Book Review: Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen: Streamline your workload and boost your efficiency

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David Allen’s 2001 book Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity is one of the most influential guides to productivity and time management ever written. It offers a complete, accessible system for prioritising tasks, getting on top of your workload and making time for the things that really matter. Given the increasing role of technology in our professional and personal lives and the increased pressure employees find themselves under, the book has never been more relevant. Over 1.5 million copies had been sold worldwide by 2015, and it has inspired a host of training programmes, seminars and related software. 

This book review and analysis is perfect for: 
• Project managers, team leaders and executives
• Busy employees who find themselves facing a constantly increasing workload
• Anyone feeling overwhelmed by their professional and personal responsibilities

About 50MINUTES.COM | BOOK REVIEW
The Book Review series from the 50Minutes collection is aimed at anyone who is looking to learn from experts in their field without spending hours reading endless pages of information. Our reviews present a concise summary of the main points of each book, as well as providing context, different perspectives and concrete examples to illustrate the key concepts. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: 50Minutes.com
• Release date: Aug 21, 2018
• ISBN: 9782808010955

Book preview

STREAMLINE YOUR WORKLOAD AND BOOST YOUR EFFICIENCY

Now that we constantly have a wealth of information at our fingertips, it can prove difficult to actually finish tasks. Almost all of us have found ourselves settling down to work, only to be interrupted by a stream of new emails, seemingly endless phone calls or a talkative colleague. Unless you already have an effective organisation system in place, all these elements will result in stress, undermine your productivity and harm your personal wellbeing.

With this in mind, David Allen has devised a method to help managers and anyone else who feels overwhelmed by an ever-increasing workload to stay afloat at work. This method, known as Getting Things Done, or GTD for short, aims to free up time so that you can focus on the things that really matter and find greater professional fulfilment. It is a clear, simple, reliable organisational framework that helps users to complete their projects without stress by following a series of straightforward steps.

KEY INFORMATION

Reference edition: Allen, D. (2015) Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity. New York: Penguin.

1stedition: 2001

Author: David Allen (American management consultant, born in 1945).

Fields: project management.

Key words:

Efficiency: the capacity to obtain the desired or expected result or to reach a previously established objective. In a company, an employee who reaches the objectives that have been set for them can be described as efficient.

Priorities: elements which are considered to be