GTD in this list of recommended productivity books
- Thread starter sholden
- Start date
Oogiem
Registered
I'd love your viewpoint on a book by book basis if you care to share.
I have some sympathy for @mcogilvie perspective. I find many books do have a good core lesson or point of interest, but then they are padded out to produce 200-300 pages reinforcing the one point. A few of the books listed are examples of this. An interesting read, with a good point, but so much padding to make a book. I wish there was a market for small 'essays'. eg Atomic Habits essay, under 50 pages for sale at a cheap price like $0.99. But there doesn't seem to be that market.
I think the GTD book is very different. It is a process, a methodology to embrace and follow (if you wish to) ie it is actually useful and something I can adopt that has significantly helped me.
I think the GTD book is very different. It is a process, a methodology to embrace and follow (if you wish to) ie it is actually useful and something I can adopt that has significantly helped me.
I'd be more surprised if it was not recommended or given an honorable mention on these kinds of lists (and not because someone didn't agree with GTD but because a computer algorithm failed). Simply from the perspective that GTD is such an old methodology that it's a standard recommendation for almost any list.
Regarding the other books mentioned, they all seemed fine. I am not familiar with all of them but recognized a couple.
Personally, I always immediately dismiss these kinds of "list'icles" because they're usually auto-generated as they are just regurgitating the marketing blurb for the books found from Google. There is nothing original (it's all just paraphrased marketing copy) or noteworthy from any perspective that would help a reader determine why or why not a book might be a good use of their time (which is ironic given the target audience).
Regarding the other books mentioned, they all seemed fine. I am not familiar with all of them but recognized a couple.
Personally, I always immediately dismiss these kinds of "list'icles" because they're usually auto-generated as they are just regurgitating the marketing blurb for the books found from Google. There is nothing original (it's all just paraphrased marketing copy) or noteworthy from any perspective that would help a reader determine why or why not a book might be a good use of their time (which is ironic given the target audience).
gtdstudente
Registered
sholden,
Agree Atomic Habits can be very helpful like Tiny Habits which also adds the value of 'celebrating' to solidify habits
On the basis of your post I started reading it too. It has grabbed me already, in the first chapter. Thanks for the recommendation!
René Lie
Certified GTD Trainer
Now, how cool is THAT! Enjoy!
mcogilvie
Registered
I don’t think I have anything profound to say, but at the risk of offending some people, I’ll share.
Before I discovered David Allen, which was around the time MAP became GTD (book #2), I had read a good bit of the older literature on time management and productivity, including Lakein, Hyrum Smith (Franklin Planner), and Covey. The Seven Habits said some genuinely new things, but Covey never had a next actions and projects process. Still, I’m surprised The Seven Habits was not included in this list. At the time I discovered GTD, I already knew a lot of things that didn’t work well.
There have been several more recent books on habits, of which #1, Atomic Habit by Clear, is perhaps the best known. If someone wanted help with habits, I would recommend this book and the book by Duhigg. However, neither book did much for me. I respond primarily to intrinsic motivation, and the psychological insights of both books, while interesting, did not help me. I haven’t read #5, “Drive” by Pink. I have read some of his shorter stuff, and some interviews. I think his ideas seem congruent with GTD, but I don’t see much extra value for me there. I don’t need a book to motivate me to find my motivation.
There are several books on the list, #3 by Tracy, #4 by McKeown, and #8 by Newport, that advocate focusing on “the most important things” as a life strategy. By and large, I think these books lack the nuanced understanding of multi-level priorites which GTD has. I think Tracy tends to write whatever he thinks he can sell, while Newport clearly thinks of productivity in terms of discipline. Deep work, as he calls it, is what university professors are paid to do. He and I are both university professors, so that’s what we do. He makes a bigger deal of it than I would.
I don’t think I’ve looked at #6 and #7. A lot of books and articles have been written which recycle ideas like the 80/20 rule, SMART goals, the Eisenhower matrix, you name it. I don’t think you can construct a coherent system by elevating tactical ideas into strategic doctrine. A lot of authors of books about productivity are basically saying either “This worked for me” or even “This should work”, followed by “It will work for you.” Of course, if you find value in a book, then it has value for you, and that’s fine.