With first-chapter allusions to martial arts, "flow," "mind like water," and other concepts borrowed from the East (and usually mangled), you'd almost think this self-helper from David Allen should have been called Zen and the Art of Schedule Maintenance.
Not quite. Yes, Getting Things Done offers a complete system for downloading all those free-floating gotta-do's clogging your brain into a sophisticated framework of files and action lists--all purportedly to free your mind to focus on whatever you're working on. However, it still operates from the decidedly Western notion that if we could just get really, really organized, we could turn ourselves into 24/7 productivity machines. (To wit, Allen, whom the New Economy bible Fast Company has dubbed "the personal productivity guru," suggests that instead of meditating on crouching tigers and hidden dragons while you wait for a plane, you should unsheathe that high-tech saber known as the cell phone and attack that list of calls you need to return.)
As whole-life-organizing systems go, Allen's is pretty good, even fun and therapeutic. It starts with the exhortation to take every unaccounted-for scrap of paper in your workstation that you can't junk, The next step is to write down every unaccounted-for gotta-do cramming your head onto its own scrap of paper. Finally, throw the whole stew into a giant "in-basket"
That's where the processing and prioritizing begin; in Allen's system, it get a little convoluted at times, rife as it is with fancy terms, subterms, and sub-subterms for even the simplest concepts. Thank goodness the spine of his system is captured on a straightforward, one-page flowchart that you can pin over your desk and repeatedly consult without having to refer back to the book. That alone is worth the purchase price. Also of value is Allen's ingenious Two-Minute Rule: if there's anything you absolutely must do that you can do right now in two minutes or less, then do it now, thus freeing up your time and mind tenfold over the long term. It's commonsense advice so obvious that most of us completely overlook it, much to our detriment; Allen excels at dispensing such wisdom in this useful, if somewhat belabored, self-improver aimed at everyone from CEOs to soccer moms (who we all know are more organized than most CEOs to start with). --Timothy Murphy
Cicero once said: "In nothing do men approach so nearly to the Gods, as in giving health to men."
Virgil said: "The greatest wealth is health."
So many of us take our health for granted. It's truly THE MOST IMPORTANT asset each of us have. I am posting this review to not only share my favorite, most important health books of 2007... but more important, to hopefully convince just one person to read a book that might strengthen their health and maybe help them live a little longer and a little healthier.
My Most Important Health Books of the Year...
* You: Staying Young - Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen hit a home run with this book. The advice is sound and the nutritional recommendations are cutting edge, presenting the latest research on nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids and cayenne. This book may very well help rejuvenate your health and allow you to drop the extra pounds and possibly protect, and even reverse, certain ailments such as diabetes, high cholesterol, arthritis, and others.
* The Natural Bird Flu Cure They Don't Want You to Know About - The deadly bird flu is spreading like wildfire across Asia, and it's only a matter of time before it hits the U.S. The CDC and government officials have said as much. Unfortunately, we don't hear a lot about the bird flu in the U.S. anymore because of the media's preoccupation with O.J. and Britney Spears. This book reveals a possible natural cure to the deadly bird flu supported by 2 Nobel Prize-winning chemists.
*You: On A Diet - Another book by Drs. Oz and Roizen. While I do not like the word "diet" (it conjures images of strict calorie cutting, sacrifice, and, well, torture), this book does share a wonderful plan for finally and forever dropping those extra pounds. Let's face it, the majority of illness and ill health in America today is food related. This really is an important, worthwhile book, despite its somewhat gimmicky title.
I read the book cover to cover and implemented his strategy. I think it is well written and very useful. Basically the system uses lists and simple filing to organize all of your incoming "stuff". The most interesting aspect was the psychological relief you get from knowing all your thoughts and incoming data are captured and filed away for action later on. It actually makes me want to come up with more things to do!!! I found once I organized everything, I had free time and could take on more without worrying about forgetting something or letting things get out of control.
Though every detail may not be for everyone, David Allen's common sense approach to managing your life has something in it for everyone. This isn't about what to do - it's about how to organize what you do so that you can avoid the "out-of-control" feeling that has become such a normal part of life in the modern world.
