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21 April 2008

Getting Things Done by David Allen

by Željko Filipin

Getting Things Done

Let me tell you about a recent chat with my boss. It went something like this:

Boss: "I do not mean to say that I think you are not organized, but are you interested in improvement?"
Me: "Sure. I am always looking for ways to improve."
Boss: "I have read Getting Things Done (GTD) by David Allen. Have you heard about it?"
Me: "Yes. Here and there somebody mentions it."
Boss: "I really like it. I will send you the book, if you would like to read it."
Me: "Deal."
Me (thinking): "But I doubt a buzzword will help me."

Time passed and I have forgot about it. (My boss lives in another country.) One day, the book arrived. I said to myself: "Well, since he has sent it to me, the least I can do is read it. 250 pages is not so much".

I was skeptical about GTD. Really, really skeptical. But hey, I am a tester. I should be skeptical. Until I see something working, I do not trust it to work.

I always thought of myself as organized person. But, to be honest, for some time I was not happy with the way I organized my work. Like something was missing. I knew I had to change something, but I had so much to do (at work and after it), so I did not have the time to sit down and think where I could improve.

Another thing worth mentioning is that I have bad memory. Really bad memory. What is not written down is forgotten. At the beginning of the book, the author said that everything should be written down. I said to myself: "I already like it."

I will not get into detail about GTD. You can find a lot about it using your favorite search engine. I just wanted to say that I implemented it in my life and it looks like it is working.

I guess I will have to say more about it in a year or two.

tags: book - productivity