David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) is a time management system that alleviates overwhelm, and instills focus, clarity, and confidence.
The GTD method 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. This allows one’s attention to focus on taking action on each task listed in an external record, instead of recalling them intuitively.
The methodology is based on a simple truth:
The more information bouncing around inside your head, the harder it is to decide what needs attention.
Overwhelm comes from not clarifying what your intended outcome is, not deciding what the very next action is, and not reminding yourself of your intended outcome and action. You need to transform all the ‘stuff’ you attract and accumulate into a clear inventory of meaningful actions, projects, and usable information.
To do this, Allen outlines the five steps of mastering workflow:
Capture. Collect what has your attention
Clarify. Process what it means
Organize. Put it where it belongs
Reflect. Review frequently
Engage. Simply do.
We love this book because it is the ultimate guide to personal organization. In this age of multitasking and overload, it offers help building the new mental skills needed to get things done.
