GTD in this list of recommended productivity books
- Thread starter sholden
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Oogiem
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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
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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!
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.
Tom_Hagen
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I wonder, however, whether "Deep work" can be reconciled with GTD? It seems to me that these are two different philosophies. "Deep work" is more like "The One Thing", i.e. it is focused on the implementation - usually of a large project - which - to put it simply - has the highest profit/price ratio. GTD provides an answer to how to deal with the constantly flowing stream of new obligations, deep work - somewhat pretends that this stream does not exist or that it can be ignored. In "Deep work" you will not find an answer to the question: how to deal with replacing batteries in the remote control.
Honestly, I would be happy to hear what David Allen has to say about some kind of direction of activities / blocking time for large projects. Maybe this is a good topic for @Dave Edwards' next film?
gtdstudente
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@Tom_Hagen
Thank you for your very good GTD post
Reading on this end is that GTD literature series, by and large, is second to none thus far in objectifying one's work in unburdening one's memory to make it possible to have "Mind Like Water" by overcoming intrinsic distractions, which seems to be 'ground zero' for peaceful productivity
Meanwhile, are there additional concepts and writings available to appreciate, illuminate, and facilitate GTD all the more, then yes, very much so, however, if one wishes to avoid being confused and being "all over the place", from seemingly 'infinite' additional insights, then all additional works are best to be understood relative to the GTD methodology, i.e., when reading and engaging in other works, the forefront question might be to pause to rigorously ask how does any additional concept(s) actually complement GTD in order avoid counterproductive 'new shiny object dopamine syndrome' ?
As you see GTD fit. . . .
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TesTeq
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@Tom_Hagen It depends where you live. I live away from the constantly flowing stream of new obligations because I've managed to redirect this stream using GTD.
You do it during shallow work breaks between deep work sessions.
Tom_Hagen
Registered
Tak mniej więcej to się orientujesz gdzie mieszkam
Someone here really likes delegating.
Yes, but note that if you look at GTD puristically, you start with the limiting elements: context, time, energy, and at the end you have priority. That is, you find yourself in certain circumstances and decide what to do next based on them.
Meanwhile, in deep work you strive to create such circumstances to find yourself in certain conditions. In that case, you have priority first - because when choosing deep work, you are guided by the criterion of significance, then you have context and time. I'm not even mentioning energy. Of course, as a rule, deep work sessions are planned with the highest energy in mind, e.g. in the morning, but - let's be honest - you don't have the same energy every morning and not always high, and yet the session is mandatory.
No one will tell me that this is the same and that combining them is pure GTD as Allen described it.
If he were to describe what GTD is in one sentence, it would be a technique of focusing attention. And this focusing of attention looks completely different according to GTD and different according to deep work.
I'm not saying that mixing them is bad. But it must be admitted clearly: this is already a mix, some kind of mixture. Similarly, creating a so-called MIT list for a given day is also already some kind of combination of two techniques because GTD does not provide for something like that. Maybe Allen talks about it in some podcasts, but in his books the only mention of a task list that I remember is only in the second edition of GTD, where he mentions a list that we would like to complete but do not have to. And even then only superficially, in passing.
I also recommend:
Four-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss
Slow Productivity by Cal Newport
Free to Focus by Michael Hyatt
Dave
Four-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss
Slow Productivity by Cal Newport
Free to Focus by Michael Hyatt
Dave