Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

Devotees of the system will be delighted to hear that the core principles and techniques in the 2001 original anchor the new edition, too. The aim of the book remains simple: to teach us how to prioritize our lives and our tasks so we achieve more, while staying relaxed and keeping our energy levels up.

It's a simple goal, but a hugely ambitious one. And "Getting Things Done" delivers. Its enduring popularity bears testimony to that.

The author, David Allen, is one of the world's most influential thinkers on productivity. He's president of The David Allen Company, and has more than 35 years' experience in management consultancy and executive coaching. He's written for a number of major publications, including Fast Company, Fortune, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

So, keep listening to find out how to get control of your to-do list, to learn the two-minute rule for getting things done, and to hear how teenagers can benefit from the system, too.

"Getting Things Done" is divided into three parts. Part One provides an overview of the entire system and its unique features. It also explains why the author developed it that way.

Part Two shows us how to implement the system and get organized. If you struggle with planning your work and life, you'll love this part of the book. Allen addresses bad habits you might have developed, and describes how to overcome them.

Part Three goes deeper, telling us what to expect when we start using the system regularly. Here, you'll find two new chapters, on cognitive science and mastery.

Allen begins the book by explaining why some people are overwhelmed by their To-Do Lists: in short, we have far more commitments than we realize. Anything we feel responsible for doing or handling is a commitment, or "open loop," as he calls them – and most of them don't make it onto our lists. Open loops can be big things, like bringing a major software project to an end; or small ones, like arranging lunch for a meeting.

These open loops hinder clear thinking, because they're on our minds but not on our to-do lists. We spend unproductive time worrying about them.

The strength of Allen's system is that it helps us define the open loop, take action, and finish the task, so we can move on. We have to get all these obligations out of our heads and into a place where we can use the right tools, at the right time, to accomplish them. Only then can we devote our full attention to other work.

The Getting Things Done system is a five-step process. First, we capture the items that demand our attention. Next, we clarify what these tasks mean and what we need to do about them. Third, we organize the results. And then we reflect on our options for taking action. Finally, we engage with what we actually need to do.

The terminology here is different from the original edition. Back in 2001, the five steps were collect, process, organize, review, and do. But despite the words changing, the basic principles and techniques of the process are largely the same.

Let's take a closer look at these steps, starting with capture.

Allen points out that most people have to-do lists, but they're usually incomplete. The open loops are missing, but they're out there, taking up headspace and slowing us down. Remember, an open loop is anything that needs a decision – and we have to capture it before we can deal with it.

The tools for doing this have changed since the first edition of this book. Physical in-trays have given way to the email inbox, and our various tech devices. But Allen's advice stays much the same. We should use as few capturing tools as possible. In this new edition, Allen has removed all references to specific software – a wise decision, given how far technology has come in 14 years.

Once we've captured our commitments, whether on a piece of paper or in an app, we need to clarify all the information and empty our tools. "Empty" may seem an odd term to use here, but Allen explains how it applies to his system.

He illustrates the process with a flow chart. This is one of the most useful items in the book, and a welcome survivor from the earlier edition. One of the steps in the flow chart is the Two-Minute Rule, which is also unchanged in the new edition. Here's how it works. You go through one of your capture tools and choose a task. If you can do it in two minutes or less, you do so – right then and there. If you can't do it in two minutes or less, schedule a time on your planner to do it. Then take that task out of your capture tool. It's that easy.

Large tasks should be broken down into smaller ones. So if you're running a project, make a list of everything you need to do in order to get the project up and running smoothly. Put these smaller tasks into your schedule, and take them out of your capture tool.

What about non-urgent tasks – things we need to do, but not right now? There's a tool for this, too, called the Tickler File. Chapter 7 shows you how to set it up.

The Getting Things Done system only works if you're disciplined. You need to clear out your capture tools and take action daily, or every other day, and review your projects and open loops each week. Otherwise all you're doing is piling up information.

Think about when you feel most positive about your work. It may be the week before you go on vacation. Why? Because you've become organized, and you've buttoned up what you needed to do before your break. Allen says this simple system will give you that feeling all the time.

In Part Two, Allen gets into the nitty-gritty of his system. We think this section is the most valuable, because it's here that we learn how to tackle our bad habits.

