Any other authors out there like David Allen?

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Anonymous

Guest
Any other authors out there like David Allen?

David Allen's GTD system has made such an impact on my life. I have listened to both of his books in audio format and have listened to "getting things done fast" audio course about 30 times now (literally).

I need fresh material. If Allen had more books or audio material (or even video material) I would buy it. But unless I'm mistaken, this is all he has out now. Because of this, I'm looking for fresh material but is as good and is as life changing as Allen's material.

Would you guys share other books, audio material, etc that you have experienced that is of the same calibur. It doesn't neccessarily have to deal with organization or efficiency, but topics that change your life for the better.

Ones I have came across that influenced me greatly are:
=====================================

---The Seven Habits of Highly Effictive People (or any of Steven Covey's material)

---The 48 Laws of Power (shows you how people can use deception and politics to walk all over you)

---The Richest Man in Babylon

---The Diet Cure (this is where I learned the importance of free form amino acids as a alternative to prescription drugs - the theme of the book is about how to remedy thing that may be out of balance in your body)

--Dianetics (Offers a theory of how your past is effecting your everyday life)

---Rich Dad, Poor Dad (shows the difference between how the rich think and act and how the poor do)

---Self Mastery (An awsome audio course on howh you can apply zen concepts to your life)
http://www.nightingale.com/tProducts_ProductDetail.asp?ProductIDN=22170&WCU=8ff3ea8cb400c4e652322f88

---The Bible, of course
 
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MarkTAW

Guest
David just recommended the excellent book Don't Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor, which I also recommend.

I really liked Sources of Power by Gary Klein, which shows how people really make decisions in stressful situations. My review for it is on Amazon.com.

If you liked Rich Dad/Poor Dad, you really need to read Your Money or Your Life by Dominiguez and Robin. If any book can change your life & attitude towards money, this one will.

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Cialdini is a highly influential book about how the ties that bind society together can be used against us.

I could proably keep going, but based on your list, these are my top 4 recommendations.
 
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ludlow

Registered
To my surprise, I've found that Allen's books have led me off more in the direction of books on the 'pyschology' shelf than the 'business productivity' one:

*The Now Habit, by Neil Fiore, an anti-procrastination text much cited on these boards I think.

*The works of Albert Ellis, especially 'The Road to Tolerance', which is a good summary of his no-nonsense and often hilarious approach to cognitive psychology. (If you live in NYC by any chance, go see his Friday Night Workshop any Friday evening on the Upper East Side - he gives therapy sessions to volunteers in front of the audience, who pay $10 a ticket.)

*Po Bronson's fantastic work of reportage, What Should I Do With My Life?, which is absolutely brilliant for very-high-altitude planning and thinking.

Also, though - and I, more than anyone, need to try to take this advice myself, but: stop reading books about doing stuff, and do stuff instead...
 
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miro

Guest
To me, Eliyahu Goldratt was another ground-breaking writer ... His Theory of Constraints is very helpful in deciding about your priorities, what action to tackle first... Check out his books

The Goal
It's not Luck
Critical Chain

Alex

PS: This is my first post after reading this forum for a couple of months, just wanted to point out that it's the most productive, best signal-to-noise forum I've ever been on...
 
mcogilvie

mcogilvie

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No More Self-Help Books!

One of the wonderful things about GTD is that I no longer waste my money on self-help books that don't do me any good. :D A few months ago I took a look at Cevey's "8th Habit" in a bookstore and found it pretty uninviting. Try "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder if you want to read something beyond the ordinary.
 
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BrianK

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This is a look at effective organizations from a macro and leadership perspective.

Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
by Larry Bossidy, Ram Charan, Charles Burck

This is just one of many of Peter Drucker's books. Anyone David Allen considers to be a guru is worth my reading time.

The Effective Executive Revised
by Peter F. Drucker

And along the lines of psych books, I've found this to be a valuable reference for understanding how people, including me, think, act, react, and change.

Personality Types : Using the Enneagram for Self-Discovery
by Don Richard Riso, Russ Hudson
 
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remyc88

Registered
BrianK said:
This is a look at effective organizations from a macro and leadership perspective.

Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
by Larry Bossidy, Ram Charan, Charles Burck

This is just one of many of Peter Drucker's books. Anyone David Allen considers to be a guru is worth my reading time.

The Effective Executive Revised
by Peter F. Drucker

And along the lines of psych books, I've found this to be a valuable reference for understanding how people, including me, think, act, react, and change.

Personality Types : Using the Enneagram for Self-Discovery
by Don Richard Riso, Russ Hudson
Click to expand...

I second The Effective Executive. That is a really good book.

However, I have to say that I wasn't too impressed w/ Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done. I found it a bit boring and dry (perhaps it was the writing style). Still, it had some good concrete info in it.

But definitely, try to read The Effective Executive.
 
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DeveloperMCT

Registered
Wow Guys, Thanks!! I've added most, if not all of these to my Amazon wish list. I use the wish list as a queue of the books I'm going to buy next. :D

I too have wrote/blooged some articles on helpful material. Check them out if you're interested:

Don't Break My Flow
http://www.angrycoder.com/article.aspx?cid=1&y=2002&m=8&d=26 (actually wrote this before coming across Allen's material)

What Amino Acids Have Done For Me
http://www.darrenneese.com/viewarticle.aspx?artkey=Author-Heal-Supp-Aminos&BackLink=TRUE

Success and Habits
http://www.darrenneese.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ArtKey=Articles-HabitsSuccess

Getting Things Done (my priasing review and summary of Allen's GTD)
http://www.darrenneese.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ArtKey=Articles-GettingThingsDone

What I find interesting about Allen's work is that he is one of the few writers that have such true insight into how human's minds actually work! Similarly, Dianetics has the same aproach of going back and addressing traumatic experiences to get your attention off of them so you are more in the present. (no I am not affiliated with the church of scientology).

I have a friend who is going through a very extensive course in the Albert Ellis Material. He swears up and down on its effectiveness.

WHEN IS DAVID ALLEN GOING TO PUBLISH SOMETHING NEW? :!: Certainly he's got more tricks up his sleeve he could teach us?!
 
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bassdrone42

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Great Books out there!

Hands down the most inspirational / influential book I have read in the past year has been Leadership by Rudolph Guilliani.

If you are in a management position of any kind this book will change your life.

It's a must read.
 
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MarkTAW

Guest
Speaking of flow, the book by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is the source of all references to flow.
 
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Busydave

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I don’t think there are any other books out there like Getting Things Done. There are good books that work at different altitudes, (life goals, areas of management, areas of improvement, roles etc), but nothing gets inside the skin of the working life like GTD.

The only other writer I have read that shows similar insights into the inner invisible topography of the life of a knowledge worker is Peter Drucker.

I think Brian Tracy and Tom peters are good at providing objective benchmarks that let us know if we are being productive and eye-catching employees. I find that “Eat that Frog” is a great summary of Tracy’s points in this area. Tom Peters’ “Brand You 50” is a great read also.

ludlow said:
Also, though - and I, more than anyone, need to try to take this advice myself, but: stop reading books about doing stuff, and do stuff instead...
Click to expand...

Amen to that!

Dave
 
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uhwenzel2011

Guest
Re: Any other authors out there like David Allen?

I can recommend a book by Karen Kingsten - space clearing.

Clutter cannot be organized. To throw things away is a good habit. Karen helps to let go things. Alice
 
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Arduinna

Registered
I need fresh material.
Click to expand...

People have responded to this request with authors and book titles, but when I read it, I had one reaction: WHY?

Sometimes, a life-improvement catharsis feels like a religious experience, so much so that people begin to treat it as one. GTD isn't a religion, it's a way of organizing your behavior and thinking to make the most of your time, which is your life, after all. All the tools are there, and one of their chief virtues is their utter simplicity. They're boiled down from much practice and observation, and they eliminate the elaborate, overwrought stuff found in other systems that just burdens the day instead of lightening the load. I've found other systems confusing or completely non-intuitive, like sectoring your needs into quadrants, and the fine points have also stopped me cold. "Sharpen the Saw," for example, always got me thinking of Lizzie Borden, which definitely undermined focus on the family aspect of my life. For these and other reasons, I have great appreciation for the lightness of hand with which DA applies metaphor, the clarity of his principles, and GTD's Spartan framework.

