Preface: Allen believes the most important thing to deal with is whatever is most on your mind. – Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity Book Summary
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity Book Summary
Author: David Allen
The Five Big Ideas
- Getting things done requires defining what “done” means and what “doing” looks like.
- Mastering your workflow involves capturing what has your attention, clarifying what it means, putting it where it belongs, reviewing it frequently, and engaging with it.
- If an action will take less than two minutes, it should be done at the moment it is defined.
- Anxiety and guilt don’t come from having too much to do; it comes from breaking agreements with yourself.
- Your mind is for having ideas, not for holding them.
The Threefold Model for Identifying Daily Work
When you’re getting things done, or “working” in the universal sense, there are three different kinds of activities you can be engaged in:
- Doing predefined work. When you’re doing predefined work, you’re working from your Next Actions lists and calendar—completing tasks that you have previously determined need to be done, or managing your workflow.
- Doing work as it shows up. Every day brings surprises and you’ll need to expend some time and energy on many of them. However, when you follow these leads, you’re deciding by default that these things are more important than anything else you have to do at those times.
- Defining your work. Defining your work entails clearing up your in-tray, your digital messages, and your meeting notes, and breaking down new projects into actionable steps.
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity Book Summary