by David Allen
7*/10
Key Ideas:
Capture (write down) everything, so it’s not in your mind.
Clarify next actions on what you captured, so that it’s easy to do them.
Organize these (to-do list, calendar, someday/maybe, agendas, etc).
Review regularly your lists, as well as areas of responsibility (hobbies, family, etc).
To properly learn the GTD system, I can’t improve on this summary.
Other interesting notes:
Get in the habit of keeping nothing on your mind. (mind like water).
If an action will take less than two minutes, it should be done at the moment it is defined.
A someday/maybe list is great to keep ideas that you might want to do, but don’t want to commit (e.g. list of books to read, places to visit, restaurants, etc).
Your head is for having ideas, not holding them.
You’ve probably made many more agreements with yourself than you realize.
Most stress comes from inappropriately managed commitments you make or accept.
(If you capture everything,) you don’t have to have the same thought twice, unless you like the thought.
You don’t have to act on everything you write down. Most should be deleted or archived.
Define your values, vision, and areas of responsibility. When you review your to-dos, make sure they align and nothing important is being ignored.
You can only feel good about what you’re not doing when you know everything you’re not doing.
One of the best ways to increase your energy and reduce stress is to close some of your loops.
Organize multi-step to-dos into projects.
Maintain agendas (list) for each person you regularly meet (e.g. boss).
If you’re stuck while clarifying, describe your intended successful outcome for the situation.
Thoughts on the book:
*10/10 when it came out. The productivity bible. For someone starting now, there are better places to start, as the book tries to do too many things.
Longer summary/notes: STD; Sivers
If you like this, you’ll probably like: A simple productivity system, Zen to Done, Eat that frog, Do it tomorrow, The practice, Navalmanack, books
Leo :) 