I have a theory. The state DA refers to as mind-like-water should leave you feeling flowing and alive. If you can achieve that state on a regular basis, you won't need additional fixes of inspir-organizational literature. It's a theory because I am not yet there, but if I were and found myself hungry for more, I'd figure I needed to attend to my higher elevations (purpose), or seek another form of nurture. But I also think that the more you DO STUFF, as someone put it on this thread, and the more you GET THINGS DONE in this way, the more you learn about what you really want to do. It's pure process and you can't buy it, you just have to hurl yourself into the abyss of DOING, over and over again, and see what happens.
 
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MarkTAW

Guest
Arduinna, it's not about supplanting or improving GTD, but about books with good, practical knowledge.

What's wrong with reading and as long as you're going to be reading, asking for recommendations?
 
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Arduinna

Registered
MarkTAW, I guess we're reading the posts very differently. I don't question the value of reading--or of art or film, or music. I wouldn't be here if I did. I, too, like new material from brilliant minds, but only when it's justified by content. Publishing new material for the sake of publishing new material yields things like the "8th Habit." I think I'm seeing, in the original question and in others on the forum, a desire to transform GTD from the "good, practical knowledge" that it is into a catechism of sorts, and to have mystical expectations of its practice. My comments spoke to that observation. Seeing GTD on a list of 8 influential books that includes the Bible and the manual of the Church of Scientology crystallized some uneasy feelings I've been having. I'm responding to a lot more than the original query, as I suggested in my post. I know I'm not off base in what I'm seeing, but I may not be in sync with the majority in finding it disturbing. That's okay; I'm not looking for consensus. I made the points as food for thought, because this issue has been bothering me.
 
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CKH

Guest
Being a prof. organizer, I am biased towards brass-tacks, useful information on organizing, whether it be of possessions, work, or time. To that end, I highly recommend

Kathy Waddill's "The Organizing Sourcebook: Nine Strategies for Simplifying Your Life."

Now, Waddill's use of "simplifying" is NOT the usual "Simpify your life and live a life free from care," but rather "Simplify your systems so they SUPPORT your life." To me, this is similar to GTD, which is why I love both authors' advice.

Several of her principles, on their face, correlate directly to what David Allen says, either in his books or his tapes:

Weed Constantly
Decide to Decide
Label Everything
Make Your Systems Fit Your Life
Evaluate Honestly and Often

And others support lesser aspects of the GTD system OR are particularly useful to people who can't figure out exactly WHY their office/home doesn't seem to "flow."

Worth a shot!

Cynthia
 
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outlawyr

Guest
Well, I didn't see it mentioned above, so I'll toss in
How To Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carnegie. It's old, it's corny, it's repetitive, but it's a classic.
 
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kkirksey

Registered
I'll add a couple that I haven't seen mentioned yet:

The Time Trap by Alec Mackenzie
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/081447926X/

Using DA's "altitude" metaphor, this book deals exclusively with working on the ground level. Many great ideas for maximizing the use of your time and minimizing time wasters. I recommend that people read GTD first, and I recommend that they read this one right after.

Making Work Work by Julie Morgenstern
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0743250877/

I bought this one on the strength of her Organizing From the Inside Out, which I loved. She deals with some higher altitude issues, e.g. the work/life balance, but for the most part this is another great guide to getting things done at the ground level. Her chapter on choosing the most important task has helped me tackle my next actions lists in the most productive order.
 
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ceehjay

Registered
I certainly don't equate GTD with spirituality, the Bible, etc., , but it is good for the soul to feel that one has more control over the day to day stuff of life.

In a different mode entirely, I enjoy listening to the audio of Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now. I bought the book after hearing the audio, but the book doesn't have the same impact. Listening to the audio requires some attention, and it isn't a good idea to listen to it while driving.

Tolle has a couple of strange ideas, but I just pass them by.

Carolyn
 
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