useful point is that， we need to develop our action management system such that our tasks are defined context based。 For example， if I am at a grocery store， I should have a list of things to do at the grocery store。 If I am in my car， I should have a list of things present with me that tells me what I need to do when I am in the car。 Same goes for other contexts， like home， office， phone， etc。 You just need to figure out how to effectively put things in those lists。 The author proposes some ways of doing that too。Third important thing was that your lists should not contain items like "mom"， "computer"， "entertainment"， etc。 Your task lists should contain an action item that can be worked on immediately if you had wanted to。 The point is to make sure these lists contain phrases or sentences that start with a verb that acts on a noun。 Like "buy mom a present for her birthday" rather than "mom"。 Sometimes， tasks you though were actionable would need to be broken down into smaller tasks when you think about them more。 So think from this point-of-view before starting them。 For example， "Get car fixed" might be broken into， "Call garage to check what time they are open"， then that could be dependent on "Find phone number for garage"。Fourth helpful thing is that you should be able to collect all your tasks in an "in-basket" from where you can process and actually select if you want to work on that item or not。 If you want to work then can you do it in under 2 minutes， if yes then do it right now。 If it takes more than 2 minutes then are you the right person to do it。 If you really are the right person to do it， then think about breaking it down to tasks that can be immediately worked on if you had wanted。 It is better to know what you are not doing rather than just knowing that you are not doing something that you don't remember。 。。。more
Alex Kahn
，
Emphasizes the role of clearheadedness in personal productivity。 Advocates for an distributed system to organize the results of constant mental purges。
Bishoy Zaki
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Mainly for ppl working in business or desk jobs in general。 Definitely not for students or other more practical fields of work。This is a book about productivity In which the author discusses a systematic approach to doing tasks that he has implemented in his life for or over 20-years which he claims will help the reader reach a level of relaxed informed decision making to make their life easier with less clutter。 David Allen introduces some useful concepts like the 2 minute rule; the whole workf Mainly for ppl working in business or desk jobs in general。 Definitely not for students or other more practical fields of work。This is a book about productivity In which the author discusses a systematic approach to doing tasks that he has implemented in his life for or over 20-years which he claims will help the reader reach a level of relaxed informed decision making to make their life easier with less clutter。 David Allen introduces some useful concepts like the 2 minute rule; the whole workflow diagram （which u can easily find on google）; the distinction between projects and next actions and the important mental habit of always asking what the next doable action step is; the idea of continuosly emptying your head into a system and building habits to make that system work and trust it to reach a level of "relaxed productivity"， which is the idea of the whole book; reaching the state in which you can confidently make decisions on what to do in your life/work without worrying if you should be doing sth else or if you're making the wrong decisions。I found these concepts to be helpful in general aspects of life but definitely not in my studying or professional aspirations。I also really liked how concise and to the point this book is。 I usually approach productivity books with much skepticism and low expectations， and although this one wasn't particularly fascinating， but at least I learned some new things from it and it didn't go around in circles just to fill pages; on the contrast it was very practical and called for specific actions from the reader to implement the system the author discusses。What I really didn't like was how the book focused most of the time on implementing this system from the point of view of a business executive so although I liked the concepts， some of them are just not applicable in other fields that require a completely different approach but of course I understand that David Allen is writing from personal experience which is also one of the things that make this book authentic。Overall， I would say this is a classic among productivity books but unless u work in business just skim through it to get the general idea。 （Also I think it's worth mentioning that this book has nothing about time management whatsoever which might be a relief or not a disappointment depending on what you're looking for） 。。。more
Rachael | Booklist Queen
，