For instance, you may not know what to do with a particularly tricky task. So you set it aside and do something less challenging instead. But it's a mistake to put aside difficult tasks in favor of easy ones. You have to think about, and schedule, each task when you pick it up. Your capture tool is a one-way street. Things go in and come out. Nothing can go back in once it's been taken out.

Of course, you won't always know when to take action on a task. As an example, let's say you're due to upgrade some software, but it's not urgent. Your current version of the software works fine, and you think your time is better spent on other things right now. So, because you're not ready to take action on the software upgrade, you can't really schedule it. But you can't trash it either.

Something like this would go in what the author calls incubation, and you should schedule time to go through your incubation file every few weeks. This way, you can get all your floating thoughts, like this one about the software upgrade, out of your head, because you know you'll be looking at it again later on.

Dealing with these non-actionable items is vital. If you don't manage them, you can bring down an organizational system, Allen says. They can clog up the whole process.

In the 2015 edition, Part Three has been substantially beefed up. It still covers the results we'll see if we use this system on a regular basis. But there are new chapters on cognitive science and the mastery of Getting Things Done. The first links the system with the rise in positive psychology and mindfulness.

The second suggests the process can be a total life-management system, applied at work and in your wider life. Both chapters seem like handy extras, rather than essential additions.

In a minute, we'll be looking at "Getting Things Done for Teens." But first, a few final thoughts on the new edition for adults.

Getting Things Done remains an effective system for busy people who have more to do than time to do it in. The book is thorough, and Allen clearly understands the bad habits disorganized people slip into. It's useful that he offers sound strategies to overcome these behaviors.

But, as in the original edition, Allen does repeat himself. Thoroughness is great, but repetition isn't, especially in the digital age, when we're used to getting information online, instantly and in bite-sized chunks. While some of the content has been updated to reflect the modern world, we think Allen could have gone a lot further.

Another gripe is Allen's approach to goal setting and time management. Here at Mind Tools, we think your goals should be the driving force of your life. They are an end in themselves, and the way you achieve them is a matter of choosing a process. Process is important, but secondary. In "Getting Things Done," goals are important, but the process of getting to them is the more important thing.

Even so, we think this is a really useful book, if you want to learn how to manage your time and work effectively. The system remains highly usable for anyone, at any level. Just be prepared to skim through several sections as you move through the book.

So what about "Getting Things Done for Teens," which you heard about earlier? It's further evidence that the Getting Things Done system is more than a set of tools for businesspeople. Aimed at high-school kids, this version has a square page format, well-spaced text, and lots of cartoon characters and graphics. Patronizing? Well, maybe a little.

Nevertheless, Allen's reason for producing this book is sound. Young people are as deluged as anyone with information from a wide range of sources, and they could use some help with sorting it out.

The cartoon characters aren't just embellishments, either. They represent different parts of the brain, which cause us to behave in different ways. There's the reactive, fast-processing amygdala, represented by Myggy the Monkey, and the analytical, decisive prefrontal cortex, embodied by Cortland the Owl.

The core of the book mirrors the processes laid out in the grown-up version of "Getting Things Done." Part One is heavy on the theory of the system. It has regular interventions from Myggy and Cortland, explaining how our brains react to and process information. We think this is useful, but not essential, so readers could skip it without losing much.

In Part Two, teenage readers are invited to capture, clarify, organize, reflect, and engage, in the same way as the grown-ups. But there's much more focus on the things teens actually need to get done. There's plenty on study, of course, but also ways to manage worry and stress.

These sections come with explanatory diagrams, some of which seem a little complex. There are also occasional workbook sections, which readers can fill in, if they've got small enough handwriting.

The third part of the book, The Lab, is a series of practical exercises dealing with real-world situations that teenagers might find themselves in. It works through a series of checklists, putting the principles of the system into usable scenarios.

Our nagging doubt about this book is whether it'll really appeal to its core market. Sure, it'll be bought by well-meaning, and maybe anxious, parents. But will teens engage with it? Despite its friendly format and design, it's a chunky read. And theory presented in a friendly, chatty style is still theory. Modern teenagers can already find plenty of advice, if they choose to seek it out. And most of it is online, in a format they're used to.

Nevertheless, like its grown-up version, this book offers lots of useful tips for organizing tasks and seeing them through. Both books are well worth picking up.

"Getting Things Done," by David Allen, and "Getting Things Done For Teens," by David Allen, Mike Williams and Mark Wallace, are both published by Penguin Books.

That's the end of this episode of Book Insights. Thanks for listening.